It was established by american industrialist henry ford in the amazon. The early troubles of fordlandia partly had to do with the fact that the plantation was under the supervision of. He anticipated a new revenue stream that would produce enough rubber to make tires for. He thought he could perfect society by building model.
Deep in brazils amazon, exploring the ruins of fords. Proving that truth can indeed be stranger than fiction, fordlandia is the story of henry fords illadvised attempt to transform raw brazilian rainforest into homespun slices of americana. In the early 20th century, a cartel of dutch and english rubber barons had a stranglehold on the vast majority of the worlds supply of rubber. Fordlandia was created as the brainchild of one of the worlds most ambitious industrialists, and it failed. Conheca fordlandia, a cidade construida pela ford na amazonia. Feb 20, 2017 the town of fordlandia, founded in 1928 by henry ford, stands as a crumbling testament to the folly of trying to bend the jungle to the will of man. Fordlandia ghost town 2020 all you need to know before you. Ahora esalta como una disneylandia en mitad del polo norte. See fordlandia photos and images from satellite below, explore the aerial photographs of fordlandia in brazil. Jul 19, 2009 fordlandia was a commercial enterprise, intended to extract raw material for the production of motor cars, but it was framed as a civilizing mission, an attempt to build the ideal american society. Fordlandia was a commercial enterprise, intended to extract raw material for the production of motor cars, but it was framed as a civilizing mission, an. The story of fordlandia itself is pretty simple but at the same time the book is wellresearched and there are a lot of interesting snippets and asides to keep the readers interests.
Fordlandia tells the story of henry fords settlement in the amazon, a model of inept planning and design. I do not doubt they are in part correct just that they could be presented more convincingly. Our character is now a brazilian woman, who experienced an intense and forbidden love with an american project manager of fordlandia. This is a fine book, both a merciless expose of misplaced idealism and a detailed study of the economic. Thanks to author greg grandin for his excellent book fordlandia. Companhia ford do brasil, fordlandia estate map, 1936 ford. Today in detroit usa, an american woman trying to understand her recurring dreams and searching for explanations, she finds out that she lived another life in the early 30ies during fordlandias construction saga by henry ford. Few people are aware that henry ford tried to build the worlds largest rubber plantation on the banks of the amazon river. Readers of greg grandins fordlandia, which was a finalist for the.
The goal of setting up the ford motor company of brazil was twofold. The rise and fall of henry fords forgotten jungle city greg grandin isbn. Companhia ford do brasil, fordlandia estate map, 1936, ford motor. At that time the sole source of rubber was the south american tree hevea brasiliensis, whose sap is natural latex.
Complete with whitewashed americanstyle houses set on impeccably manicured lawns, shaded patios, and treelined streets dotted with pretty churches, he called it fordlandia and it was to become the worlds largest rubber production centre. The plan was to harvest the rubber and ship it back to detroit, where it would be turned into tires and other parts for ford cars. Fordlandia hotels map is available on the target page linked above. However, there was a novel written about fordlandia fordlandia. The album was released on 3 november 2008 via 4ad, his second new release for the record label following 2006s ibm 1401, a users manual. The rise and fall of henry fords forgotten jungle city ebook. It is located on the east banks of the tapajos river roughly 300 kilometres 190 mi south of the city of santarem. The rise and fall of henry fords forgotten jungle city by greg grandin. It was established by american industrialist henry ford in the. Fordlandia ebook by greg grandin 97814299380 rakuten kobo.
The plantations of fordlandia and belterra were two attempts by the ford motor company from 19281945 to establish a permanent rubber plantation presence in brazil. In 1927, ford acquired land in northern brazil, and envisioned creating a booming rubber plantation and town. Even by pregreen standards, the arrogance and ignorance is shocking. While what was happening elsewhere in the ford empire and in the private life of the man himself was interesting, i wasnt always entirely sure that it pertained.
I found the book surprisingly wellwritten and easy to engage, wanting to read more and more. Much has already been written about henry fords illfated amazonian experiment, fordlandia. With sales of his modelt booming, the automotive tycoon saw an opportunity to expand his reach further by exploiting a downtrodden brazilian rubber industry. The rise and fall of henry fords forgotten jungle city. Henry holt books are available for special promotions and premiums. Fordlandia on flickr historic images from the benson ford research center, a library and archive located at the henry ford museum. In the late 1920s, automobile tycoon henry ford transplanted a little piece of the united states to the middle of brazils amazon jungle.
Sua historia e fantastica gira em torno do grande henry ford, o fabricante dos carros americanos mais populares da epoca 1908 o ford model t. Ford paid the indigenous workers good wages and supplied various amenities he also imposed foreign work traditions and behavioral restrictions which the workers resented. The suburb henry ford built in the amazon rainforest duration. The rise and fall of henry fords forgotten jungle city democracy now, broadcast 2 july 2009, video and discussion transcript available. Sawmill, firehouse and water tower in fordlandia, brazil, historical images via the henry ford. Apr 27, 2010 greg grandin is the author of fordlandia, empires workshop, the last colonial massacre, and the awardwinning the blood of guatemala. Fordlandia photos featured images of fordlandia, pa. Fordlandia henry fords forgotten jungle city failure.
On one side was the car magnate, lean, austere, the man who reduced industrial production to its simplest motions. Fordlandia, brazil american geographical society library. It didnt quite work for various reasons that this book details, but it is a fascinating journey. But henry ford wanted this community called fordlandia to be more than just a huge plantation. Greg grandin is the author of fordlandia, empires workshop, the last colonial massacre, and the awardwinning the blood of guatemala.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. Thats why weve partnered with local experts to help you plan and book tailormade trips that are packed with personality and stimulating adventure at all levels of comfort. So until now there hasnt been a book length treatment. Fordlandia, as the settlement was called, quickly became the site of an epic clash. Heute bildet es mit rund 1200 bezirksbewohnern 2010. He began shipping machinery and supplies to the amazon in 1928. The failure of fords jungle utopia henry ford didnt just want to be a maker of cars he wanted to be a maker of men. Henry ford established fordlandia and belterra in the brazilian rainforest to supply rubber for automobile production. Fordlandia was his vision of putting the american suburbs in the brazilian jungle. Plantation manager john rogge with young rubber trees in. Aug 19, 2016 fordlandia was created as the brainchild of one of the worlds most ambitious industrialists, and it failed. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the dates you selected. Fordlandia the rise and fall of henry fords forgotten.
The album is thematically influenced by the failure of henry fords brazilian rubber plant fordlandia. I read somewhere that he set out to write a nonfiction account, but that the craziness of it all led him to fictionalize the story. Brazilian presented them with a roughdrawn map of the property, which. At rough guides, we understand that experienced travellers want to get truly offthebeatentrack. Fordlandia also tells equally fascinating stories of creation and destruction that are less well known than fords. Fordlandia is the sixth fulllength studio album by icelandic musician johann johannsson. Henry fords failed rubber plantation in the middle of the amazon rain forest.
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