The Zuruahã (also Suruahá , Indios do Coxodoá , and Suruwahá ) are an indigenous people of Brazil , living along the Purus River in the state of Amazonas .
87-514: The Zuruahã are an amalgamation of other tribes fleeing disease and violence, especially from the rubber boom . Some of the original Zuruahã traded with the rubber tappers but the tribe contracted influenza, resulting in a high death rate, from 1922 to 1924. The survivors withdrew away from non-native settlements. They enjoyed relative isolation from non-natives until the 1970s when missionaries and latex extractors entered their traditional territory. Daniel Everett reports that after first contact with
174-581: A slippery slope scenario in his style guide that, "if we do end by casting aside the AD/BC convention, almost certainly some will argue that we ought to cast aside as well the conventional numbering system [that is, the method of numbering years] itself, given its Christian basis." Some Christians are offended by the removal of the reference to Jesus, including the Southern Baptist Convention . The abbreviation BCE, just as with BC, always follows
261-583: A French astronomer recalled how Amerindians used rubber to waterproof shoes and cloaks. He brought several samples of rubber back to France. Rubber was used as an eraser by the British scientist Joseph Priestley , with "rubber" entering English parlance as a substitute for the term "eraser". It was not until the 1800s that practical uses of rubber were developed and the demand for rubber began. A rubber factory that made rubber garters for women opened in Paris, France, in
348-630: A generic sense, to refer to "the common era of the Jews". The first use of the phrase "before the common era" may be that in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms, in a translation of a book originally written in German. The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era and common era synonymously. In 1835, in his book Living Oracles , Alexander Campbell , wrote: "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini;
435-552: A key element for their survival. Zuruahã people speak the Zuruahã language , an Arawá language . This article related to an ethnic group in Brazil is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rubber boom The Amazon rubber cycle or boom ( Portuguese : Ciclo da borracha , Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈsiklu da buˈʁaʃɐ] ; Spanish: Fiebre del caucho , pronounced [ˈfjeβɾe ðel ˈkawtʃo] )
522-448: A legacy to this bright economic period, the recession caused by the end of the rubber boom left profound scars on the Amazon region. There was a massive loss of state tax income, high levels of unemployment, rural and urban emigration, and abandoned and unneeded housing. Those who remained in the region had few expectations for the future. Deprived of their income, the rubber workers remained in
609-602: A matter of convenience. There is so much interaction between people of different faiths and cultures – different civilizations, if you like – that some shared way of reckoning time is a necessity. And so the Christian Era has become the Common Era. Adena K. Berkowitz, in her application to argue before the United States Supreme Court , opted to use BCE and CE because, "Given the multicultural society that we live in,
696-475: A member of the family Euphorbiaceae . A white liquid called latex is extracted from the stem of the rubber tree, and contains rubber particles dispersed in an aqueous serum. The rubber, which constitutes about 35% of the latex, is chemically cis-1,4-polyisoprene ((C 5 H 8 ) n ). Latex is practically a neutral substance, with a pH of 7.0 to 7.2. However, when it is exposed to the air for 12 to 24 hours, its pH falls and it spontaneously coagulates to form
783-560: A navigation enterprise that linked the Mamoré and Madeira Rivers. Shortly afterwards, he realized the real difficulty of this undertaking. He changed the plans to construction of a railroad. Negotiations advanced and, by 1870, Church received permission from the Brazilian government to build a railroad along the rubber territories of the Madeira River. The Madeira–Mamoré Railroad became known as
870-685: A period of 138 years in which the traditional BC/AD dating notation was used. BCE/CE is used by the College Board in its history tests, and by the Norton Anthology of English Literature . Others have taken a different approach. The US-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism . The 2006 style guide for the Episcopal Diocese Maryland Church News says that BCE and CE should be used. In June 2006, in
957-539: A simple way to transport the rubber, the engineers José and Francisco Keller organized a large expedition. They explored the rubber region of the Madeira River to find the most productive region and the most effective course for the railroad. Although the idea of river navigation was complicated, in 1869, the North American engineer George Earl Church obtained from the Bolivian government a concession to create and explore
