History of Manaus |
The capital of the largest staff of the country Amazonas is located on the average a watercourse of Amazon, at a confluence of it to the Riu-Negro. The drama history of Manaus is closely connected with гевеей - the basic natural rubber-bearing plant.
The sticky blackish sphere of the substance, named rubber, was known to Europeans since Columbus's times. The Spanish soldiers already then saw, how American Indian children were amused with rubber spheres. But only after Гудайер in 1840 has invented vulcanization, behind rubber the present hunting has begun.
In the end of XIX century the arising era of the car has demanded tyres, the world thirsted rubber, and Amazonia gave it only. Thousand adventurers have directed in hitherto unknown tiny small village Manaus in passionate desire quickly to grow rich. The former owners of a selva - Indians, having bought on cheap knickknacks, whisky there are some fabrics, have very quickly got to dependence on white newcomers without hope sometime to get out of debts. But hands did not suffice - death rate among colour slaves was very high. Then recruiters have addressed to white beggars on the dry earths and in hungry ports of the northeast. Money, spirit and fantastic promises have made the business - hundreds have started to arrive to Manaus and thousand full hopes серингейрос - collectors of rubber. The majority of them could die in a selva of an exhaustion, illnesses take-take, caused by a lack of vitamin В1, to be lost by hand the Indian or to get to one of traps of "a green hell".
And to Manaus in the meantime money flew the river. Million conditions were knocked together. Quarter of "red lanterns" became almost to the greatest in the world - in 1911 each two houses from three in Manaus were brothels. The city grew and grew fat. Here have started up the tram first in Latin America and have constructed an opera on 1400 places, ordered in England and delivered in parts in this wild edge, all of the marble, decorated with frescos. Now it is the main sight of Manaus. Its frescos are executed by the Italian masters, all furniture - French, marble - from Italy, ornaments from cast pig-iron are made in England.
All has ended, when, despite an interdiction, Englishman Uithem has taken out secretly seeds гевеи to South East Asia. Гевеи Colombo and Singapore to give began very soon rubber four times more than their wild ancestors in Amazonia, and it cost three times more cheaply. The prices for rubber in the world market have fallen several times, having put an end to a rubber fever. The come stagnation in economic development of Manaus has transformed it into "a dead city".
The second breath of a city has opened in 1967, after the announcement of a zone of free trade in Manaus. Workshops on gathering of hours and electrodevices, branches of jeweller firms the Dignity-paulu Here have quickly located, the shipyard and metallurgical combine have been constructed. Now Manaus - industrial and shopping centre of extensive territory of the Western Amazonia, the important sea and river port.
