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Rubber: Commodity of Modernity

Hermis Reyes

 

Rubber’s global impact is understated throughout history in comparison to steel, oil, and sugar. While this modern commodity is not utilized throughout most of human history, it significantly contributes to the development of modern industry through the emergence of the motor vehicle industry. As a result, many should find themselves asking: What is rubber and where does it come from? The commercial history of rubber is a tale of external experimentation occurring at the expense of the tree-producers in the tropical belt.​

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Rubber at its most raw form, latex, was prevalent throughout forested tropical regions. The commodity came from milk or latex yielding plants. The most important rubber producing trees came from Central and South America, so Spanish sources had the earliest accounts of its existence (Stevens 1). While the commercially efficient Brazilian rubber-producing trees were the most sought after during the early rubber boom, the successful introduction of rubber to Asia shifted the balance of rubber production to the east. From 1876 to 1881, the seeds were taken to London, then Sri Lanka (Ceylon), then Burma, and first flowered in Singapore (Stevens 9). These trees have come to span India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the Malay Archipelago, parts of Africa, South America, and Central America. Throughout the nineteenth century most of the crude rubber was concentrated in forested Africa and Latin America. Along with the Eastern introduction, the increase in rubber demand led to an increase in tapping, spreading deeper into Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, and Africa (Knorr 9). The milky substance that was produced by these trees had particles of varying size suspended within serum (Stevens 4). The ‘resin’ mixture differed in composition depending on the tree that it came from (Stevens 6). Therefore, the resin of each tree varied in use, composition, and quality. The multiple types​

Extraction of latex from rubber tree

of resin fostered experimentation and the search for the strongest and most durable nature of rubber.

 

Geographical conditions limited the cultivation of rubber trees to the tropical regions of the globe. The trees grew better in moist, warm, and low habitats. If they were planted at higher altitudes, tree growth slowed and the process of rubber extraction became commercially inefficient (Stevens 11). This constrained economy can be seen in Brazil, where the trees are tapped during the dry season: suitable trees were cut while cups collected dripping latex. Once full, the cups poured into larger vessels. The rubber was produced with the help of nut-fed fires adjacent to these vessels. Paddles dipped into the latex and it adhered. The paddles were held over the dense smoke until the latex coagulated. The thin rubber layer formed was one of many layers overlapping each other until the rubber turned into a loaf. Once the loaves were produced, they were exported elsewhere for further refining and manipulation (Stevens 8). These loaves came in different qualities with different smells; each loaf had its use depending on its consistency. If it was soft and plastic-like, it could be used as a softener in rubber manufacturing (Stevens 8-9). As a result, refiners and manufacturers, unlike the loaf producers and latex collectors, had the leeway to experiment with these loaves and produce something that could be commercially viable.​

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The experimental development of rubber allowed for different types of rubber, which could be used for a variety of purposes. The ability to manipulate rubber material expanded the commodity chain’s global reach substantially. Rubber’s uniqueness came from its flexibility, allowing it to be a commodity that spanned various industries. Given its initial sensitivity to high temperatures, raw rubber was not an ideal material. If it was not for constant trial and error, these inherent difficulties would not have been overcome. Just like silver and rice, rubber extraction process required knowledge and skilled labor. Therefore, its commodification took time (Stevens 2). As it was introduced to the East, raw rubber would be stored in the ports of London and Liverpool (Stevens 39). Before the rubber could be used, dry loaves were placed in steaming water tanks until softened to a desired consistency (Stevens 39-40). This process purified the rubber that could have potentially harmed business with adverse chemical reactions. Even in the beginning of the commodity chain, there were many requirements to be met before rubber could be safely obtained and transported for export. The waterproofing and manipulation of raw rubber eventually made it commercially viable, but who was credited for this discovery? In 1839 American Charles Goodyear heated rubber with sulphur and discovered a chemical reaction that removed its seasonal sensitivity, strengthened it, and improved its elasticity. Yet British Thomas Hancock independently discovered this same process and patented it as vulcanization before Goodyear could take credit (Stevens 2). Vulcanization proved to be so influential that most modern rubber goods are obtained through this process (Stevens 2-3). The compounding of certain materials further reinforced rubber during vulcanization. The ​

One of the primary uses for unvulcanized rubber is in cable production.

smaller the particle size, the more valuable the compounded material has (Stevens 63). Compounding’s effect on the hardness of rubber made it difficult to obtain a standardized rubber from the vulcanization process. Given the multiplicity of uses to which rubber was put, obtaining rubber that was appropriate for specific purposes required an understanding of various production processes.

 

When the foundations of rubber experimentation were set by the mid-1840s, the commodity chain had blossomed in various directions. “In all industrially advanced countries [rubber became the most essential material] in peace and war … Amazingly versatile, it [entered] into factory and household, farm and transportation facilities, peacetime goods and implements of war” (Knorr 3). When rubber hit the global market there was no doubt that its versatility gave it a big advantage in global trade. By 1925, the growing auto industry caused global tensions with British attempts at monopolizing South East Asian rubber (Grandin 29). Once vulcanized it could be put towards many uses. There is a large class known in the trade as ‘mechanicals,’ which include such rubber goods used for mechanical purposes, such as buffers, hose, [tires], etc.” (Stevens 82). All these products impacted modern infrastructure and greatly contributed to human quality of life. There were also rubber rings and elastic bands (Stevens 95). Even pre-vulcanized rubber found its uses in electrical cabling since vulcanized rubber has a dangerous reaction to copper (Stevens 107). Additionally, it crept into fashion with the creation of overshoes or galoshes (Stevens 115). Most surprisingly, rubber also has a variety of uses in dentistry, where it is used for teeth molding (Stevens 96).​

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Overall, with its varying consistencies, rubber continues to be one of the most influential modern global commodities alongside steel and oil. The initial discovery of rubber in South America and subsequent tropical habitats would lead to a colonial intermingling with their occupied habitats. The intermingling, along with the mercantile nature of these colonies, initiated the experimentation of rubber in America and Europe in its journey to become commercially viable. From these industrialized countries, vulcanization was conceived and acted as a catalyst for the increasing versatility of rubber. Rubber as humans know it would not have existed without this mercantile development. As such, once malleable, rubber bared its economic strength with its innate insulation and varying consistencies. When products like tires, elastic bands, erasers, and cables are brought up, it becomes understandable how such a flexible material could become a global phenomenon. With this global reach, rubber pushed humanity into a post-industrial age of engineering that vastly improved quality of life throughout the globe.

 

Bibliography

 

  • Grandin, Greg. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City. London: Icon, 2010.

  • Knorr, Klaus. World Rubber and Its Regulation. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1945.

  • Stevens, H. P, and W. H Stevens. Rubber Production and Utilization of the Raw Product. 4th ed. London: Sir I. Pitman & sons, ltd, 1934.

The tire industry consumes most of the vulcanized rubber produced.

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