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#17328447771591044-567: A solid mass of rubber. Rubber produced in this fashion has disadvantages. For example, exposure to air causes it to mix with various materials, which is perceptible and can cause rot, as well as a temperature-dependent stickiness. Industrial treatment was developed to remove the impurities and vulcanize the rubber, a process that eliminated its undesirable qualities. This process gives it superior mechanical properties, and causes it to lose its sticky character, and become stable – resistant to solvents and variations in temperature. The rubber boom and
1131-593: A tyrant who persecuted Christians. He numbered years from an initial reference date (" epoch "), an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius labeled the column of the table in which he introduced the new era as " Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi " (Of the year of our Lord Jesus Christ]. This way of numbering years became more widespread in Europe with its use by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced
1218-480: Is a direct reference to Jesus as Lord . Proponents of the Common Era notation assert that the use of BCE/CE shows sensitivity to those who use the same year numbering system as the one that originated with and is currently used by Christians , but who are not themselves Christian. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has argued: [T]he Christian calendar no longer belongs exclusively to Christians. People of all faiths have taken to using it simply as
1305-481: Is in particularly common use in Nepal in order to disambiguate dates from the local calendar, Bikram or Vikram Sambat. Disambiguation is needed because the era of the local calendar is quite close to the Common Era. In 2002, an advisory panel for the religious education syllabus for England and Wales recommended introducing BCE/CE dates to schools, and by 2018 some local education authorities were using them. In 2018,
1392-532: The Government of Colombia issued a formal apology to the indigenous communities of the Amazon basin for allowing the forced enslavement and systematic brutality they endured during the rubber booms of the 19th and 20th centuries which, in the Amazon region of Colombia , resulted in the death of about 60,000 indigenous people. Anthropologist Klaus Rummenhoeller describes widespread prosecution of Bolivian natives, as
1479-642: The Gregorian calendar without the AD prefix. As early as 1825, the abbreviation VE (for Vulgar Era) was in use among Jews to denote years in the Western calendar. As of 2005 , Common Era notation has also been in use for Hebrew lessons for more than a century. Jews have also used the term Current Era . Some academics in the fields of theology , education , archaeology and history have adopted CE and BCE notation despite some disagreement. A study conducted in 2014 found that
1566-704: The National Trust said it would continue to use BC/AD as its house style. English Heritage explains its era policy thus: "It might seem strange to use a Christian calendar system when referring to British prehistory, but the BC/AD labels are widely used and understood." Some parts of the BBC use BCE/CE, but some presenters have said they will not. As of October 2019, the BBC News style guide has entries for AD and BC, but not for CE or BCE. The style guide for The Guardian says, under
1653-597: The date of birth of Jesus . Since the year numbers are the same, BCE and CE dates should be equally offensive to other religions as BC and AD. Roman Catholic priest and writer on interfaith issues Raimon Panikkar argued that the BCE/CE usage is the less inclusive option since they are still using the Christian calendar numbers and forcing it on other nations. In 1993, the English-language expert Kenneth G. Wilson speculated
1740-468: The "Devil's Railroad", on account of having caused the death of around six thousand workers (in legends said to be one dead worker per railroad tie attached to the rails), was constructed by the United States corporation of Percival Farquhar . The construction of the railroad began in 1907 during the government of Afonso Pena and was one of the most significant episodes in the history of the occupation of
1827-403: The 19th century, rubber began to exert a strong attraction to visionary entrepreneurs. The activity of latex extraction in the Amazon revealed its lucrative possibilities. Natural rubber soon achieved a place of distinction in the industries of Europe and North America, reaching a high price. This caused various people to travel to Brazil with the intention of learning more about the rubber tree and
