The Amazon Rain Forest in the Future of the World

I

THE FUTU E F THE W

tsBN

85-89357-01-5

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LEI DE INCENTIVO A

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MINISTE,nTo DA CUTIURA

LEI DE

INCENTIVO A CUTTURA

MINISTE,RIO DA (]I.J TURA

Apoio lnstitucional Prefeitura do Municipio de Sio Paulo

PRESENTATION

"In fact, citizenship goes far beyond speeches. Citizenship incl udes a respectful relation with the environment without the false pretexts of preservation that cast aside human beings or prevent their responsible access to the wealth it generates. Men of vision have long perceived this. Antonio Espfrito Santo was one of these vision aries. In this sense,

The Amazon Rain Forest in the Future of the World is emblematic: t he experience of the author, who lived in the region from 1951 to 1960, is openly shared without prejudice. BM&F, SCHAHIN GROUP and COMOLATII GROUP are proud to support this fo urth edition of his work. As put by the author himself, "we are often astonished at the limited knowledge the foreigners have of our country, when we ourselves know so little about it. "

The Amazon Rain Forest in the Future of the World is an excellent gateway to this special knowledge providing great insights into what biodiversity tru ly is, and how one of the most beautiful regions in the world can be explored wi t h resp ect. One can also take great delight in Leonide Principe's superb images. We hope that this posthumous edition serves as a starting point for a great conscientious and democratic, prejudice-free discussion, and that through this book we can practice our citizenship even more.

The Editor

THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST FROM 1956 TO 2002 The author had a happy inspiration : he entered the core of the essential character of Brazil, trying to discover Amazonia for Brazilians. This discovery is a virgin sector. There is a lot yet to be discovered . The author penetrated deep into the Amazon Rain Forest. He didn't go in search of landscapes; he traveled all over this splendorous laboratory of Nature where God seems insatiable of phantasmagoric forms and is still testing the strength of his creative genius. In this way, the author tried to show Amazonia to Brazilians . And he left a legacy to be rescued. The first edition of this book was published in the early 50s . The author moved to Manaus in 1951, when the city lived a life isolated from the world and was immersed in the Amazon Rain Forest. Transportation was by water (Amazonia has the largest hydrographic basin in the world) and the air connections were made by the former Pan Air of Brazil "Catalinas PBY-5 A ", interconnecting the most remote localities in the region (such as these towns in the Amazon Rain Forest: Tefe, Tabatinga, Eirunepe, Moura, Pari-Cachoeira - a religious mission - among others), and by regular air lines flying to other places of the country. Public illumination came from power plants propelled by diesel oil. Manaus was one of the first Brazilian towns to have public illumination, which was an investment carried out by the industrialists of that time, result of good business with industrialization of rubber. When the author went there, the cycle of wealth brought about by rubber was almost over. Amazonia had not awoken yet to its greatness and to the international envy. The careful reading of the fourth edition of this book will take the reader to the past and will bring him back to the present bearing towards the future. He will become aware that almost nothing has changed, except the dispute about Amazonia. We still have to discover the "green paradise", where everything is transformed, where the resources remain natural, where survival is a difficult experience but a very gratifying one, where we are going to find solutions for countless problems that afflict mankind today. Possessing the largest natural heritage, in modern terms called biodiversity, Amazonia has great chances of turning Brazil into a country of first magnitude in worldwide economy. A country able to develop in the next ten years all that was not developed in the last fifty years. Only political intention and the success of modern science will be sufficient for this.

The eyes of the man kin d will turn to Amazonia . The improvement of our industrial park and t he establishment of large industrial complexes in the Amazon Ra in Forest, preserving 98% of the original forest cover in the state of Amazonas and what they represent today, with in a program of support to the inhabitants of the region, in a perfect balance with Nature, inserted in the Amazon context, will show how accurate the author's forecast was. In thi s edition t he reader wi ll f ind some of t he more outstand ing aspect s of t his view emphasized in boldface; this will provide him/her a comparison between the past and th e present. These circumstances recommend reading of this book . In reviving the unfinished work, we added what our eyes see, photographs framed in water colors, opening the windows to a unique world and recording the transformations imposed by Nature on the Amazon Rain Forest. At the threshold of the 21 st century, we find out that there is a lot to be discovered in thi s boundless space still untouched by modern man with all his scientific certitudes, contradicting Nature in search of his imperfect perfection . There is Amazonia, ready to answer how small we are like a grain of sand. We are beginni ng an apprenticeship with Nature itself as teacher. In this fourth edition, reviewed and updated, we present again this large piece of Brazi l, "this unknown country ". It is up to the reader to appraise the worthiness of this wo rk and its usefulness. Start reading and you will make a pleasant journey to the Green World . Elisabeth Espirito Santo

INSPIRATION

Humble as regards to culture, without enunciation of classicists, this book is t he result of resplendent inspirations in the scenery of the Northern Brazil. It portrays t he polychromatic Nature in the everlasting feast of the colorful world, at the emotional touch of human communion, right in the heart of the festive Belem, edifying symbol

0+

Christianity and Manaus, watched over by Negro river. I was thrilled to witness the complete triumph of Attic and philanthropic crowds, t he candor of the smart spirit along with the solidarity in the social communities, vibrating in the resplendent life in the states of Para and Amazonas. The tropical regions sketch pages of elegance and ardor, seething with faith, kindness and fraternity, becom ing commonplace under the brightness of the sky. It is a speck of the globe, perfected and turned into a shape outlined by tenuous thoughts, with the paramount purpose Of captivating Brazil and in particular the Amazonian region. The builders built a world in the Brazilian core, erected by the most eminent artists from the communities of two states separated by the calm waters of the old and legendary Amazon river, which plunges topsy­ turvy into the arms of the turbulent Atlantic, where the shouts of the tidal waves echo r the vastness. If the dazzling landscape of the glimmering Nature could not be reproduced in the unpretentious pages of The Amazon Rain Forest in the Future of the World, with t he peculiarities of its flawless life, the author asks the readers to forgive him. Twinkling in the sky You will find the Southern Cross! With its arms forever open to eternity, embedded in the bright lane of the American skies, standing out to the earth, it reminds all generations of the Tragedy of the Calvary. 1+ is the genuine Sentry of Peace and Harmony, pointing out the path of truth to irreconcilable men, watching over the future of Americas from infinity, writing t he affectionate legend of human solidarity in the silent spaces: "Because I am the path, yet obscure, that mankind will eventually follow in futu re. Empires pass by. Nations grow and collapse. Science changes. Religions see perfection . The law alters. Courts are renewed. But the Cross philosophy will not pass. The edifying teaching of deep humanism, inspired by Calvary, will go through millennia and

\Iv

plunge into posterity, with the doctrinal tenets of the Golgotha, pacifying the restless peoples . Christ, in dramatic episodes, preached charity and good will among men and With a revealing silence, he faced the disgusting cowardice of Pontius Pilatus. For the glory of Brazil, the Southern Cross shines in the South American Sky. From the author, November 1956 Antonio Espirito Santo

PREFACE 1956

EDITION

Brazil's living conscience is the work of Brazilians who carried on the ancestral urge of the eager pathfinders. In chronological order, the discovery belongs to Taunay, Capistrano and Rod olfo Garcia, who clarify the History. In depth, Euclides da Cunha, Alberto Torres, Oliveira Viana , Gilberto Freyre and Cassia no Ricardo are the ones who see through the core of the politica and social development of nationality. On the crust of its useful reality, Tavares Bastos, Maua and Roberto Simonsen are the ones who penetrated the secrets of its economica structure and affirm its possibilities . This sector is the purest one; it is the sector of the future . In it, almost everything remains to be discovered. Man is not to blame . In such a short History and within their possibilities, perhaps no other people have done more than the Brazilians. The growth of the Brazilian population was slow, by juxtaposition, due to a scanty emancipation . The territorial extension enforced a sparse demographic density. All these factors perhaps forced the destiny of a grea country that stood "waiting for the world". This country is Brazil. One of the explorers of Brazil, Antonio Espfrito Santo became absorbed in its mos alluring and mysterious region : The Amazon Rain Forest. The down-to-earth resea rche r yet was not dazed by the telluric drama which leads to unchecked raptures, some adjectives of pleasant acoustics, to the point of being diverted from seeing its useful ro e of leveling the land and robbing its wealth. The writer in search of the landscape did not rummage this Faustian laboratory of Nature, where it seems that God, voracio us o! startling and hideous shapes, still tries the genetic strength of his creative genius. Th 5 Brazilian, integrated in the scientific and technical century, was the one who tried to revea to his countrymen the almost legendary parts of his country. And he did it with bravery, love for his work and a keen sense of our reality. The book, more than timely, was necessary. AntOnio Espfrito Santo did not si mp ly add one more book to the Amazonia bibliography: he rendered a service to Brazil and to the world. The careful gathering of data of all kinds which he patiently amassed to draIA attention to the variegated and fabulous riches of our country, some of it about to unde rgo a rational exploration, and the rest in a potential state, is a generous offer to a destroyed and hungry world, of a formidable labor market, of a prospective cyclopean industrial park. Vast and untouched territorial extensions are there, waiting for the worker's arm, the technician's brain and the entrepreneur's skill in order to offer a plentiful and peacefu l life. Besides, there is an admirable government effort, supporting and encouraging withi n its possibilities, a maximum utilization of the local human resources and of the surround ing landscape . It is this large stretch of Brazil, "the unknown country" that Antonio Espfrito Sa nto presents in this work, worthiness of which can only be appraised by those who discover the full extent of its usefulness. Sao Paulo, November 1956.

