V4-Chapter 3

Chapter Three The Gavia Army

The most distressing aspect of the 19th and 20th Centuries has to be that of child labour. One third of the workforce in the mountains were children, working both above and below ground. Their treatment at the hands of their capataz, or overseer, shocked even the most well-travelled of mining engineers.

The poor layout of the mines made laying rails for ore carts impossible, but not to worry, the army of children, with ore in baskets chaffing their backs, could be used instead.

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Note: Whilst the author has tried to identify and attribute copyright holders to illustrations and photographs, she would be grateful for information about those where this has not been possible and would be glad to rectify any such omissions in future editions. She may be contacted on her site.