The Rubber Boom (1870 -1918)

Originally, all rubber was produced from the latex of three Amazonian tree species (Hevea brasiliensis, Hevea guyanensis and Castilloa elastica). By the end of the 19th century demand by industrialized nations for the manufacture of water resistant coatings and car tyres had led to a rubber boom.

The Peruvian rubber boom began in the north of the country, where it fuelled the growth of ports such as Iquitos and Yurimaguas. It did not arrive in Madre de Dios until the beginning of the 20th century, as access to the area was extremely difficult.

In the 1890s the efforts of Carlos Fitzcarrald linked the river systems of the Urubamba and Manu, making access to the southern forests possible from the north. The first era of colonisation had begun. Transport costs remained high, however, until a trans-Andean route was opened up in 1906 from Puno to Astillero on the Upper Tambopata River. Rubber extraction intensified thereafter and Madre de Dios became a major producer, responsible in 1915 for 23% of Peru's total production.

The rubber boom ended as suddenly as it had begun with the establishment of rubber plantations in East Asia using seeds stolen from Peru by the Englishman Henry A. Wickham in 1876. The area's importance quickly declined and workers left Madre de Dios in the thousands.