Menotti Del Picchia Brazilian Academy of Letters

BRAZI L IITHIS UNKNOWN COUNTRyll Once in a while we laugh at foreigners because of their ignorance of Geography, History and Culture of our Brazil. It is not uncommon for us to become indignant and adopt a Jacobinic attitude when we read somewhere a wrong concept about our country, forgetting that, on the whole, because of its magnitude and its astonishing possibilities, even to Brazilians themselves, Brazil is still" a great unknown country" . We discover Brazil everyday: in statistics, in government accomplishments, in the boldness of private enterprises; in the stories of those who dare to go to a wilderness or forest hitherto so intangible, in broad zones, as the untamed material which attracted and astonished its early explorers, the famous "bandeirantes"; in cultural and social manifestations of its mixed population. Happy Land that still can offer to its people and the world such a large virgin reserve of mystery and an amazing wealth potential revealed by a landscape composed of rivers, other water bodies, waterfalls, good arable with minerals, animals, plants, water power and riches which can be industrialized . All

this spread in the most diverse climatic zones and landscapes, many of them paradisiacal. When this unprotected world became just" one world", thanks to elimination of distance by modern technology, everything seemed hurried, seen and kindled by exploration, but then a magic cosmos bursts forth from the green shadow, stretching itself for millions of square kilometers. The people who live in this geographic vastness, that almost covers a continent, are good and unselfish, constantly undergoing a process of national ethnic formation, developing something that is essentially democratic. Here is what Brazil is: a world waiting for the World.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - THROUGH CENTURIES . .... . .. ... .. ....... . . .. . . . .. .. .. . 15

How the Exploration of Amazonia Began The First Impression My Experience in Amazonia from 1951 to 1960 Chapter 2 - A GREATNESS THAT SURPRISES THE WORLD .. .. . . . ..... ... .22

Amazonia, a land of surprises The Amazon river glorifies the land of Americas The Amazon Basin Two States : Amazonas and Para Industrialization of the Amazon Rain Forest Chapter 3 - FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORIES . .... . . . . . . . . . ....... . .32

Amazonian Potentiality The Fossil Fuel - Amazonian Petroleum The Vegetable Fuel - the Gasoline Tree Chapter 4 - AMAZONIA WOULD BELONG TO THE ENGUSH AND THE FRENCH . .. . .44 FROM DREAM TO REALITY - The Praia Grande nut palms

. ..... . .. ... ... .48

PHOTOGRAPHS ... . ......... ... . ... . ... ........ . . . ........ . .... 50 CONTENTS II ... . . ........ . . . ... . ... . ........... ... . ........ . . 114

THROUGH CENTURIES

Aul MarapL

MlNISTERIO DA GUERRA INGPec~Ao DI! FIIOr'l1"f!IIIAS

PLANTA DO

~gO

CUMINA"

FAIXA DE FRONTEIRA C0>4 AGUYANA HOLLANDEZA NAS CABECEIRAS DOS RIDS

PAUU E CUDIPINI l.evanlodB e OasenhtlC!o P~lo Encorn:gddc d'l'S Tr.s~·i)::-:O' T'J;>ographicol 0. Turma de cuy,,,. H e ll,,~a

l!NG.

e!N.JA~~!~ ~1'4:xlH

• •«:ALA 11:'.'M9Slt

14

"

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Through centuries the forest has supplied mankind with lumber for several purposes. Among these purposes, the extraction of lumber for heating and cooking is the oldest and the one that gave man the chance to colonize remote territories. As the crisis of fuel and petroleum product affect different countries, those with tillable land have applied

to make use of the still unexplored forest resources for power generation. A lot of scientists are concerned with the development of techniques aimed at achieving full utilization of trees, including crown, branches and roots, for power generation. Considering the increasrng export of nutrients, several writers question the advisability of using forest residues in very short rotation for the production of biomass, the replacement of which, through fertilization, would mean high costs. ln Amazonia, where power shortage has hindered industrial development, the use of lumber extraction residues to generate power should be given attention by industries which themselves

employ lumber as raw material. Our present level of knowledge of the Brazilian Amazonia soil is a proof that we have not discovered Am azonia yet. lts vegetation, Am azonian aromatic plants, floral

nd med icina I essences, the ra in forest control, seed preservation, native a nd implanted forest for power generation, Amazon Rain Forest species, seasonal cultivation, national program of guaranS research, industrial utilization of coconut fiber and of the palm tree fiber for several purposes, Am azonia landscape ecology, tourism, ecological and agricultural implications of Am azonia exploration, environmental and cultural changes in Amazonia, the use of forest resources, rain forest preservation and current problems of colonizalion and development are items about which we are starting a research program aimed at a

u

ndersta nd ing them.

We also address the following issues. manufacture of forest products, Amazon Rain Forest potential, export of cellulose, vegetable charcoal for iron metallurgy, natural fibers, research and teaching, prospection of oil in the Amazon Rain Forest, the role of the forest economist and of the forest marketing in an orderly exploration of the Amazon Rain Forest. ln short, we will deal with the valorizalion of the Amazonian man in his habitat, with

the valorization of

Am azonia,

with food policy plan in

Am azonia,

with the

rational

exploration and occupation of the Amazon Rain Forest, with demarcation of boundaries, with military vigilance and what it represents for the future of the world.

15

How the Exploration of Am azonia Began Amazonia has been inhabited since immemorial time. lt is estimated that when the European settlers arrived in the sixteenth century, millions of lndians lived in this region. The

modern occupation of Amazonia began around 1540, but until the end of the Second World War the human presence brought little change to the environment and to the natural vegetation. A new period started, mainly in Brazil, with a policy aimed at the agricultural development and the settlement of immigrants coming from regions that were densely populated or were short of resources. Allthese changes in Amazonia may have climatic, ecological and environmental consequences for the region, the continent and the world. Before 1500, rubber was already used by Latin-American lndians who extracted the latex from rubber trees and dried it on fires. Rubber goods found by visitors to the New World show, however, that its use must date from centuries ago. Columbus was the first European to see rubber. He found natives of Haiti playing with balls of a strange stuff and took some samples to Queen lsabella. The rubber existing in Amazonia was mentioned by the Jesuit Samuel Frilz and later on by the Carmelite friar Manuel de Esperanqa, who saw it among the Cambeba or Omagua Indians. 150 to 200 years later, in 1768, the French scientist Frangois Fresnau manufactured a pair of rubber boots for Frederick the Great, but the rubber became sticky in the heat and brittle in the cold. The rubber used by Fresnau was the latex from Hevea guianenss, the first species of the Hevea gender from native rubber trees to be described. ln 1770, the British scientist Joseph Priestley, a renowned English chemist, produced the first rubber for erasing pencil marks rubbing it on the paper (hence the name rubber). ln 1772, rubber cubes were sold in London as "erasers". ln 1823, the first waterproof fabric was produced and patented by the Scot Macintosh, who put a layer of rubber between two layers of cloth. The first factory employing rubber as raw material for manufacturing waterproof fabrics was founded in Glasgow. ln the same year, the Londoner Thomas Hancock, a coach manufacturer, invented the rubber band. Between 1839 and 1842, the American Charles Goodyear and the English Thomas Hancock found out that brimstone and heat could protect rubber against temperature changes (the vulcanization technique), making it tougher and almost unaffected by temperature variations. Another important application, much latel was the use of rubber as electric insulation material. Overnight, the use of rubber became prevalent. ln 1846, solid rubber bands were manufactured by Hancock for Queen Victoria's coach.

ln 1876, rubber trees were taken to the East.

Seeds were stolen by Englishmen in

Amazonia and sent to London on the ship Amazonas, which sailed from the port of Belem

of Para on May 29, 1876. And so, a large rubber tree plantation was established

in

Southeast Asia.

ln England, in

the Scot John Dunlop manufactured the first rubber tire, establishing a new era of tires for bicycles, coaches and motor vehicles. The invention was patented in l BBB and, in 1890, Dunlop and his partner W. H. Du Cros started the 1BBB,

mass prod uction. From 1920

to 1940, we were in the era of the automobiles driven

on tires made from

the Am azonian rubber tree latex. Nowadays, the world walks, crosses, fly,swim, etc with natural rubber. We wish to record for History that the Hevea brasiliensr, the true rubber tree, is native of Amazonia, En exclusive privilege of Nature of Amazonia, producing latex which becomes rubber, existing for thousands of years in the Am azonian region. Before 1913, the yearly production was of about 40,000 tons in Amazonia, and of 60,000 tons in the whole world.

The First lmpression The journey ended

with the landing of the DC-3 of Pan Air of Brazil, with call letters PP-PED, at the Ponta Pelada Airport, after a sixteen hour trip that began in Recife (capital of the state of Pernambuco). During a stop in Santarem (in the state of Pare), on the banks of Tapajos river, along the lower Amazon river, I had already noticed the vastness of the Am azon Rain Forest.

lcould smell the forest, its rainy and very warm weather. The sky was covered by cumulus clouds and the temperature was almost 40"C (104"F). At this airport we could already feel the kindness of the inhabitants. lt was a manifestation of friendliness on the part of the people who live in the Amazonran region, urique and very different from what I have seen in other regions of our Brazil.

The miracle of the Am azon Rain Forest manifested in all its green vastness. ln Manaus, I felt at ease. I had letters of introduction to many local newspapers. When arrived at downtown to take a room in a hotel, at the beginning of Eduardo Ribeiro Avenue, I noticed the imposing Customs House, near the harbor of Manaus, with beautiful architecture, built in the nineteenth century with materials from France, England and Portugal. lalso noticed the port for the first time, with its floating pier for mooring of passenger ships sailing to the interior of Am azonia. The floating pier is a technical necessity, since the yearly flood of the Amazon river, that rises an average of twenty meters, demands this type of anchorage. For the same reason, the caboclo who lives on the bank of this magnificent river builds his house with tall stays to allow the rise of water. ln order to survive, he adapts himself to the forces of Nature. I

17

The beaches on the margins of Negro and Amazon rivers came into sight all of a sudden at the ebb tide. At those times we walked from 100 to 150 meters into the river

that was full of huge sandbanks and islets. During the floods we were not able to see the other margin of the Negro river. The magnificence of the Amazon river and of its continuity together with the Negro is impressive. Nature reveals itself in its magnanimous form. The clash of the waters, near Manaus, proves that the waters don't mix, and they appear to be a picture in two colors very well defined. lt is an indescribable scene.

