Rubber Boom Slavery
Dating back hundreds of years the indigenous people of South and Central America had discovered the many uses of rubber, taken from what is known as a "Hevea brasiliensis" or more commonly, a rubber tree. When the latex is extracted from the tree it is hardened and formed into rubber which natives would use for numerous tasks such as making shoes, handles for tools, and even rubber balls for sports (Dean 23). Due to its useful yet uncanny features it created an immediate buzz of curiosity within the European colonies who occupied much of South America during the late 18th century. Word spread and it soon became a resource of high demand back in Europe whose industrialists sought fortune in collecting and selling the rubber. This period of time was known as the "Rubber Boom;" similar to the gold rush in that entrepreneurs hurried to areas such as the Amazon basin and quickly gathered latex from the rubber trees to meet the abrupt demand. Providing such a......
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Approximate Word Count: 711
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |