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Date: ca. 1903 - ca. 1954 Creators: Ford Motor Company. (Most Recent) From: Series: Motion Picture Films Relating to the Ford Motor Company, the Henry Ford Family, Noted Personalities, Industry, and Numerous Americana and Other Subjects, ca. ca. 1903 1903 - ca. ca.

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1930s, Brazil, Industry; Rubber Harvesting 221799-04

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For broadcast quality material of this reel or to know more about our Public Domain collection, contact us at info@footagefarm.co.uk [1920s / 1930s, Brazil, Industry: Brazil Nuts & Rubber Harvesting; High Mountain Village Life] B/W. Large South American lizard (Tegu ?), snakes, unidentified long-haired primate / monkey (?).

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The history of rubber is far more than trinkets and toys. Rubber bands, rubber ducks, and the tire are the first things that come to mind when some people consider the extensive uses of rubber-yes, some rubber ducks are still made from rubber. While most people are familiar with rubber as a commodity, they are not familiar with how it is produced. If I told you that rubber was grown, like a crop, you probably would not believe me; however, this is the case. While Brazil's main exports are now manufactured and semi-manufactured goods, they were once basic raw goods: sugar, gold, and rubber.

Rubber, like most global-impacting inventions, has a history that goes back further than most would imagine. The first known use of rubber dates back to 1800 B.C. It was during this time period that Mesoamerican culture participated in a team sport-much like today's version of racquetball-which consisted of a round rubber ball. This, however, was not just a sport for fun, but was believed to have an impact upon one's survival. Bernardino de Sahagun, a 16th-century Spanish priest, wrote, "These wretches played for stakes of little value and since the pauper loses quickly, they were forced to gamble their homes, their fields, their corn granaries, their maguey plants. They sold their children in order to bet and even staked themselves and became slaves, to be sacrificed later if they were not ransomed."

While this quote depicts one view, this blood-sport was so much more. Winners were heroes, praised and showered with treasures; losers were sacrificed, it was believed that their bloodshed ensured rain; and the game of ōllamaliztli lived on for thousands of years. While this sport has changed considerably, versions of it-like ulama-are still played today. (You can watch a short clip of ulama here,)

The major source of natural rubber comes from the Pará rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis), in the form of rubber latex. These rubber latex producing trees were originally found in South America, predominately Brazil. The way that the rubber latex is extracted from the tree is comparable to the process used to obtain maple syrup from maple trees.

One of the first inventions using rubber was the eraser, invented by Joseph Priestley. It was found to erase pencil marks when rubbed over them, hence the name rubber. Due to the multiple applications of rubber, specifically for waterproofing materials, creating shoe soles, and its part in the mass production of tires, there were time periods called "Rubber booms" (1879-1912 and 1942-1945) where rubber was needed and Brazil profited greatly from their enormous supply of Pará rubber trees. The popularized concept of the American Gold Rush would apply perfectly as a correlation to Brazil and the attempts of those to strike it rich because of this country's abundance of Pará rubber trees.

Because of the Industrial Revolution and Charles Goodyear's ability to vulcanize rubber to produce car tires, the regions that had Pará rubber trees to harvest prospered. Unfortunately, the indigenous population in Brazil and its surrounding countries were taken advantage of. Rubber barons, those who owned rubber plantations, rounded up all the men and women and forced them into slavery. This was not sweatshop factory type slavery, but brutal and inhumane slavery. One described the sight of how slaves were treated as "...so much violence, so much ignominy, egoism and savagery and so little appreciation of human life."

Much to the dismay of Brazil (and its economy), seeds from the Pará rubber tree plantations were smuggled out, in 1876, and taken to England. While the climate was not tropical enough to grow these trees in England, the seeds grew well in areas, such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. As these countries started to produce rubber (and the fact that people did not like the cruelty of rubber barons), the amount of rubber latex coming out of Brazil declined drastically. It would not be until World War II, when Japan invaded Malaysia and cut off America and Europe's rubber supply, when Brazil would become a player in the natural rubber trade again.

Once World War II ended, rubber exportation all but ended in its original origin of South America. Today, 94% of natural rubber comes from Asia. That being said, natural rubber production, in all countries, has dropped. With improvements in the creation of synthetic rubbers, the need for natural rubber has declined. Estimates from 2001 and 2005 approximate that 60% of rubber produced was synthetic rubber.

"Ancient Mesoamerican Team Sport Examined in New Art Exhibit." Art Business News Sept. 2001: 116. Academic OneFile. Web. Feb 26, 2013.

"The International Natural Rubber Market, 1870-1930." Frank, Zephyr. 2010. Economic History Association. Web. Feb 26, 2013

" Why do they hide? " Web. Feb 26, 2013

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The (Hardcore) History of Rubber - Hankering for History

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The history of rubber is one that dates back further than you would think. Rubber, like most global-impacting inventions, has a history that goes back further than most would imagine. The first known use of rubber dates back to 1800 B.C.