My Experience in Amazonia (1951-1960) to reveal to the readerthe adventure lived by its author. The story deals with the natural resources, the life and behavior of the inhabitants of Amazonia, presenting some of the hundreds of mineral, plant and animal resources available in the Amazon Rain Forest and arousing the curiosity and interest of the world to this vast and paradisiacal place. Starting in Manaus, my first trip was towards the upper Solim6es. The course is 272 degrees to the west. The first village I got to know, in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest, was CodajSs, founded in 1875, a hamlet on the banks of Solim6es river, inhabited by two hundred people. The means of transportation used to arrive there is a boat that sails up the river towards the Colombian border, and a hydroplane that comes to the village once a week. They live on fishing and on handcrafts. The second village visited was Coari, founded in 1874, on the banks of Solim6es river. Our hydroplane lands every fortnight in this village. lts inhabitants are descendants of lndians, with little presence of foreigners caming from the capital. They also live on fishing and on wooden and rope handcraft. Founded in 1759, the present town of Tefe is the largest of all places I have visited. It is a center for those living on the river banks. There is a big religious mission in this town. Tefe is supplied with basic products in order to serve the nearby population. Nowadays (1953), communications are through the only rebroadcast radio station in Amazonia and through the mail carried by the hydroplane and ships. lt is almost certain that there will be several parks or stations developed in this area for the growing and preservation of the forest. The landscape of this region is very attractive. To the north, we went to the village of Tabatinga, founded in 1941 .lt borders with Colombia and Peru. lt is scarcely inhabited and there is a Brazilian Army garrison watching the national frontier. Going down the river which establishes the boundaries of these three countries, I visited the village of Benjamin Constant, founded in 1931. Our boundaries are marked by the rivers of the Amazon Rain Forest. lnoticed the migratory and settling movement going westward in Amazonia. This book intends

Editor's note: in 1999

:-:

population was of 16,C'

=

inhabitants.

Editor's note: in 1999 .- : population was of inhabitants.

63,t':

Editor's note: in

1990,

Petrobras began the gas

extraction in this region.

On a second trip, lwent back to the town of Tefe and went towards the Jurud river, as far as the village of Carauari (center of Am azonia). There I found one hundred inhabitants. The more educated ones say that there is petroleum in the region. The inhabitants live on hunting and fishing and the river crossing the village has a lot of fish. Following JuruS river, lentered a magnificent region, which lnoticed to be larger

Editor's note: the

:iJer of the rubber-tapers,

:':- : s:o (Chico) Mendes, was : - -- =-d lived at Xapuri on the Bolivian border.

than the Amazon Valley region itself. lwent to the village of EirunepO, founded in 1894. lsolated from the world, it is immersed in this earthly paradise. There lfound another hundred inhabitants, all of them of Amerindian origin. They live on fishing and hunting. Game and fish are abundant in the rivers that cross the small village. We were near the Peruvian border and the territory of Acre. The last village we visited was Cruzeiro do Sul, in the territory of Acre, situated on the Peruvian border. On the Peruvian side we found the town of Pucalpa.The Nation Road Department engineers are planning to connect Brazil to the Pacific Ocean through this region, building a road from the town of Rio Branco, crossing Cruzeiro do Sul and Pucalpa in Peru and reaching the Pacific Ocean on the Peruvian coast. I went back to Manaus after visiting some villages in the territory of Acre: Tarau ac6, Feijo, Sena Madureira, Xapuri and Brasileia on the Bolivian frontier. By the way, this region was once part of Bolivia, that donated it to the Brazilian Government. lt was, then, incorporated to the territory of Acre. It rs the richest region in extraction of latex (rubber) and it is very active in the cultivation of rubber trees. Here one notices the massive presence of groves of rubber trees, which is the means of subsistence of the Amazonian caboclo. The region has also a great variety of plants and animals, in perfect balance with Nature. The means of subsistence supplied by Nature itself deserves a special chapter in this book. lt might be called a self-supporting movement. Nature gives this privilege to the Amazonian inhabitants, and they live sound, sane and healthy with

their own resources. It took me two whole

to prepare this "expedition", ds lcall it. ltraveled by boat, by canoe, by hydroplane and a little on a jeep. lt is noteworthy that there are few motor vehicles in the region, because gasoline comes by boat or airplane and is too years

expensive.

On a third trip, with the purpose of expanding my research to supplement the second edition of this work, that I intended to publish in 1960, lfollowed the Negro river towards the village of Moura, dnother scarcely populated hamlet on the banks of that river, where its inhabitants live on hunting and fishing. At this small village, lfound another religious mission. At the village of Barcellos, founded in 1931 , there is a Brazrlian Air Force and Army garrison. From this village, as from the village of Moura, the view of the Negro river is

19

beyond words. The great number of islets formed along Negro did catch my attention . One

Editor's note. the archipelago~'

day, the whole world will know this wonder.

Anavilhanas was described b) -~=

Uaupes, founded in 1891 by religious men as a hamlet that became a village in

oceanographer Jacques Cous,=:;;~

_=' -

1935, was the second before the last stop. It is situated on the left bank of the Negro river.

when he sailed on the Negro

It has about two hundred inhabitants in an area of 112,355 square kilometers . Uaupes

the 80s and 90s. He classdlec - 5.--'

borders Colombia at the Cuiari river and Venezuela at the Negro river. The equator crosses

eighth wonder of the

WO(i(j

this municipality. I noticed the change in topography and vegetation: we were near the Venezuelan border. The village is noted for the Indian population that develops one of the most beautiful handicrafts in the region. The region possesses landscape with ripples of relief and depressions and some mountain ranges of granite formation. Its territory offers a great number of attractions with very beautiful waterfalls, hills and mountains. It is 1,061 km far from Manaus. Regional boats are used for the long and dangerous journey by water. It is better to travel by air, and the flight takes about three hours and a half. In the dense tropical rain forest there are very large trees rising out of an arboreal stratum 25 to 35 meters high . In this area, two different features occur: sub-mountain and mountain . In the former, the plant covering has several formations, for instance, palm trees and campinarana (an extensive open space with many shrubs and some trees in a dense formation), known as the" Negro river caatinga". The latter is very uniform in relation to height and diameter of the trees . Nowadays, Uaupes is a strategic point for the country, with the prominent

Editor's note.· Uaupes

IS

presence of the Church and the Brazilian Army in its landscape. A great part of its

now called Sao Gabriel aa

territory should be turned into a preservation area_

Cachoeira.

The last two villages we visited were Tapuruquara and Pari-Cachoeira . In the latter there was another religious mission and two dozen inhabitants, natives of the region. As a gift, I received a yellow and black bird called" Negro river nightingale", very pretty and with a sweet singing. I brought it to Manaus and it lived long by my side, delighting me with its divine songs. I felt very much like writing about Amazonian birds . I returned to Manaus and started writing and researching on the Amazon Rain Forest, cataloguing and looking for sources to be included in my book .

I intended to make two more trips, in order to know Madeira, Mamore and Branco rivers (this last one connects the town of Rio Branco with the villages of Boca- do Acre and Labrea), as well as the Tapaj6s and Xingu rivers, before returning to Rio de Janeiro, in 1960. God willing, I will be writing about this divine beauty, which exists only in our Brazil.

20

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rru

llarios,

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jour dc

r0gatcs.

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tu

7tl.

lllustrations reproduced on Part

lof

betongins

-

[-xn nuu n ilhxros.

this book were taken from F.J. de Santa-Anna Nery, "Le Pays des Amazones - L' ElDorado"

ro

th,.'

,:tF;:i',J'"i', ::;,:;',!:i,?,'2

?'i'."',ffl,,o Espirito santo

21

Am azonia, the land of surprises As a journalist and as a Brazilian I have always been attracted by Amazonia. Starting

with Getulio Vargas Government (1941), a great value was ascribed to nationalism, oil policy, the presence of Brazil in the Second World War and the occupation of Brazil, "this unknown country", agriculture and the settlement and discovery of Amazonia for the Brazilians, whence my curiosity.

They say that even before the formation of the Andes (in the Terti ary Era) the Amazon river had been flowing from east to west; in other words, it began in the Atlantic Ocean and ended in the Pacific. I heard this legend here from many Caboclos. Maybe it explains the "pororoca", the phenomenon that takes place when the Amazon river flows rnto the Atlantic ocean, near Marajo island, next to the Amap5 territory. lncidentally, this

is

a very beautiful sight. We sense the strength of the Amazon river flowing into the Atlantic

ocean and forming huge upstream waves, which are20 m high at certain times of the year.

My knowledge in this field is limited. Settlement in Amazonia started with the Spaniards who came from the Peruvian region at the time of the discovery of Central America and the Caribbean, and entered the west of the Amazon Rain Forest, meeting the lndians who descended from the lncas and Aztecs. Here in Amazonia, there is very little literature about this topic. The Eastern Amazonia was colonized by the Portuguese who were at Belem do Par6, and sailed up the Amazon river. Hence, the noteworthy coincidence of the names of villages and towns situated on the banks of the lower Amazon river, for instance: Monte Alegre,Obidos, Santarem, Alenquer, all of them names of places in Portugal including Belem. This practice is very curious, but at least we cannot deny the presence of the Portug uese in the reg ion. Amazonia was also colonized by missionaries who spread the Catholic faith among the lndians through Catechism. The presence of countless religious missions was noteworthy in all the towns lvisited. To ffie, it appears to have been a policy adopted by the Catholic Church Heads, in order to keep to themselves this "earthly paradise", although doing a pioneering and meritorious job. The name of the town of Tef6 reminds me of the pun ter fe (to have faith). The same happens with other villages, all with names of saints: S5o Gabriel, S5o Paulo de Olivenqa, Santo Ant6nio de lqa, etc). The methodology is very clear. The Salesian missions are present at the borders of Brazil. The boundless space of the Amazonia impresses me deeply. Why is it so grandiose in allsenses2 Why did the Divine Providence award such a prize to this region?

23

Why do we find here what lcall "the granary of the world"? lf well exploited, agriculture in the region of Amazonia can keep the world well fed and the hunger of many peoples satisf ied. Why are the forest resources so enormous? Why are there so many tree and plant varieties? Why rs eve rything so grandiose in Amazonia? Why does the size of Amazonia astonish the world?

why and how were the Portuguese able to get hold of Amazonia, driving away the Spaniards who discovered it entering it by west? I don't know the answers to these questions. I see Brazil as a country of the future, as a giant who has not yet been awakened. We have not yet taken a serious strategic plan for the civil occupation of Amazonia. We have not even made efforts towards a correct demarcation and adequate vigilance of our boundaries. We only have those demarcations made by General Rondon, who makes us proud for his bravery and fearless obstinacy in discovering Brazil. I believe in the future of Brazil and the Am azonian region, and in its privileged valley as a potential for the world at the service of mankind. By way of information, ltell you there are about five thousand species of trees in the Amazon Rain Forest. ln North America there are only 650 spec/es catalogued by the Government departments. ln Amazonia, the different species vary from 40 to 300 per hectare, compared to four to twenty five spec/es in North America. Of the 250,000 spec/es of surface plants existing in the planet, approximately 1 70,000 exist only in the Tropics; out of these 90,000 species are found in South America, of which 75,000 are found only in Amazonia. ln a very near future, the Government will have to develop an agrarian policy for orderly occupation of the Amazon Rain Forest, or else we will create a division between the Northern and Southern regions. Finally,

The Am azon river glorifies the land of Americas The Amazon river, known all around the world due

to its vast surface, depth

and

width, is called Sea-River by the Brazilians and encompasses incalculable and limitless treasures. lt is the largest river in the world in volume. lts formidable basin is 5,594,000 m long, starting from Lauri lake in Peru, and goes to mix with the Atlantic Ocean, where it penetrates intensely, discharging a great volume of water. Just to have an idea of its extension, it can be compared to the distance between New York and Berlin!

24

Experts trained in geological studies

tell us that the Amazon river has its origin at the Lauri lake, in the district of Huandco, in the province of Tarma, at 30 km northnortheast of Lima, the capital of Peru, and subtly winds through the plains towards the Atlantic. The natural origin of the Amazon river is disputed. The truth rs that it glorifies the land of Americas. lt is the tear that comes down from the Andes to bathe and promote life

in the Amazon Rain Forest. The precious life of the Amazon river is the same as that of the age-old Andes. The Amazon river could not exist without the Andes. "Eternal Divine Spring", born of the Divine breath on the snow of the Andine mountains, placed there by Nature in order to change the Am azonian climate. This giant has an amazing greatness. lt is enough to say that in the ravine of 0bidos, a town in Par6, it is 1,900 m wide and B0 m deep. At Tabatinga, in the state of Amazonas, Brazilian border with Colombia and Peru, the river is 20 m deep. The estuary is 335 km wide and 13,000 m deep, at the mouth of the Xingu river. There are places where a plummet cannot reach its bottom. lt is calculated that during the floods, the river discharges 280 million cubic meters of water per minute in the Atlantic ocean. lts strength is imposing and monumental, and its waters reach up to 460 km into the ocean, flowing beyond the Marajo lsland, situated at its mouth. There are more than 6,000 islands among which are Tupinambarana,360 km long and 60 km wide, and the remarkable Marajo lsland, with an area of 47 ,964 square kilometers. The Amazon river was discovered on February 12, 1542 by Francisco Orellana, who followed its waters from the rapids in the Andes till the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese colonizer Pedro Teixeira went the opposite way,starting at the Camet6 village near Belem, on October 28, 1637, and arriving at lquitos, in Peru, a year later.

The Jesuit Samuel Fritz and the Catholic bishop Caetano Brandao set the first landmarks of the memorable journey, which was the beginning of the colonization of Amazon Rain Forest. General Rondon was another pathfinder of the Am azonian region; he led several expeditions to the banks of Amazon tributaries. One of his expeditions went up the Trombetas river near Obidos, in the state of Para, towards the Guianas (See the map on page 14). His purpose was to mark the Brazilian presence in the region with his men and fix the boundaries of Brazil. General Rondon acted in this vast region in the early 1930s. He colonized and defined the size of Brazil, exalting the glory of the Brazilian Army.

25

The Am azon Basin The huge Amazon river and its tributaries form the Amazon basin. All of them are navigable throughout the year, connecting all the towns in the state of Amazonas with the capital, Manaus. The extension of its hydrographic basin is 6,217,220 square kilometers, with more than 20,000 km of navigable waters. lts main rivers are: Amazon, Negro, SolimOes, Purus, Madeira, Xingu and Tapajos, this last one being in the state of Par6. It is worth noting that Brazil has the largest reserve of freshwater in the world. The energy potential of this huge basin is incalculable. ln a very near future,

water will be a precious liquid; having it will mean having the power to influence the destiny of mankind. The Strait of Obidos, the mouth of the Tapajos river near Santarem, in Par6, the Negro river banks, its islands and its white sand shores at the low tide, will always attract those who dare to make the dream travel through the Amazon Rain Forest. The Amazon river is the "Green Hell" of national poetry. The state topography is crossed by innumerable navigable rivers which can be compared to the canals in Venice, Italy. ln the state of Para there are many islands, islets and small bayous, offering trade and transportation by water in small boats.

The Am azonian Nature painted this beauty from nothing, providing landscape painters with motifs and inspiring creations in the world of art and poetry revealed in the lapidary works of immortal masters. The Sea-River continually winds under the fiery ground of the tropics and romantic moonlight, flowing through the ancient forests and thrilling sceneries. The spectacle of navigation through Amazonia is very surprising and overpowering. The picturesque sceneries appear in suggestive panels, stimulating contemplations that multiply every moment, turning into frames of incredible landscapes,imprinted on the shores, lakes, rivers and virgin forests of the Amazon Rain Forest. Drrect maritrme connections between the Amazon river harbors were inaugurated in

the beginning of 1945, through the Navigation

Services

of Amazonia and the Port

Administration of Par6.

ln the future, transportation and leisure on the Amazon basin will become a source of funds and work, through travels, international promotion of tourism and fishing in the region, showing the world the wonders of the Amazon Rain Forest, its rivers and its beautiful shores, adding also the huge variety of fish, estimated in 4,500 different species, with the prevalence of pirarucu, which is often two meters long.

26

ln the near future we will see big international transatlantic steamers sailing on the Amazon riveL displaying this unique beauty, revealing to view the natural pictures painted by Mother Nature. Tourism in the Amazon Rain Forest represents a market with great opportunities for the regional economy, so far scarcely explored due to lack of adequate technologies and of infrastructure compatible with the sector and capacity to generate income.

Two States Fascinating land Sedu ctive rivers Source of supply for the European and Eastern populations ln the pacified world... The main entrance to the wonderful valley Sen try of inmeasurable treasures The guardian of the secrefs of the Amazon Valley The states of Amazonas and Par6, covering an area of 3,200,000 square kilometers privileged by Nature itself, were planted in the Amazon Rain Foresf by the wise hands of the Creator. This area, when observed from the sky on long flights, looks like a single panorama

with no prominent boundaries or frontiers, being perceived only the vast green cover of the peaceful woods on both sides containing the two political divisions of the Valley. The sight is rapturous, wonderful and thrilling, with hundreds of rivers islets, basins, islands, lakes and lagoons dotting the rich soil. We see riches never imagined by the mind, arithmetically converted into gold in the financial markets. ln the future of the world, Amazonas and ParA will be two sparkling poles, announcing the prosperity of the nations burned down through wars in Europe and the East, soaked in blood. lt is the starting point, from where the long metallic wings of airplanes or the steel hull of big transoceanic ships will carry comfort, progress and riches, displaying to the world the natural beauty of this land, blessed and privileged by God.

Am azonas It is the habitat of Victoria water lilies, floating in still lakes, and the legendary Amazons... The largest storehouse of uncultivated rubber in the world The old homeland, the venerable and legendary Atlantis....

Manaus, the early poetical Vila de Barra, situated three degrees south to the equator,

town with about 110,000 inhabitants. Most of them live on local commerce and trade with the interior of the state. lt is still due to the wealth generated by the rubber cycle that the city's buildings celebrate and glorify the excellent architecture and painting by artists from past generations. The picturesque exactness is faultless in the subtle vivid coloring of is a

the buildings, in the taste and elegance displayed in the style of the paint brushes which predominate in the Am azonian region. Gardens intermingle with commercial establishments and residential houses. Large lakes and parks with trees alternate between rows of houses. Outdoor life provides new energy to the healthy Brazilian-American mentality that ls going to define the guidelines for the complete modification that is taking place in the Amazon Rain Forest. Eduardo Ribelro, a dark-skinned military man and thinker, born in the state of Maranhao, was the builder of Manaus. He was murdered for political reasons when Manaus needed him most. ln the near future, Manaus will be connected by air to the whole world. I am most certain that our rulers will soon find adequate means and conditions to implant a great industrial park in Amazonia, bringing progress to this region. Surely, there will be people who will risk their lives and savings to bet on the future of Amazonia. The Amazon reserves have a natural stock of everything that mankind needs for survival. Six hours of non-stop flight separate Manaus from Bel6m, the nearest town and capital of the state of Par5. The Amazon climate has all the climatologic alternatives of the Brazilian Northeast. The Amazon Rain Foresf is embedded in the northern extreme and periodic or sudden rain is truly a part of its climate, always perversely slandered by pseudo-historians and specialists. The damp ground of Amazonia results from the natural composition of the soil, rich in humus, the youngest in the planet or, according to the scholars that studied it, the oldest, existing since the remote times of the Atlantls. All seeds planted in it germinate. The allegation that Amazonia is swampy,full of miasms and insects that transmit highly contagious infectious fevers, devastating villages in predetermrned occasions, is a criminal legend and its falsehood has been proven scientifically. lt is a lie spread by the a uthors of chea p literatu re who, without a ny knowledge of the reg ion, pass on untruthful information. The weather is perfect and in harmony with an exuberant, transforming and creative Nature. Considering the wilderness of the Am azon Rain Forest, the geographic isolation and lack of news about the world, its people are friendly, understanding and very helpful. I feel as if I am in another universe.