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#17328447771591914-476: The Amazon, revealing the clear attempt to integrate it into the global marketplace via the commercialization of rubber. On April 30, 1912, the final stretch of the Madeira–Mamoré Railroad was belatedly completed. The occasion was commemorated by the arrival of the first train to the city of Guajará-Mirim, founded on that same day. First, the price of latex fell precipitously in the world market, making
2001-581: The BCE/CE notation is not growing at the expense of BC and AD notation in the scholarly literature, and that both notations are used in a relatively stable fashion. In 2011, media reports suggested that the BC/AD notation in Australian school textbooks would be replaced by BCE/CE notation. The change drew opposition from some politicians and church leaders. Weeks after the story broke, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority denied
2088-565: The Beni region, a U.S. minister said they were harsh but the scarcity of labor in the region made it less so than in the Putumayo. Many indigenous groups in Bolivia interned themselves into the jungle, abandoning their land and agriculture in the hopes of escaping the slavers. Many natives from the Beni, Madeira, and Mamoré regions were enslaved, so that they could work collecting rubber, or transportation along
2175-568: The Christian Era, it was sometimes qualified, e.g., "common era of the Incarnation", "common era of the Nativity", or "common era of the birth of Christ". An adapted translation of Common Era into Latin as Era Vulgaris was adopted in the 20th century by some followers of Aleister Crowley , and thus the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" may sometimes be seen as a replacement for AD. Although Jews have their own Hebrew calendar , they often use
2262-702: The Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: "2024 CE" and "AD 2024" each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression can be traced back to 1615, when it first appears in a book by Johannes Kepler as the Latin : annus aerae nostrae vulgaris ( year of our common era ), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in
2349-487: The Gregorian Calendar as BCE and CE without compromising their own beliefs about the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth." In History Today , Michael Ostling wrote: "BC/AD Dating: In the year of whose Lord? The continuing use of AD and BC is not only factually wrong but also offensive to many who are not Christians." Critics note the fact that there is no difference in the epoch of the two systems—chosen to be close to
2436-715: The Indian people of the Amazon during the height of the rubber boom were like nothing that had been seen since the first days of the Spanish Conquest. During the first rubber boom in Colombia, natives from the Cofán , Siona , Oyo , Coreguaje , Macaguaje , Kichwa , Teteté , Huitoto , and other nations were indebted and exploited as a work force by various patrons. The Caqueta , Putumayo, Napo and Vaupés Rivers were active areas of rubber extraction during this time period. On 23 April 2024,
2523-570: The Peruvian selvas inherited the memory of a catastrophe proportional to the genocides of the Final Solution and the Armenian massacres ." Rubber had catastrophic effects in parts of Upper Amazonia, but its impact should not be exaggerated nor extrapolated to the whole region. The Putumayo genocide was a particularly horrific case. Many nearby rubber regions were not ruled by physical violence, but by
2610-596: The Peruvian government in 1903 and 1906: these crimes were witnessed and reported by Catholic missionaries as well as several men employed by the Peruvian government. While writing in 1907, Charles R. Enock claimed that the Peruvian Government had, for a long time, been aware of the brutal exploitation of indigenous people by rubber merchants and collectors. Several government reports and articles written on this subject, both by travelers and government officials, were published prior to 1908. Enock stated that since
2697-489: The Peruvian rubber patrons employed two labor systems, one of these systems was referred to as enganche [ por deudas ], or hooking by debt. Enganche was typically employed with Mestizo workers, Varese wrote that the debt was "an eternal debt that the worker would never be able to repay." The second system of labor was used against indigenous people and entailed "simply enslaving" a large number of young indigenous men and women and then relocating them from their homeland. One of
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2784-496: The Putumayo region of Peru as a British consul from 1910 to 1911, documented the abuse, slavery, murder and use of stocks for torture against the natives: The crimes charged against many men now in the employ of the Peruvian Amazon Company are of the most atrocious kind, including murder, violation, and constant flogging. According to Wade Davis , author of One River : The horrendous atrocities that were unleashed on
