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Henry Ford built 'Fordlandia,' a utopian city inside Brazil's Amazon rainforest that's now abandoned — take a look around. Katie Canales. Updated. Feb 10, 2020, 6:56 AM PST. The Fordlandia water ...
- The Rise of Rubber
- Ford Sets His Sights on Brazil
- The Founding of Fordlândia
- Fordlândia’S Workers Revolt
- The End of Fordlândia
With the invention of the pneumatic tire and the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century, horseless carriages were, at last, a reality. But for years, the car remained the preserve of the wealthy and the privileged, leaving working and middle-class people to rely on trains, horses, and shoe leather. That all changed in the 1908, when Ford’...
In a move that now seems blatantly dystopian, Ford named his rubber town Fordlândia. Ignorant of the difficulties of creating a British-style rubber plantation in the Amazon, Ford reasoned that rubber ought to be grown in its natural homeland, Brazil. In fact, Brazilian officials had been courting Ford for years to attract his interest to rubber gr...
In 1928, the British backed out of the Stevenson Plan, once again leaving rubber prices to the free market. The plan to begin rubber production in the Amazon no longer made financial sense, but Ford carried on with his vision nevertheless. Ford secured 2.5 million acres of free land, promising to pay 7% of Fordlândia’s profits to the Brazilian gove...
The 3,000 local employees of the Companhia Ford Industrial do Brasilhad come to work for the eccentric industrialist expecting to be paid the $5 their northern counterparts enjoyed, and thinking they would be able to live their lives much as they had before. Instead, they were dismayed to learn that they would receive $0.35 per day. They were force...
In 1933, the Ford Company’s management shifted most of its rubber production 80 miles downriver to Belterra, where factional rivalries within the company continued to hinder productivity as the effort struggled on. By 1940, only 500 employees remained at Fordlândia, while 2,500 worked at the new site in Belterra. Employees at Belterra weren’t subje...
- Morgan Dunn
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Jun 6, 2009 · Fordlandia: Henry Ford's Jungle City Henry Ford didn't just want to be a maker of cars — he wanted to be a maker of men. He thought he could perfect society by building model factories and ...
Jul 28, 2023 · A view of Fordlândia, founded almost a century ago by Henry Ford, who envisioned an oasis of civilization in the remote Brazilian Amazon. (Video: Rafael Vilela) FORDLÂNDIA, Brazil — When he ...
Jul 19, 2023 · Later, Ford's son took over the business and sold Fordlandia back to the Brazilian government for a pittance in a matter of weeks. Today the city still stands abandoned as a little-known forgotten chapter in the history of the Ford Motor Company. By 1945, Ford had spent more than 200 million dollars (in today’s terms) on his dream project.
Aug 4, 2009 · Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City By Greg Grandin Hardcover, 432 pages Metropolitan Books List Price: $27.50. Read An Excerpt
Aug 2, 2023 · Inside Henry Ford’s abandoned jungle town deep in the Amazon. W hen he was a young man, Luiz Magno Ribeiro felt nothing but pride in his city. It was, he believed, the most miraculous town in ...