Par5 Belem, the tawny city Belem is the tawny city of the intellectuals from Par6, almost on the equatorial line,

embedded in the heart of the Guaj ar| bay, field of the piassava palms, with Guaj arA river, a tributary of the Amazon river, in the background. lt receives us with impressive Brazilian tenderness, opens its green claws and welcomes me with kindness and calm, in the twinkling warm afternoon with golden reflexes, on its way to the tropical glimpse. A soft gray color mixed with the vitalizing ruby-red sun, lightly spread in the crimson setting, tinted the infinity, in the last pangs of the day, painting the nightfall, when the Pan Air clipper landed on the airfield at Val-de-Cans. Through the metallic bird door, I stared at

the faraway East, while the distant stars glimmered in the approaching night. Between the afternoon and the twilight, lstepped on the moist, firm, ahd completely strange soil of th e Amazon Rain Forest. longing for space, where my digressions made me feel that lwas flying to a more humane and prosperous world, a soothed country far from the anguished mankind, without wars and without evil. With this Attic thought revealed within, llanded in Belem which penetrated my investigative eyes in the anxiety

of knowing the legendary unknown city.

Behind the equatorial line, the South was lost, glimmering in a happy and endearing

mirage, between the sky and the sea, leaving my past in twilight distances, a little of far away youth. The exalted emotions of that moment do not let me recall the instant of my arrival. Once settled where lwas to stay whatever passed, took its place in the memory and

left longings in my heart. And the historical town glimmered with an evocative past that flaunted the greatness misery of the past three decades, when rubber reached its highest price, rising before my daydreaming newcomer's eyes and satisfying my investigative curiosity. Similarly, during the war, Brazilians and Americans carried out valuable work in the Amazon Rain Forest, comparable to the former Dutch work in sanitation, drainage and reclamation of the swampy soil in the valley. What was a swamp became a solid land. Building the six kilometer long Grand Dyke, and skirting the Guaj arl river at the edge of Bel6m, is one of the works that changed the rustic Nature of primitive Belem, with its aesthetic, rectilinear and subtle elegance. The capital of the state of Par6 is carved in the green and perfumed workshops of the Amazon Rain Forest, flickering for the na'fve baptism of the new creations idealized by the indigenous, Brazilian and American crvilization. And the endless fight to conquer the goals of the ideal reformer goes on, glorified in triumph,on the way to

29

an immediate victory, under the mathematics of authentic gigantic plans. ln the Amazon Rain Forest they are building a new world, designing in a partrcular climax a civilization of everlasting life. We can hear the rhythmic murmur of a brand new world, where an invisible hand paints natural landscapes, under the starry light of the flourishing freedom of hope. The modulated march of the soaring progress has begun, creating in artificial melting pots the quret and wonderful paradise of the Valley. Work and joy,together with life in the restless and charming landscape of the Amazon Rain Forest, are faultless complements of the life in such a coveted region. The state of Pard is extraordinarily vast and lapidated for greatness. lt suffices to mention its area: 1,362,996 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a good number of European countries. According to the 1940 census, its population was of 956,870 inhabitants. This is the new creation projecting itself in the dramatic decline of the archaic hemisphere....

lndustrialization of the Am azon Rain Forest to absorb all the overpopulation of the world inside it. lts economical resources and its land area are more than sufficient for the scientific and mechanized farming. lt can accumulate fabulous quantities for immediate industrialization. The currency of the future will be international, stabilized and free from the fear of exchange fluctuations; this is the United Nations financial program for the future. lt will be possible to invest a big stable capital for exploration of the region, in technical and scientific farming and industrialrzation of abundant raw material. The Valley has the capacity

30

The resources are unknown to the inhabitants of the region. lts sources of wealth provide a vast field with propensity for capital investment in many factories. The privileged soil, adaptable to farming, does not need chemical fertilizers in order to produce food in unforeseen quantities and of high quality. Nature itself fertilizes with humus the seeds planted on time, according to the seasons, and it is possible to have more crops than in normal plantation in other areas. ln the Amazon Rain Forest there are incredible places and the quantity

of humus fertilizing the soil is astonishing. The richness existing in the soil is so intense that it exceeds the limit needed for life of a germinating seed planted in it, making some frail seeds to die suffocated in the darkness of the substratum. The fields to be explored are vast, and there are possibilities of agglomerating all the racial elements with languages from common ethnic origin under a social policy and the ground of a more human and harmonious world. Nature works in its great laboratory, revealing to mankind a portion of Divine generosity and magnificence.

31

FoREsr PRoDUcTS LABoRAToRt

Es

Am azon

ia

n Potentia ity I

We may say that Amazon Rain Forest is an inexhaustible source of medicinal plants to be used as medicine: bitter and purifying tonics, revulsive, emetics, purgatives, astringents, diaphoretics, vermifuges, diuretics and herbs for the chest. We find also. Abacada, Patua, Quinine, Capuassu, Sarsaparilla, Beriba. TucumS palm, Mint, Lemon balm, Ginger, Guinea-hen Weed, Catuaba, Porangaba, Chuanassa, dffiong hundreds of nonclassified plants. The local pharmacies use these herbs to manufacture natural medicines which the population of the region uses liberally. One of the most used is the Amenoflora, very good for the treatment of the menopause related ailments. Another is the Amazonian Guaran6, indicated for the treatment of fatigue and stress, and whose analysis reveals the following elements: caffeine 4.288; fixed oil 2.950, red resin 7.800, red dye principle 1.520, amorphous dye principle 0.050, saponin 0.060, tonic Guarand acid 5.902, proguarana acid 2.7 550, albumrnous substances 2.7 50, starch 9.350, glucose 0.777, malic acid, mucilage, dextrin 7.407, vegetable fiber 49.12, and water 7.650. There you have what the Am azonia laboratory produces with the hands of Nature! The oleaginous plants are: the Castor-oil plant, Babassu, Wild Chestnut tree, Peanut,

Carnauba, Beculba, Dend0 (African oil palm), Tucum, Catuaba, Andiroba, Cumaru, Ucuuba, Sesame, Muru-Muru. Among the multiple varieties of seeds and oleaginous fruits, in the forests of Para there are some of great economic value due to the high quality and percentage of oil or fat they contain. The perspectives offered in 55o Paulo are encouraging for the consumer market of such seeds, vorious vegetable fats, balsam, drugs, leaves, roots and several essences which ParA can produce in indefinite quantities. Many are exclusive only to Par5, without any competition. They deserve special attention due to what they represent to Brazilian economy, once its consumer market is increased in the large industrial centers of the country, to which they will impose themselves for their intrinsic attributes as raw material with varied applications and utilization. The Ucuuba seeds yield from 600/o to 70% of fat stuff and have a high rate of saponification (219-221), what makes it a raw material for many applications in manufacturing of soap. lt produces stearin and for that it is very much looked for. The production of Ucuuba tallow was of 446,281 kg, worth Cr$560,028.15. At the already famous company founded by the Portuguese immigrant brothers AntOnio Lourenqo da Silva, JoSo da Silva Santiago and Antonio Gouveia Santiago,the A.L. Silva & Co., headquartered in Belem do Para, use raw material from the forests in Para in order to manufacture the PHEBO soap Scenf of Rose which, in 1936, replaced the very famous English PEARS' SOAP. In 1941 , the company introduced on the Brazilian market the Eau de Cologne Seiva de Alfazeffid, with a great success to win over the markets in Southern Braztl,

All the products of the A.L. Silva & Co. use the natural resources yielded by the Amazon Rain Forest with a great commercial and industrial future, due to the quality of its original and unique products without competition. Other indispensable essences are: The Rosewood oil, which yields the linalool or sassafras, a very important essence for the regional economy of the Amazon Rain Forest.

Copaiba Eu

that Par6 exports to the rest of Brazil and to several countries

in

Coumarou essence of a strong commercial reputation and of great demand. Andiroba (Brazrlian Mahogany) fruit of the hardwood of the same name. lt

is

balsam

rope.

another great Am azonian resource due to its great output per tree and quantity percentage of oil (75%) fit for soap manufacturing.

Muru-Muru (Astrocaryum palm) - the seed of one of the palm trees of the forests of Para present in all the plains and that yields a tallow or fat of known commercial value.

I a nd pha rmaceutica I

ies will invest la rge amounts of money in the pharmacopoeia industry, setting up big laboratories in the Valley to change the raw material supplied by Nature in Amazonia. Tech n icia

ns,

chem ica

com pa

n

lnvestment Opportunities in Plant Extraction lndustry in the Amazon Rain Forest (Studies Made in 1956) Nowadays Brazil is considered by scientists as the holder of one of the largest Editor's note: the author biological diversity in the world. The diversity includes the ecosystems and the ecological of this book foresaw the processes that distinguish them, as well as all the animal and vegetal species and the future of the riches hetd by

and the Amazon Rain Forest land) in tss6

microorganisms existing in them. The two richest ecosystems in the planet, Amazonia

the Cerrados (woods composed of stunted, twisted trees, growing on cattle-grazing are situated here. The Am azonian natural heritage is equivalent to almost three trillion dollars and it may become the greatest world power in a new economy. Holding 51% of all species of tropical plants, the Brazilian legal Amazonia is about five million square kilometers which are equivalent to 60% of our territory. The Braztlian Amazon Rain Forest embraces about 260/o of the tropical forests remaining in the planet. The humid forests of Amazonia are characterized by a fantastic variety including not only the richness of their ecosystems, but also a great number and differentiation of species. As an example of this richness, it is worth mentioning that 2,500 species of trees have been discovered so far, while in the European temperate forests there are only fifty species. ln just one hectare of Braztlian forest there is an average of sixty to three hundred and fifty different tree species.