2871-568: The Ucayali River and affected all of the indigenous groups in that area. The displacement and decimation of Conibo and Yine natives on the Ucayali and Urubamba River eventually led to the Asháninka demographic becoming the largest indigenous group in that region. Some native groups agreed to accept "advances" of supplies that rubber firms offered, in exchange these natives would extract rubber for
2958-547: The United States, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision to use BCE and CE in the state's new Program of Studies, leaving education of students about these concepts a matter of local discretion. The use of CE in Jewish scholarship was historically motivated by the desire to avoid the implicit "Our Lord" in the abbreviation AD . Although other aspects of dating systems are based in Christian origins, AD
3045-468: The ambassador Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brasil , in part financed by the "rubber barons," led to negotiations with Bolivia and the signing of the Treaty of Petropolis , signed November 17, 1903, during the government of president Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves . While it halted conflict with Bolivia, the treaty guaranteed effective control by Brazil of the forests of Acre . Brazil was given possession of
3132-450: The architecture and culture; and the two cities enjoyed their greatest economies and influence in the 19th century. The Amazon Basin was the source in the era for nearly 40% of all Brazil's exports. The new riches of Manaus made the city the world capital in the sale of diamonds. Thanks to rubber, the per capita income of Manaus was twice as much as the coffee-producing region ( São Paulo , Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo ). As payment for
3219-426: The associated need for a large workforce had a significant negative effect on the indigenous population across Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela , Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. As rubber plantations grew, labor shortages increased. The owners of the plantations or rubber barons were rich, but those who collected the rubber made very little as a large amount of rubber was needed to be profitable. The rubber barons rounded up all
3306-672: The beginning of rubber exploitation in the Peruvian Amazon, authorities were aware of the sale of indigenous people in Iquitos and else where, as well as the constant trafficking of indigenous women. Hildebrando Fuentes , the prefect of Loreto between 1904-1906, described the practice of Correrias , or slave raids in a report to his government. Fuentes noted that many of the indigenous people in Peru were being killed during these correrias and in writing he referred to these raids as "the great crime of
3393-462: The early 20th century. The phrase "common era", in lower case , also appeared in the 19th century in a "generic" sense, not necessarily to refer to the Christian Era, but to any system of dates in common use throughout a civilization. Thus, "the common era of the Jews", "the common era of the Mahometans", "common era of the world", "the common era of the foundation of Rome". When it did refer to
3480-408: The end of the 19th century. The Brasilian Army, led by José Plácido de Castro , was sent into the area to protect Brasilian resources. The newly proclaimed Brazilian republic was drawing a considerable profit from the lucrative rubber trade, but the "Acre question" (as the border conflicts caused by rubber extraction became known) preoccupied it. Intervention by the diplomat Barão do Rio Branco and
3567-428: The entry for CE/BCE: "some people prefer CE (common era, current era, or Christian era) and BCE (before common era, etc.) to AD and BC, which, however, remain our style". In the United States, the use of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks was reported in 2005 to be growing. Some publications have transitioned to using it exclusively. For example, the 2007 World Almanac was the first edition to switch to BCE/CE, ending
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3654-614: The export of rubber, the workers were paid in pounds sterling (£), the currency of the United Kingdom, which circulated in Manaus and Belém during this period. Developers in Bolivia in 1846 began to promote the idea of constructing a railroad along the Madeira and Mamoré Rivers, to reach ports on the Atlantic Ocean for its export products. It has never reached the coast. Rivers had long been
3741-573: The firms, and in this way many natives became indebted to these firms. Natives along the Ucayali and Urubamba that did not agree to extract rubber were often targeted by slave raids. By 1891, most of the Piro natives along the Urubamba were indebted to patrons. The work force in the form of slaves had at this time been converted into a commodity as part of the economy of the region. The correrías after indigenous slaves were common in all parts and involved all of
