The history of natural rubber in Brazil is a tale that is just as exciting as the Gold Rush in the USA. For almost fifty years - during the second half of the XIX century through to the second decade of the XX century - natural rubber underpinned one of the most important development booms in Brazil. At that time, the Industrial Revolution was expanding rapidly as the world lived through a time of prosperity and discoveries that was reflected in all sectors. Automobiles, trams, telephones, electric light and other innovations changed the landscapes and customs of towns and cities. New markets opened up. This was the Belle Époque period, whose splendor has been portrayed in literature and film for subsequent generations.
Thanks to its multiple applications, particularly in the expanding automobile industry, rubber produced from latex tapped from rubber-trees became a product in demand worldwide. And there was no lack of rubber-trees in the Brazilian Amazon. This brought a boom to Northern Brazil - which at that time was one of the poorest and least-inhabited parts of the country. Eager to work the rubber-groves of Amazonia, leading foreign banks and companies set up shop in the towns of Belém and Manaus.