34

Editor's note: the book The

The natural productivity of the tropical rain forests is very high but these ecosystems

Amazon Rain Forest in the

of nutrient recycling, the efficiency of which is related to the structural complexity of the forest itself. Therefore, the exploration of its riches shou ld be performed th roug h a d iscern ing process that reconciles the needed socioeconomic development of the region with the environmental preservation. The Am azonian region is a traditional supplier of vegetable products like rubben nuts, oils and essences and now is coming across a unique opportunity of enlarging and developing its extractive industry. The world tendency in search of a better ecological equilibrium gave rise, mainly in the developed countries, to a certain resistance on the part of consumers, to the use of synthetic products associated with environmental pollution, cousing disease to human beings through their consumption or utilization.

Future of the World, by

AntOnio Espirito Santo, published in 1956 and depicting in its pages the Amazonian potential

ity,

reported the riches portrayed here, thus conf irming once more his

foresight about the Amazon

ia

n reg ion

.

are very brittle, depending on flimsy processes

ln view of this new tendency, the inhabitants of developed countries have started a slow

and increasing withdrawal from synthetic products, mainly from the petrochemical industry. As a result of that, there is a return to natural products, the consumption of which always existed, although in small quantitres. Natural and age old handmade products were

always used in the whole world as a symbol of good taste and status. Take the examples of some pioneering entrepreneurs who believe in the never-ending possibility of renewal of our diversity, through investments in research and elaboration of forest products. Consequently,

the food and beverage industry, as well as the cosmetic, the

agrochemical and the medicinal product industries have started a slow but safe return to natural products around the world. Tropical countries, Brazil above all, have a great chance of expanding their export list, sending the natural products abroad and also enjoying their benefits at home. As to the foreign trade, it is interesting to notice that Amazon tropical fruits like Pupunha (the spiny peachpalm) and the Mangosteen are already being consumed in other

countries. In Japan, Mangosteen (f ruit) reaches the price of $ 1 .00 each, according to information from Belem do Para CPATU (Rainy Tropic Agricultural Research Center). According to the CODETEC (Technological Development Organization of the State University of Campinas state of Sao Paulo), one liter of Copaiba oil is sold in Brazil for about $3.00 and abroad it reaches 52,000.00 after a simple refining process. An European company offered to buy 5,000 kg of Andiroba oil, but the sale was not made because local production was insufficient. These a re evidences of the eagerness of developed cou ntries to acq u ire natu ra products, provided they come from Amazonia, reinforced by the green wave. Another real opportunity for the region is the international market of insecticides, estimated as about $l billion a year. The use of natural products instead of synthetic I

insecticides (petrochemical origin) may result in the appropriation of a part of this market

for

Braztl, especially

for the Am azonian region, where lots of plants yielding natural

insecticides a re fou nd.

The international cosmetics market that offers real opportunity for natural products Editor's note: the use of Rosewoodessence in the touches $Zl billion a year in the USA only. The developed countries also show their growing interest in natural products of the main composition of Chanet Amazonian region by financing research. Through the Overseas Development Organization (ODA), England finances a project carried out by Emflio Goeldi Museum (state of Para) to study essential oils. This project has already aroused the interest of English and ltalian companies which will start supporting it financially in near future. Japan has also signed an

agreement

with

C

PATU/EMBRAPA

in order to

study and develop Jaborandi and

lpecacuanha, both used in pharmaceutical industry.

Some Brazilian companies have already started financing research on Brazilian natural products. The domestic market will certainly reflect the worldly trend concerning the employment of the Amazonian products in cosmetic and agrochemical fields. ln case of food and beverage, the organization of production with its consequent expansion as well as advertising of the product, should substantially expand the domestic market. The diversity of tropical flora and the knowledge of popular utilization of vegetable products suggest that there are about two hundred plant species with the possibility of being transformed into cultivated plants with economic expression. ln view of the existing market opportunities, it is believed that, at present, there are eight regional products which can be object for investment projects with a high probability of success.

A. Food A.1 Pupunha

(Bactris Gasipaes) Pupunha is a native palm tree of the American tropics which can be 20 m tall. The fruit has been known for hundreds of years by the Amerindian population and it is very much consumed in the Northern Brazil, especially in Para. The fruit is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins A and C and calcium, having different sizes, weights, colors and flavors. The principal uses of Pupunha are: As food: Pupunha is a well-balanced nourishment and can improve the quality of

the diet of the population of the humid tropics. There is a sweet made from Pupunha highly appreciated in Central America. The heart of this palm tree is considered better than those from the Euterpes (Assa} kind, from which the most of the palm hearts existent in Brazil is produced.

36

5 G perfume made in France) is an exampte

A.2

Bacuri (Platonia lnsignis) Bacuri is a tall tree that can be 25 m tall. The fruit is egg-shaped with a diameter of about 13 cm at its wider part and can weigh up to 1 kg. Bacuri is rich in carbohydrates and vitamin C. lt is an edible fruit and much utilized in its natural forffi, but its principal market is the ma n ufactu re of sweets, f ru it preserves, yog h u rt a nd ice-crea m Bacuri adapts itself very easily to soils worn-out by other cultivation which makes it an important element in the effort of recovering the regional environment. Researches carried out at CPATU show that the timber of Bacuri is of high quality and can also be a product of economic expression. .

A.3

Mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana) The fruit is typically tropical, coming from Southeast Asia and was introduced in the Americas many years ago. lt grows mostly in Par5, in the municipalities of Tome-Aqu, Castanhal, Santa lsabel do Pa16 and Santo AntOnio de Taua. Mangosteen belongs to the same family of Bacuri and Apricot. Mangosteen is denominated by many as a delicacy of Gods due to the excellent taste of its pulp,incomparable to any other fruit. ln addition to its principal utilization as an edible fruit, it also has other uses: its skin contains about 13% of tannin that is used as a dye. The skin is also used in medicine as an astringent against dysentery; the trunk, formed of dark brown wood, is hard, heavy and good for furniture industry; as a tree, it is suitable for plantation in urban areas, because of its ideal ch aracteristics: deep taproot with few lateral offshoots and a pyramidal crown with persistent leaves. A.4 - Acerola a fruit with hiqh vitamin C content.

B. Oleaginous B.

1 - And iroba (Fevillea Trilobata)

Andiroba has been known for hundreds of years by the population of the humid tropics that uses its seed for medicinal purposes, especially against snake bites and scorpion and bee stings. lt is used to heal ancylostomiasis and kidney affections caused by the yellow fever. lt is also an anthelmintic. lt possesses tonic qualities and relieves dyspepsia. lts action in the treatment of jaundice and liver infections has been proven. The oil from the seed is used in the treatment of rheumatism. ln veterinary medicine, Andiroba is used as an emetic for animals and against poisoning by cassava, hemlock and nux vomica.

37

It is effective in the treatment of some cases of cattle pests and also acts as a parasiticide against ticks.

Scientific tests have proven the presence of steroids and flavonoids (medicinal products) in the Andiroba seed oil besides its antimicrobial effect. There is evidence that new pharmaceutical and medicinal products may be developed through an

rch on And iroba oil. And iroba ca n be used in the ma n uf actu re of grease, resins and gum and its lumber is widely used in cabinet making and carpentry. Recently, Andiroba oil has been sought for use in cosmetic industry, but the results are not well known as yet.

exha

ustive

resea

8.2

PatauS (Jessenia Bataua) It is a typical palm tree from Amazon and Orinoco rivers basins, growing primarily in low lands covered by the water. lt is a tree that can grow from 12 to 15 m tall, with a diameter of 20 cm. The fruit is roundish, violet in color, about 2.5 to 3.0 cm long and

weighing around 8 g. From Pataud fruit is extracted an oil with physicochemical characteristics similar to those of Olive oil. The comparison of chemical analysis of Pataua and Olive oil showed strong similarity in their substances, with only a small difference in their refraction values. The smell of Pataua oil is also more active than that of Olive oil and, therefore, it would be necessary to reduce it in order to extend its utilization. Pataua oil can also be used in the canned industry (sardines and other fish). lts use can also be extended to the pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of hepatic crises as well as rn the manufacture of ointments, balsams and unguents. lt can also be used as a thin lubricant and in the rubber and soap industries. The wine obtained from fermentation of its fruit is very much appreciated in the region.

B.3 Copafba (Copaifera Multijuga) A large tree from the Leguminosae family, often found in the Amazon forest with a wide geographical distribution, grow from the middle Tapajos to the Western Amazonia. A resin-oil, obtained from its trunk and seeds, has been long used for cicatrization and throat infections. lt was used by the first settlers to cure bronchitis, dysentery and as an antiseptic for the urinary tract. Copaiba oil is used in the varnish industry and to replace Linseed oil as a sedative. lt is also utilized for domestic illumination. lt was recently found that it can be used as a fuel, mixed with diesel oil, in a proportion of g liters of diesel to of Copafba oil. The interest in Copafba oil for the cosmetics industry is increasing expressively, especially abroad. Today, Copafba oil is also commercialized as a balsam in 1

liquid form

38

A.2

Bacu

ri (Platon ia lnsig n is)

Bacuri is a tall tree that can be 25 m tall. The

fruit is egg-shaped with a diameter of

about 13 cm at its wider part and can weigh up to 1 kg. Bacuri is rich in carbohydrates and vitamin C. lt is an edible fruit and much utilized in its natural form, but its principal market rs the manufacture of sweets, fruit preserves, yoghurt and ice-cream. Bacuri adapts itself very easily to soils worn-out by other cultivation which makes it an important element in the effort of recovering the regional environment. Researches carried out at CPATU show that the timber of Bacuri is of high quality and can also be a product of economic expression.