3828-527: The first four and a half centuries following the discovery of the New World , the native populations of the Amazon Basin lived practically in isolation. The area was vast and impenetrable, no gold or precious stones had been found there, as neither colonial Brazil nor imperial Brazil was able to create incentives for development in the region. The regional economy was based on use of diverse natural resources in
3915-486: The fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of which was but eight days", and also refers to the common era as a synonym for vulgar era with "the fact that our Lord was born on the 4th year before the vulgar era, called Anno Domini, thus making (for example) the 42d year from his birth to correspond with the 38th of the common era". The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) in at least one article reports all three terms (Christian, Vulgar, Common Era) being commonly understood by
4002-547: The full extent of the devastation caused by the rubber boom in this area may never be known. "Correrías" are rapid slave raids which became institutionalised during the rubber boom around the turn of the century, to obtain labourers for the rubber extraction. A patron would give a small group of slave hunters Winchester rifles, which were in great demand, in return for which Ashéninka settlements were attacked and all individuals potentially capable of working taken captive, that is, preferably children and young women, who were taken to
4089-436: The growth of cities such as Manaus and Belém , capitals within the respective Brazilian states of Amazonas and Pará , among many other cities throughout the region like Itacoatiara , Rio Branco , Eirunepé , Marabá , Cruzeiro do Sul and Altamira ; as well as the expansion of Iquitos in Peru, Cobija in Bolivia and Leticia in Colombia. The first rubber boom and genocides occurred largely between 1879 and 1912. There
4176-670: The indigenous groups of the Ucayali. With the booming economy of rubber extraction, in 1880 human exploitation and perversion reached new heights. Slave raids into the Peruvian side of the Madre de Dios River and its tributary the Manú River began around 1894. This was largely due to the development of the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald . Hundreds of natives from the Toyeri and Araseri ethnic groups were massacred around that time because they would either not allow
4263-476: The intentions of this forced relocation was to cultivate submission in the enslaved indigenous population. Elderly indigenous individuals were typically killed because they were unable to easily adapt to the new circumstances brought on by forced migrations and therefore they were viewed as disruptive elements. In certain areas of the Peruvian Amazon, correrías primarily captured women and children while men were eliminated. Beatriz Huertas Castillo wrote that this
4350-475: The key to navigation and travel through the Amazon Basin. An initial proposal was based on travel up the Mamoré in Bolivia and down the Madeira River in Brazil. However, the river course had substantial obstacles to industrial-level transport: twenty cataracts obstructed navigation. Constructing a railroad to bypass the problematic stretches of the rivers was the only solution. In 1867, in Brazil, also trying to develop
4437-423: The mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since the late 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications on the grounds that BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They have been promoted as more sensitive to non-Christians by not referring to Jesus , the central figure of Christianity , especially via the religious terms " Christ " and Dominus ("Lord") used by
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#17328447771594524-456: The mountain". These raids also managed to capture many indigenous people, which were then trafficked to Iquitos or nearby rubber camps. According to Fuentes, indigenous people were being sold at Iquitos for prices ranging between £30-£50 and the majority of the indigenous population in Iquitos consisted of people captured during the correrias. Anthropologist Søren Hvalkof stated that the correrias after native peoples were common in all areas of
4611-446: The municipal market, and the customs house , in the case of Manaus; and the fish market, the iron market, Teatro da Paz , corridors of mango trees, and various residential palaces in the case of Belém, constructed in large part by the intendant Antônio Lemos . These technologies and construction did not take place anywhere else in south and southeast Brazil of the time. The European influence later became notable in Manaus and Belém, in
