Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador - The Rubber Boom

The Rubber Boom

The 19th century marked a time in history when the need for rubber came into high demand in the world. Many Western Territories including America wanted to produce Rubber Industries in desire to produce economic prosperity. They also expressed an alternative goal, which was to also make better the region they will be in partnership with by improving their land and their economic status as well. Reasons as to why they decided to obtain partnership with the Amazonian region was for a couple a reasons. One of the reason being that the location was ideal. Two of the most high quality rubber trees grew in that region, the Hevea tree and the Castilloa. tree the Hevea tree was only able to be used 6 month out of the year while the Castilloa was able to be used the whole year. To begin the trading system, the Western territories began to obtain discourse with the Mestizos of the land which were know to be the more prestigious of the different groups residing in Ecuador. They became highly tied into the trading system that was created. There was fast money involved in this system that attracted the Mestizos. Economic prosperity seemed promising. As the rubber industry flourished many other factors came to surface in the system of Rubber production. Because of the high demand for rubber at the time, the Mestizos who became known as the Caucheros (rubber barons) decided that they needed to obtain an abundant amount of workers that would work for low wages. The indigenous population soon came to mind because of a couple of factors. One was due to the fact that they seemed the best fit to perform the labor. They knew the lands to which they would work on because of their long history of them living on the land. They were well adapted to the climate and was familiar with the means of survival like hunting and gathering. The enslavement of the Indigenous people soon became an epidemic. Natives were taken from their homes by a group called the Muchachos who were African men hired by the Caucheros to do their dirty work. They were in turn forced to work in the rubber industries by fear and intimidation and were put on a rubber quota in relation to a certain time period and were expected to meet the demands. If the requirements were not met they were punished. Punishments by the Muchachos were very severe and brutal. Common punishments including flogging, hanging, and being put into a cepo. When the workers were put into a cepo they were chained in pain inflicting positions and left without food and water for an extensive amount of time. More extreme punishments included the shooting of workers if they tried to escape or they became to ill to work. The pay for their hard labor was minimal. They were put on what was called a debt-penoage where they had to work for a long period of time in order to gain funds to pay back debt they owned to the Caucheros for supplies that were given to them for their daily tasks such as tools to work, clothes, and food. It most commonly lead them to work their whole life for the rubber barons due to the fact that very little money was compensated for their labor. They usually received a small item that they were able to keep such as a hammock, the rest was given straight to the employer. Government intervention was minimal to none because of bribery that lead local officials to overlook what was occurring and the fear of being attacked by the Indians. The end of the Rubber Boom was marked in 1920 when the prices of rubber diminished. The enslavement of the Indigenous people seized in association with this.