[Mining Site Chincha Islands, Lima] 1860s - 1870s

José Negretti made this photograph of the "Mining Site Chincha Islands, Lima" sometime between 1860 and 1880. It depicts the landscape of the Chincha Islands, which became a site of intense guano extraction in the mid-19th century. This image exists within the historical and cultural context of resource exploitation, where the pursuit of natural resources reshaped landscapes and communities. The guano trade brought economic prosperity to some, it also resulted in the exploitation of Chinese laborers who were brought to the islands under harsh conditions. This photograph serves as a visual document of the environmental and social consequences of that trade. Negretti’s photograph, though seemingly a straightforward depiction of a landscape, invites us to consider the complex web of economic, social, and ecological relationships. It leaves me wondering, how do we reconcile the economic benefits derived from resource extraction with the human and environmental costs?