4698-507: The natives and forced them to tap rubber out of the trees. One plantation started with 50,000 natives but, when discovered, only 8,000 were still alive. Slavery and systematic brutality were widespread, and in some areas, 90% of the native population was wiped out. These rubber plantations were part of the Brazilian rubber market, which declined as rubber plantations in Southeast Asia became more effective. For indigenous people throughout
4785-464: The other abbreviations. Nevertheless, its epoch remains the same as that used for the Anno Domini era. The idea of numbering years beginning from the date that he believed to be the date of birth of Jesus , was conceived around the year 525 by the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus . He did this to replace the then dominant Era of Martyrs system, because he did not wish to continue the memory of
4872-533: The outside world, some Zuruahá, including eight in a day, have begun to commit suicide by drinking curare . Pressures on their territories results in increased suicide by the Zuruahã. Sustained contact began in 1980. They are hunter-gatherers . In 1984, the Zuruahã Project was created to mitigate the adverse effects of outside contact on the Zuruahã people. In 2018 they were contacted to receive dental prostheses ,
4959-444: The patron as his personal property. Adult men were more difficult to control and thus they were preferably killed, to avoid witnesses and possible reprisals. These parties frequently consisted of Indians, who had long been subjugated by the patron through debt bondage. The Ashéninka, Yíne and Conibo were all active in these correrías. But colonists also participated as leaders of raiding parties. Anthropologist Stefano Varese noted that
5046-473: The peaceful resolution of this issue, the capital of Acre was named Rio Branco after the Brazilian diplomat. Two of the municipalities in the state were named Assis Brasil and Plácido de Castro , after the ambassador and another key figure. Belém , the capital of Pará state, as well as Manaus , the capital of Amazonas , were the most developed and prosperous cities in Brazil during the rubber boom. They were located in strategic sites, and prominent men in
5133-493: The periphery of Manaus, searching for new work. Because of the lack of housing, in the 1920s they built the cidade flutuante ("floating city"), a type of residence that was consolidated in the 1960s. Common Era Common Era ( CE ) and Before the Common Era ( BCE ) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar ), the world's most widely used calendar era . Common Era and Before
5220-422: The practice of dating years before what he supposed was the year of birth of Jesus, without a year zero . In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius. The term "Common Era" is traced back in English to its appearance as " Vulgar Era" to distinguish years of the Anno Domini era, which was in popular use, from dates of the regnal year (the year of
5307-443: The process of latex extraction, from which they hoped to make their fortunes. Because of the growth of rubber extraction, industrial processing and related activities, numerous cities and towns swelled on waves of immigrants. In 1855, over 2,100 tons of rubber was exported from the Amazon; a figure which reached 10,000 tons by 1879. Belém and Manaus were transformed and urbanized. Manaus was the first Brazilian city to be urbanized and
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#17328447771595394-542: The railroad, but as of December 1, 2006, the work remains unstarted. The Madeira–Mamoré Railroad, finished in 1912, arrived too late. The train was no longer profitable after the price of rubber fell. The Amazon was already losing primacy in rubber production, as the British government had planted rubber trees in its colonies in Malaysia , Sri Lanka , and tropical Africa. These rubber trees were planted from seeds that Henry Wickham had smuggled out of Brazil in 1876. In 1899 it
5481-515: The rails, leveled ground, and bridges, reclaiming a large part of the way that people had insisted on clearing to construct the railroad. The railroad was partially taken out of service in the 1930s and completely in 1972. That year the Trans-Amazonian highway (BR-230) opened. Today, from a total of 364 km of length of railway, about seven remain in active use, used for tourist purposes. The people of Rondonia have fought for revitalization of
5568-610: The region by Bolivia in exchange for territories in Mato Grosso , a payment of two million pounds sterling, and the compromise of constructing the railroad to connect to the Madeira River. This would enable Bolivia to transport its goods, primarily rubber, to the Brazilian ports of the Atlantic at the mouth of the Amazon River . Initially Belém in Pará was designated as the destination. Because of
5655-404: The region, but development was concentrated in coastal areas. The Industrial Revolution in Europe led to demand for uses that natural rubber could satisfy. At that time, it was exclusively found in the Amazon Basin. It was a desirable commodity, valued at a high price, and thought to create wealth and dividends for whoever would dare invest in the trade. From the beginning of the second half of
