Eiland in een groene zee. De ontwikkeling van Iquitos en de Amazoneregio, 1650-1950

Samenvatting

The development of the Peruvian & Brazilian sections of the Amazon region since the colonial period has been a classic example of cyclic export-oriented development, based on the demand of foreign markets for forest products. Following a description of missionary activity in the area from the 1500s to the mid-1800s, the fundamental SE transformations brought about by the rubber boom (1880-1920) are discussed. The first large-scale immigration of whites & mestizos occurred during this time, when an economic system of exploitation of the Indians began, leading to the decimation of many tribes. Rubber consumption by the US & Europe jumped from 400 tons a year in 1850 to 70,000 in 1912. Thus, a system of external dependence & internal domination was established in the Amazon region. In 1901, the British established rubber plantations in Ceylon & Malasia, & later in India, while the Dutch began plantations in Burma, India, & the Philippines, leading to monopolies on rubber production & a severe drop in demand for Amazonian rubber. The Amazonian share of world rubber production fell from 99% in 1905 to 2% in 1937, causing economic duress. Analogies with this situation for the coffee booms of Sao Paulo, Brazil, & Medellin, Colombia, are drawn. 2 Tables, 3 Figures, 33 References. Modified HA.