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for rubber

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Thousands of Amazon Indians were enslaved and killed during the rubber boom

During the latter part of the 19th century rubber was discovered here in Amazonia. The Rubber Boom had begun. During the 1880s the countries of Peru and Ecuador sent samples of rubber to England and the United States. Rubber was very much in demand then because it was being used in many products, but it was not until Goodyear developed a process called vulcanization that the rubber boom really got started. This process made the latex rubber harder and therefore could be used to make tyres for automobiles. Foreign companies surged forward to invest in companies capable of securing vast amounts of latex (the raw rubber). One of the biggest rubber companies was the Peruvian Amazon Company.

The elite"mestizos" who were of Spanish descent were recruited as caucheros or rubber barons. The work of the caucheros was to recruit, by whatever means, workers to harvest as much wild latex from the vast jungle as possible. The Amazon people were not used to working long hours but fished and hunted for the food they needed and then did not work again until they got hungry. Working all day, every day was not in their agenda. The caucheros found the docile and obedient temperament of the natives easy to overcome and easily made them into rubber slaves. The caucheros did not go out and find the rubber slaves, instead they recruited black men from Trinidad and Jamaica in the West Indies. They were paid to capture as many slaves as possible and to make sure the slaves collected sufficient amounts of rubber. These West Indian men were called muchachos and they captured natives from the rainforest. The muchachos were well armed and always acted in an aggressive manner. The natives they enslaved would be required to collect rubber during 3 or 4 expeditions every year. Every 4 months they were required to bring into the rubber stations a fabrico which weighed at least 50 kilos. To get paid they had to do this at least 3 times a year. They were not paid in cash but one fabrico would provide them with a hammock, a cup, a machete and a pair of trousers. If they brought in 2 fabricos they were given a gun, but with very little ammunition it was not much use. If the natives failed to collect sufficient latex they would be punished severely. This punishment increased in its severity until they were killed. Women were also enslaved and rape was the usual penalty for low performance. If a male slave escaped his wife and children were raped and tortured until the slave returned or they themselves revealed were the escapees could be found. Women and children were also sold to brothels where they were raped and tortured in bestialic ways.

A young Amazon native slave bares horrific scars of the Rubber Boom

Around 1920 the Rubber Boom ended and with it the enslavement of native people. Some researchers tried to estimate the loss of indigenous peoples in Peru and Brazil and came to a figure of 250,000 souls lost in connection with the rubber trade. They were members of the native tribes of the Amazon region such as Witotos, Androque, Huitoto, Matses, Yagua, Karipuna and Boras amongst others. An example: In 1940 the entire Bora tribe consisted of only 500 people but back in 1910 there were more than 15,000. The Huitoto tribe decreased from 50, 000 to 7,000 between 1900 and 1912. Some smaller less known tribes were completely wiped out

Witoto slaves in the Putumayo region
During this time foreign investors made fortunes and the City of Iquitos prospered. At any time steamships could be seen anchored on the Amazon River. They were bringing in all the requirements the rich merchants needed for their millionaire lifestyles and the ships took away huge amounts of latex rubber. It was said that Iquitos was so awash with money large wooden cases filled to overflowing with English silver sovereigns could often be seen on the street unattended. Fortunes were made and it is said some of the merchants lit their Cuban cigars with $100 bills. The wives of the merchants did not like their clothes washed in the Amazon water so their fine linens were sent on the steamships to Europe for laundering. Foreign governments also collaborated in the enslavement, the U.S. government in particular paid Brazil $100 for every worker delivered to the areas where they were needed. It seemed that many local officials, missionaries and others turned a blind eye to the atrocities, perhaps fearful of the powerful rubber barons.

An old photograph showing the opulence during the rubber boom

If you want to learn more about this dark period in South American history W.E.Hardenburg wrote the book "Putumayo, The Devils Paradise". It tells of the abuse and atrocities of that time. Hardenburg actually witnessed some of them with his own eyes. In 1910 the British Government sent Roger Casement to investigate the abuse of native workers in the amazon. His heart wrenching report can also be read in Hardenberg's book. Also worth reading is the story of the 2 rubber boom slaves who were taken to England by Sir Roger Casement to give evidence against the rubber barons. The 2 boys never returned to the Amazon. Click here"The Lost Boys of the Amazon", this is their story.

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the enslavement of natives during the rubber boom 
by mike collis

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The Enslavement of Amazon Natives During the Rubber Boom

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Thousands of Amazon Indians were enslaved and killed during the rubber boom During the latter part of the 19th century rubber was discovered here in Amazonia. The Rubber Boom had begun. During the 1880s the countries of Peru and Ecuador sent samples of rubber to England and the United States.