5742-503: The reign of a sovereign) typically used in national law. (The word 'vulgar' originally meant 'of the ordinary people', with no derogatory associations. ) The first use of the Latin term anno aerae nostrae vulgaris may be that in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler . Kepler uses it again, as ab Anno vulgaris aerae , in a 1616 table of ephemerides , and again, as ab anno vulgaris aerae , in 1617. A 1635 English edition of that book has
5829-469: The result of Nicolás Suarez 's company around 1902. The region was scoured for labor from multiple slave raids. The raids resulted in the destruction of homes, the capture of men, women, as well as the killing of children and the elderly. British minister Cecil Gosling stayed in the Suárez estates for five months, and referred to the labor system as "undisguised slavery." In response to the slavery allegations in
5916-541: The rivers. Some of the exploited groups include: Mojos , Tacana , Araona , Harakmbut , Mashcho-Piro , and Cashinahua . Pando is Bolivia's only department fully covered by the Amazon vegetation. The worst abuses against the indigenous populations of Venezuela during the rubber boom occurred under Tomás Funes starting in 1913. Over the next nine years, Tomás Funes and his armed gang destroyed dozens of Ye'kuana villages, and killed thousands of Ye'kuana natives. Other villages were either resettled, or fragmented. For
6003-456: The rubber "balls", before sending them downriver. Flight into the thicket was a successful survival strategy and, because natives were engaged in credit relations, it was a relatively common practice to vanish and work for other patrons, leaving debts unpaid. Reports of enslavement and barbaric crimes perpetrated by rubber merchants on the Ucayali and Marañón Rivers first came to the attention of
6090-411: The rubber industry built their numerous and wealthy residences in each. These citizens created the demand that led to both cities being electrified and given running water and sewers. Their apogee was reached between 1890 and 1920, when they acquired electric trams, avenues built on cleared gullies, as well as imposing and luxurious buildings, such as the polished Teatro Amazonas , the government palace,
6177-483: The rubber patrons to pass through their lands, or they would not agree to extract rubber for these patrons. Most of the Mashco-Piro demographic was slaughtered in 1894. Some of the surviving Mashco-Piro, Toyeri and Araseri natives were pressured into fleeing from their ancestral territory. An unknown number of their villages were destroyed, and this region was never subjected to a systematic inquiry or investigation so
6264-576: The rumours and stated that the BC/AD notation would remain, with CE and BCE as an optional suggested learning activity. In 2013, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Canadian Museum of History) in Gatineau (opposite Ottawa ), which had previously switched to BCE/CE, decided to change back to BC/AD in material intended for the public while retaining BCE/CE in academic content. The notation
6351-461: The second to be electrified (the first was Campos dos Goytacazes , in Rio de Janeiro). The increase in uncontrolled extraction of rubber was increasing tensions and close to provoking an international conflict. The Brazilian workers advanced further and further into the forests in the territory of Bolivia in search of new rubber trees for extraction, creating conflicts and skirmishes on the frontier towards
6438-480: The staff of his Peruvian Amazon Company . These criminals gained total control over the Putumayo by 1908, maintaining around 40 plantations. The managers of these plantations imposed a quota onto the natives: and failing to meet quota could have resulted in flagellation, dismemberment, or execution on the spot. Even though 237 arrest warrants were issued for employees of the company, very few faced any justice for their crimes. Roger Casement , an Irishman traveling
6525-488: The title page in English that may be the earliest-found use of Vulgar Era in English. A 1701 book edited by John Le Clerc includes the phrase "Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra, 6". The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives 1716 as the date of first use of the term "vulgar era" (which it defines as Christian era). The first published use of "Christian Era" may be the Latin phrase annus aerae christianae on
6612-480: The title page of a 1584 theology book, De Eucharistica controuersia . In 1649, the Latin phrase annus æræ Christianæ appeared in the title of an English almanac. A 1652 ephemeris may be the first instance found so far of the English use of "Christian Era". The English phrase "Common Era" appears at least as early as 1708, and in a 1715 book on astronomy it is used interchangeably with "Christian Era" and "Vulgar Era". A 1759 history book uses common æra in
