Rubber soldiers ( Portuguese: ''Soldados da borracha'') were people in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

who were compulsorily drafted to harvest

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

."Brazil 'rubber soldiers' fight for recognition - Americas - International Herald Tribune"
by Larry Rohter, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 13, 2006 (retrieved Feb 11, 2013) The "rubber soldiers" program was a consequence of the

Brazil-United States Political-Military Agreement The Brazil-United States Political-Military Agreement (, Washington Accords) which came into an effect on 23 May 1942, was a prelude to formal entering of Brazil into World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 ...

during the war, after the United States was cut off by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

from its major supply of rubber in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. About 55,000 persons were mostly transferred from

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

-stricken northeast areas and contributed to the second

rubber boom The Amazon rubber cycle or boom (, ; , ) 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. Cente ...

in Brazil."Exército da borracha"
''Época'', March 26, 2004 (retrieved February 12, 2013) They were enlisted into the ''Serviço Especial de Mobilização de Trabalhadores para a Amazônia'' (SEMTA; "Special Service of Mobilization of Workers for the Amazon"), with support of several other governmental organizations. Each migrant signed a contract with SEMTA which offered a small salary for the worker during their transport to the Amazon region. Upon arrival, they received a payment of 60% of the total profit which had been obtained with the rubber. The basic kit they received included basic clothing, eating equipment, a net, and a carton of cigarettes. After being recruited, the volunteers were placed in specially-built housing, under strict military watch, and then sent into the Amazon, on trips which could last two to three months. For many workers, it was a one-way journey. About 26,000 rubber workers died in the Amazon, after having exhausted their energies extracting the "white gold." They died of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, yellow fever, and

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

,
New York Times:Manaus Journal, For the Rubber Soldiers of Brazil, Rubber Checks
and were attacked by animals such as jaguars, snakes, and scorpions. The Brazilian government also did not fulfill its promise to return the "rubber soldiers" to their homes at the end of the war as heroes and with housing comparable to that of the military.

References

Brazil in World War II Economic history of Brazil {{Brazil-hist-stub

See also

References