A.3

Mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana) The fruit is typically tropical, coming from Southeast Asia and was introduced in the Americas many years ago. lt grows mostly in Par6. in the municipalities of Tome-AEu, Castanhal, Santa lsabel do Pa16 and Santo AntOnio de Taua. Mangosteen belongs to the same family of Bacuri and Apricot. Mangosteen is denominated by many as a delicacy of Gods due to the excellent taste of its pulp, incomparable to any other fruit. ln addition to its principal utilization as an edible fruit, it also has other uses: its skin contains about 13% of tannin that is used as a dye. The skin is also used in medicine as an astringent against dysentery; the trunk, formed of dark brown wood, is hard, heavy and good for furniture industry; as a tree, it is suitable for plantation in urban areas, because of its ideal characteristics: deep taproot with few lateral offshoots and a pyramidal crown with persistent leaves. A.4 - Acerola a f ruit with high vitamin C content.

B. Oleaginous Andiroba (Fevillea Trilobata) Andiroba has been known for hundreds of years by the population of the humid B.1 -

tropics that uses its seed for medicinal purposes, especially against snake bites and scorpion

and bee stings. lt is used to heal ancylostomiasis and kidney affections caused by the yellow fever. lt is also an anthelmintic. lt possesses tonic qualities and relieves dyspepsia. lts action in the treatment of jaundice and liver infections has been proven. The oil from the seed is

of rheumatism. ln veterinary medicine, Andiroba is used as an emetic for animals and against

used in the treatment

poisoning by cassava, hemlock and nux vomica.

37

It is effective in the treatment of some cases of cattle pests and also acts as a parasiticide against ticks.

Scientific tests have proven the presence of steroids and flavonoids (medicinal products) in the Andiroba seed oil besides its antimicrobial effect. There is evidence that new pharmaceutical and medicinal products may be developed through an

ustive resea rch on And iroba oil . And iroba ca n be used in the ma n uf actu re of grease, resins and gum and its lumber is widely used in cabinet making and carpentry. Recently, Andiroba oil has been sought for use in cosmetic industry, but the results are not well known as yet.

exha

8.2

Pataud (Jessenia Bataua) It is a typical palm tree from Amazon and Orinoco rivers basins, growing primarily in low lands covered by the water. lt is a tree that can grow from 12 to 15 m tall, with a diameter of 20 cm. The fruit is roundish, violet in color, about 2.5 to 3.0 cm long and weighing around B g. From Pataua fruit is extracted an oil with physicochemical characteristrcs similar to those of Olive oil. The comparison of chemical analysis of Pataua and Olrve oil showed strong similarity in their substances, with only a small difference in their refraction values. The smell of Pataud oil is also more active than that of Olive oil and, therefore, it would be necessary to reduce it in order to extend its utilizalion. Pataua oil can also be used in the canned industry (sardines and other fish). lts use can also be extended to the pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of hepatic crises as well as in the manufacture of ointments, balsams and unguents. lt can also be used as a thin lubricant and in the rubber and soap industries. The wine obtained from fermentation of its fruit is very much a ppreciated in the reg ion .

8.3 - Copaiba (Copaifera Multijuga)

A large tree from the Leguminosae family, often found in the Amazon forest with a wide geographical distributioh, grow from the middle Tapajos to the Western Am azonia. A resin-oil, obtained from its trunk and seeds, has been long used for cicatrization and throat infections. lt was used by the first settlers to cure bronchitrs, dysentery and as an antiseptic for the urinary tract. Copafba oil is used in the varnish industry and to replace Linseed oil as a sedative. lt rs also utilized for domestic illumination. lt was recently found that it can be used as a fuel, mixed with diesel oil, in a proportion of g liters of diesel to of Copafba oil. The interest in Copafba oil for the cosmetics industry is increasing expressively, especially abroad. Today, Copafba oil is also commercialized as a balsam in 1

liquid form.

38

In biological terms, Copafba oil is a product of the excretion or disintoxication of the

vegetable organism which functions in defending the plant against animals, funguses and bacteriae. This characteristic may determine its capacity to act as natural fungicide and rnsecticide, still depending on specific analyses.

C. Medicinal Editor's Alote; ln the 80s its principal alkaloid, emetine, was added in the form

of

hydrochloride to the medicines used against cancer and this considerably

1

lpeca (Cephaelis lpecacua n ha) lpeca or lpecacuanha is a straight shrub about 45 cm tall. lts roots are curled and may eventua lly reach f rom to 20 to 40 cm in length . From its roots a re extracted severa alkaloids like emetine, widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. The medicinal use of lpeca is age old. lt has been used for hundreds of years in the treatment of intestinal infections, whooping cough and bronchitis. C

.

I

increased the interest

C.2 - Jaborandi (Pilocarpus Jaborandi)

in the plant.

A medium

of the Rutacea family, which grows all along the Northern Brazil. lts leaves were already used by the lndians as medicine, but the introduction of Jaborandi in our traditional medicine goes back to 1873, when it was taken to France and sized shrub

tested by scientists of that country. From then on, the Jaborandi leaf infusion has been used in the treatment of a large number of diseases as influenza, bronchitis, fever, laryngitis, pneumonia, swelling, intoxications and crises of the kidney. At that time the plant started being grown in England, Belgium and Germany,but it could not adapt to the climate of those cou ntries.

In 1875 the alkaloid pilocarpine was found in the leaf of Jaborandi. ln the following year, this alkaloid was introduced in ophthalmology as a miotic. Later on, it was discovered that it had the power of diminishing the intraocular pressure and it became a powerful medicine against glaucoma. Several medicinal uses of Jaborandi have been superseded and

it fell out of use due to advances in medicine and use of synthetic chemicals. However, the

of Jaborandi in Ophthalmology continues even today. Nowadays,pilocarpine is considered an important element in experimental pharmacology and in physiology. The above examples are only a small sample of the potential of the vegetation of Amazonian region. They are enough to show the great investment opportunities that are open to Brazilian and foreign entrepreneurs from now oh, with the knowledge that it will take three to five years to complete the research on the production of medicine, at a cost 50% lower than the development and elaboration of the same medicine by conventional methods (synthetic products). use

39

Fossil

Fuel

Am azonian Petroleum

Brazilian and Foreign Technicians Reveal that Petroleum Bearing Area in the Amazon Basin Subsoil is Equivalent

to the European Territory

Editor's note What is really happening... in the

According to Brazilian and foreign technicians, the oil-bearing Amazon territory is as large as Europe. The Brazilian Petroleum Company (Petrobras) works in order to achieve the Brazilian goal: to turn the country into an oil and gasoline producer. Petrobras intends

show in this fourth edition the

to

reach this independence through research in the Amazon basin, in a near future, in the

reality accom pl ished compared

of attracting foreign

to the forecasts made in 1956.

Brazilian coastline. Surely, our Government glimpses the hypothesis

capital to invest in oil research to supply our real needs. The nation will develop quickly when it achieves autonomy in liquid fuel to feed its light and cargo vehicles in order to generate and move the national wealth.

twenty-first century: With further research, we try to

The study

on the Amazon

development poles showed that the author was absolutely right

With a vast territory, an impressive economical potential, immeasurable natural research, B razil is still a developing country with a stagnant progress because of its

in

dependence on the precious liquid. ln a near future, the Amazon petroleum will supply the

is a huge natural laboratory,

Brazilian North and Northeast.

ready to comply with both the

The Northeast will be

pplied by the ene rgy generated by Sao Fra ncisco Hydroelectric, a monumental work of Brazilian engineering, electrifying five northeastern states and twenty-five municipalities in the state of Cear5. Findings in the Amazonia will give the country a noteworthy position in the i

su

nternational scena rio.

We know that there are oil-bearing basins in the Juru5 Valley (in the center of Amazonia), in upper Negro river; on the Marajo island, where Caboclos tell stories about the preservation of certain plants and herbs smelling gasoline. Amazon legends.... lf we don't industrialize the Amazon and obtain Brazilian petroleum very soon, as a basis for the consolidation of Brazilian wealth, we will be appalled to witness the atomic energy,now adopted in some European countries, enter Brazilian industrial park in engines and in generation of electricity for public illumination. Brazilian petroleum will remain in the subsoil and will be known as the legend of the year 1955. Amazonia, where life is almost impossible due to unbearable personal difficulties, is a vast and productive field for a wide range of products. With new work perspectives, our excess population could move to the petroleum research area which, at present, lacks the human element to build a new world. lncidentally, with the acquisition of new drilling rigs, Petrobras tripled the perforations in Nova Olinda and Alter do Ch6o, in Para, in less than four months.

40

his

judgement.

It was confirmed that Amazonia

industrial and innovatory demands.

The Vegetable

Fuel the Gasoline Tree

The reader who is far from the Amazon Rain Forest region, restricting himself to read

this drab attempt to photograph Amazon reality and transfer it to the book, will be astonished with such revelations. The only purpose and intention of the author is to disclose the truth about Brazilian riches. ltell the story and analyze the data on the possibilities of the Valley, in the future of the world. The vegetable fuel is an evident fact, as

it has been attested to by Brazilian military

personnel who have visited the region to guard the frontiers of the country. The history of

the vegetable fuel is simple and real. ln the interior of the Amazon Rain Forest there is a kind of timber that produces the precious white liquid, the legitimate substitute of kerosene that is usually used. The tree is called the inflammable Louro-inhamui. lt produces vegetable fuel. Depending on the thickness of the tree, it produces only one kind of fuel, generally filling two kerosene cans,

that is around 40 liters, with capacity to generate the liquid in greater or lesser quantity. The tree is around 15 meter tall. I will be more specific in describing this plant: ln the middle of the trunk there is a hollow cylinder that goes up from the foot or base of the tree to the top of the trunk, where the largest branches are. This hollow cylinder contains the fuel called "vegetable kerosene", produced by Nature itself, without interference of the human hand. The Louro-inhamui has its habitat in the municipality of Tefe (state of Amazonas). lt is a natural phenomenon and calls for scientific studies by botanists. The liquid should be analyzed in laboratories in order to find its usefulness for human being. We should not leave aside the utilization of various kinds of fruits capable of producing vegetable fuel, replacing petroleum used in our vehicles and fuel oil used for other purposes. Andiroba is one of these fruits that, in the near future, will be certainly able to replace the mineral fuel. The Palm oil (also known as Dende) is also a true alternative source of energy. Each plant has been served man in different ways: from medical use to the latest industrial technology. lt is time to establish the usefulness of the vegetable fuel as a progress factor in the continuous advance of mankind.

