Manaus is a large city with around 2 million inhabitants situated in the heart of the Amazon region and the point where the vast River Negro flows into the Amazon (known by the Brazilians as Solimões until it reaches Manaus). The city boasts a short yet intriguing history, and one that is inextricably linked with the history of rubber.
Founded in the 17th century, Manaus would never have been more than just another small Brazilian city if it hadn’t been for an American named Charles Goodyear, who developed the process to harden rubber known as vulcanisation, and an Irishman called John Dunlop, who patented the tyre made from this material.
The rapidly growing use of tyres led to a sharp rise in rubber prices, and the owners of the land on which the rubber trees grew developed a system of semi-slavery in order to guarantee cheap labour. The system consisted of bringing in workers from the sugar cane and coffee plantations by promising them the chance to make some easy money and return to their homes richer than before. Yet they were never to return. The rubber tree owners paid for their journey, food and tools, which placed the workers so much in debt that even though they worked their fingers to the bone, they were never able to pay off the money they owed.
The seringueiros (the name given to the rubber plantation workers) had to transform the sap from the rubber trees by smoking it into what they called borracha - 50-kg bundles of latex. When the owners saw that a seringueiro had almost repaid his debt, they sent in women, which meant that the men once again fell into debt, as the long periods these men spent in the jungle meant that such a temptation was almost impossible to resist. These women were normally native Indians, and the contact between them and the white-skinned seringueiros from the northeast of the country gave rise to the most commonly-seen race in this region, the Caboclos.
In turn, the exploiters made huge profits as production costs were low and the rubber was sold on European markets at a high price. They were the nouveaux riches of Manaus: they imported the finest items from Europe – cars, electrical appliances, clothing from the chicest boutiques in Paris, glassware and precious stones. The historic buildings still standing in Manaus today date back to this period. Particularly worthy of note is the Amazonas Theatre, which boasts an excellent state of conservation. The entrance to the theatre was made of rubber to ensure that the carriages didn’t disturb the performance if their occupants arrived late.
Yet it all came to an end when an Englishman took some seeds from a rubber tree back to England, where they were planted and later taken to the plantations in Malaysia. Once the monopoly disappeared, the price of rubber plummeted and the rubber tree owners of Manaus were ruined. The city fell into decline and although it experienced brief periods of prosperity such as those during World War II, it never recovered its former wealth and splendour.
As visitors to the city, we can still see traces of that boom period in the form of monuments and buildings, and take advantage of the opportunity to get to know the marvellous local people and hear their side of the story.
“IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts has a 5 star All Inclusive hotel ship based in Manaus: the Hotel IBEROSTAR Grand Amazon, which calls at various spots in the Amazon jungle, offering guests the chance to explore the dense unspoilt jungle vegetation in small motor launches.”
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