6699-572: The trade of rubber from the Amazon unviable. Also, the transport of products that could have been transported by the Madeira–Mamoré Railroad were taken by two other railroads, one in Chile and the other in Argentina, and the Panama Canal , which became active on August 15, 1914. Added to this, the natural factor, the Amazon forest, with its high level of rainfall and rapid growth, destroyed entire stretches of
6786-486: The traditional Jewish designations – B.C.E. and C.E. – cast a wider net of inclusion." In the World History Encyclopedia , Joshua J. Mark wrote "Non-Christian scholars, especially, embraced [CE and BCE] because they could now communicate more easily with the Christian community. Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist scholars could retain their [own] calendar but refer to events using
6873-503: The tropical world, white sails on the ocean's horizon have often presaged death. For the Indians in the Amazon's green 'ocean' in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, death was heralded by the arrival of steam launches or gunboats bearing armed men hungry for rubber. Technology had moved on from the time of the conquistadors, and killing and slave-driving had become more efficient. Reclusive tribesmen living today in remote corners of
6960-459: The voluntary compliance implicit in patron-peon relations . Some native peoples benefited financially from their dealings with the white merchants. Others chose not to participate in the rubber business and stayed away from the main rivers. Because tappers worked in near complete isolation, they were not burdened by overseers and timetables. In Brazil (and probably elsewhere) tappers could, and did, adulterate rubber cargoes, by adding sand and flour to
7047-404: The world market and demand for it fell. This rapidly resulted in the stagnation of the regional economy. There was a lack of entrepreneurial or governmental vision to find alternatives for development. The "rubber barons" and economic elite followed the money, leaving the region to seek their next fortunes elsewhere. Although the railroad and the cities of Porto Velho and Guajará-Mirim remained as
7134-440: The year 1803. However, the material still had disadvantages: at room temperature, it was sticky. At higher temperatures, the rubber became softer and stickier, while at lower temperatures it became hard and rigid. The South American natives first discovered rubber; sometime dating back to 1600 BCE . The indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest developed ways to extract rubber from the rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ),
7221-475: Was a located near the border of Colombia and Peru. Between the Andoques , Boras , and Huitoto populations over 40,000+ natives were wiped out for rubber profits. Slave raids were a common practice where many were killed or captured. Many of the natives died from starvation, which was used as a punishment against them at times. The worst perpetrators of the genocide include the rubber baron Julio César Arana and
7308-571: Was an important part of the socioeconomic history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related to the commercialization of rubber and the genocide of indigenous peoples. Centered in the Amazon Basin , the boom resulted in a large expansion of colonization in the area, attracting immigrant workers and causing cultural and social transformations. Crimes against humanity were committed against local indigenous societies, including slavery, rape, torture and genocide. It encouraged
7395-526: Was because: "they would never form as malleable a workforce as the children, who were more easily and fully assimilated". One of the most atrocious cases of abuses during the first rubber boom, culminated in the Putumayo genocide. From the 1870s until the mid-1910s Colombians and Peruvians enslaved and exploited the indigenous population of the Putumayo River . During the rubber boom, the Putumayo River
7482-514: Was estimated by John Ferguson that there were between 1,500 and 1,600 acres of land cultivated with various different types of rubber trees in Ceylon alone. These plantations were able to produce latex with greater efficiency and productivity . Consequently, with lower costs and a lower final price, the British Empire assumed control of the world rubber market . The Amazon's rubber was undercut in
7569-478: Was heightened rubber production and associated activities again from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War . Natural rubber is an elastomer , also known as tree gum, India rubber, and caoutchouc , which comes from the rubber tree in tropical regions. Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to bring news of this odd substance back to Europe, but he was not the only one to report it. Around 1736,
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