41

The gasoline tree belongs to the Louro-inhamui species, Nectranda Elaiphora, genus,

and to the Laurel family. ln Manaus it is called Louro-nhamui and Louro-mamorim. ln the Negro river it is called Gasoline Stick and Sassafra. They are found in the flooded woods of the Negro, Solim6es, Paran6 do Carreiro and Mau6s rivers, the islands of Negro river and upstream from the mouth of Branco river. lndustrially it is a common practice to bore the trunk of some trees and extract a copious liquid, almost colorless, light, smelling like turpentine, which is an almost pure mixture of alpha and beta pinenes. Sometimes, the natives use this volatile oil to replace kerosene. ln the far inland regions the gasoline of this tree is used in lamps. ln popular medicine the oil is used against tetter manifestations and pediculosis.

The initial survey of this tree indicates that the daily supply in the region can be equivalent to as much as 30,000 barrels of petroleum.

42

43

AM AzoNtA woulD

BELoNG

TO THE ENGLISH AND THE FRENCHIIII 60

50

Two areas of colonization developed in Portuguese America: B raztl, which included the Northeast, Southeast, Middle West and South of the present Brazilian territory; and Maranhao and Grao-Para which included the Northern region and a part of the Northeast of the present-day B razil or, in other words, included B razilia n Am azonia.

So the Portuguese had two colonies: B razil itself, well known and placed in H istory, a nd the Am azon ia, with a very d iff erent h istory, wh ich gave a touch of originality to the colonial history of Amazonia, making the region a unique example of colonization, another Portuguese colony in America, different from the one called Brazil

.

Amazonia only entered the History of Portugal in 1616, more than a century after the Portuguese arrived in Brazil . That was due to purposes clearly different from the ones which led to colonization of the Brazilian East coast. To the Portuguese, Amazonia meant only a military problem, since the Amazon river delta was being held by the English and the Dutch, who were establishing trading posts and small forts rn order to guarantee the economical exploration of the region. And the French established in Cayenne reached Maranhao, where they founded Sao Lufs in 1612. Moreover, the region was an ambiguous possession or, as some people say, " of a questionable dominiofr" , since at the time of the Am azonian conquest, Portugal was u nder the patronage of the Ph ilippine C rown (1 580- 1 640). Unlike Brazil, the region was at first occupied for military reasons without any immediate economic purpose. But later an economy based on gathering the so-called "drugs from the backwoods" started being structured. To give dynamism to this productive activity during the whole process of Amazon colonization the basic labor was indigenous, whose recruiting was in one of three ways: the "descending ", " rescues" and "just wars". These modalities of acquiring indigenous labor generated two types of basic social relationships of production: legally free work and slave work. With the advent of Pombal rule in 1750, indigenous slave labor became extinct by law, and "rescues" and " just wa rs " were f orbidden. Am azon ia was a lso the stage f or serious interna I conf licts motivated by the control of indigenous labor that took the Portuguese Crown, as time went by, to produce a real legislative ring dance in order to satisfy either the missionary settlers or the lay settlers who lived in a climate of permanent battle. The clashes were not only between the clerics and the lay people, but they were also vehement among the missionaries themselves (Jesuits, Franciscans, Carmelites and Merced Arians) which took

to the division of the Amazodan territory into lots ascribed to different religious orders.

45

During the period of 1835 to 1840 the Am azonian region, more precisely Para , Editor's note: after 160 years, witnessed the bloodiest uprise of our history, the Cabanagem, during which the Regent that intention is confirmed Feijo (Diogo Antonio Feijo) met the ambassadors from France, Portugal and England, rhe anthropotosist and who had joined the English Admiralty, and offered to exchange the region for additional hrstorian David Cteary found, in the archives of rhe pubtic troops to invade en masse the state of Para, with the intent to suffocate this uprising . Regent Feijo announced that he intended to gather about 3,000 men in ParA before Records office in London, the April 1836 in order to regain control of Belem and its neighborhood, which were in the /efters exchansed (from tB35 rebels' hands. This group of men would be offered by the French and English ro t B3s) between rhe Governments, both headquartered near the French region of Cayenne, in answer to the Embassies, the Foreisn office and the British Admiratty, call of the colonial Government of Brazil. During his research, talking with intellectuals in Pa16, the author heard this historical confirmins this thesis: the account... including from the Pa16 traditional families Vinagre and Angelim, who had definitive handins over of the Amazon territory to rhe British COnfliCting interests at that time . And more. if we analyze all the information about indigenous wars and uprisings and French crowns against the Portuguese during the colonial period in Amazonia, without considering the wars or conflicts between tribes, we can conclude that, at no moment in its history, the region lived in total peace. Thus the history of European colonization of Amazonia becomes a part of the History of wars and their outcomes: indigenous rebellions, escapes and desertions.

Unsuccessful attempt

to hand over Am azonia

lf Regent Diogo AntOnio Feijos proposition had been accepted, English and French Editor's note:iust imasine foreign troops might have killed Brazilians with the knowledge and approval of the the Amazon Rain Forest Government, and part of Amazonia would have been handed over to the British or the bebnsins now, for instance, French crowns in the nineteenth century. All this would have taken place if the foreigners b Enstand or to France, srnce had accepted the offer of the Brazilian lmperial Government, the Regent Feijo. On December 17 , 1835, the English and French ambassadors, Henry Stephen

the portusuese Crown

Fox considered that resion a for a secret and mititary area, not a scientific or

and Pontois, arrived at the Government headquarters in Rio de Janeiro confidential "interview", summoned by the Regent Feijo, who governed in the name of D. Pedro ll, still a minor. This meeting was to decrde definitely the destiny of Amazonia and suffocate the bloodiest revolt which was taking place in Par5, the Cabanagem. The alliance was not concluded at that time because both the ambassadors went back to their countries to discuss with their superiors the approval of the proposition made by the Regency of the Government of Brazil. The proposal was: as if "by chance", English and French troops would land in Belem do Pa16, that would be placed on the alert "to cooperate" with the Brazilian troops. This collaboration and active participation against the rebels would be "in general interest of

commerciat exptoration one!

".

But Regent Feijo made a safeguard. "the fact that these measures had been taken at the request of the Brazilian Government" would have to be

mankind and civilization omitted...

Thanks to the positions of the English and French ambassadors, the proposition presented by the Regent of Brazilian Government was refused. ln a letter dated of May 9, 1836, the English Foreign Minister Lord Palmerston informed the diplomat in charge of the

in Rio de Janeiro, W. G. Ouseley,that the English Government had considered with great attention "the suggestion" made by the Regent Feijo but it didn't feel "at ease" to satisfy those wishes because it would be "in divergence with the general principles" that ruled the conduct of the British Government in relation to foreign countries "to interfere so d irectly in the Brazilia n domestic affa irs " After the refusal from the British Crown and France, a very hard repression was applied by the Portuguese Crown on the revolt that imploded in Belem do Para, resulting in the largest annihilation of rebels ever heard in Brazil. lt is estimated that 30o/o of the 150,000 inhabitants of Amazonia at that time were killed by the imperial troops. But that is another story... Embassy

.

47

FnoM DREAM To

REALITY

tuq

{.'{' .jr,,', retd:?.

n

r "\. 7t9t'ri: rl'

\.,r'.,

Fsr.'

-|}3:t.

Coconut palms of Praia Grande did not mean very much to its inhabitants. When a special program of the University of Para on the Guama river banks was created in 1991 , several experts in some fields of the University got together

to pursue the enrichment of

back yards and human life as a whole. This way they stimulated the partnership among great companies. Mercedes Benz do B razil, today DaimlerChrysler do B razil, put their expectations and believed in those people. lt was a great idea. They promoted what we had always believed: that Amazonia can offer all its biodiversity to the world.

to manufacture head supports for Mercedes Benzvehicles was the way of activating and changing the way of life of Caboclos in Par6, Using the fiber from the coconut husk

these people so privileged by Nature and by God.

A laboratory was created in order to study fibers and resins, and it made investments in several projects in three regions of Parit, one of them in Ponta de Pedras, on Marqo lsland.

The participation of Caboclos from Praia Grande in the technological research with

the coconut was fundamental. They changed a lot of things and modified the machines in order to speed up the production. A gear which turns the coconut fiber into something like a rope is really a car wheel axle. ldea of Caboclos. To work with the coconut husk, two factories were mounted in Ponta de Pedras. One of them produces 5,000 head supports per month. lt has seven permanent employees who earn a salary of $250 Reals (around $100.00, in an average quotation from March 2002). All the profit obtained from the sale of the head supports to Mercedes Benz goes to the community of Praia Grande. lt is as if all of them were partners and entrepreneurs in a perfect business communion. All of them come from the region and gain from their own efforts. They plant, harvest and produce something unique in our universe of industrial technology,presenting a product better than any other. Nature and the wisdom of the forests surpass in many ways the advances in technology. They hope this factory will grow biggel that it would not remain restricted to just one community and that other communities may participate, too. The right thing to do is to fight for the well-being of all who live in the neighborhood (1994). Caboclos from Marajo have their own greatness. They live in the largest river island in the world. They are part of the largest hydrographic basin in the world and of the largest forest in the world, living on a "big shore" .

ln the 1956 edition of The Amazon Rain Forest in the Future of theWorld, the author mentioned the use of the coconut fiber and of the Amazon Palm tree in

industry. Thanks to a great idea that Mercedes Benz do Brasil had in 1992, the dream of a brave Brazilidh, "who became absorbed in its most fascinating and mysterious region: The Amazon Rain Forest" became reality in words of the Academician Menotti Del Picchia in his preface to this book

49

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