Until fairly recently it could be said that the bulk of historical literature concerning Bolivia was in some way or another to do with its colonial past, and especially the role that silvermining played in that past. Luckily for those interested in Bolivian colonial history, the nation's capital houses the so-called ‘national archive’, which contains a plethora of historical documents, archives, and so on. This ‘national archive’ has proven quite adequate for these purposes.