Rubber Production Essay

876 Words2 Pages

Throughout history, rubber has been one of the most used raw materials in the world. It has had a significant role in global and economic trade. Countries such as India and Sri Lanka have been greatly influenced by the production of rubber in the eighteenth and ninetieth century. In general, the production of rubber benefited the world significantly, especially Great Britain as it allowed them to make a profit and to obtain a sufficient amount of wealth. This was accomplished through the means of trade and exploiting indentured servants to work in these rubber plantations. In order to exemplify the importance of rubber, this article will investigate the history of rubber, the importance that rubber has had in world history, address the negative consequences that rubber production had on societies such as Sri Lanka and India, and finally, this paper will discuss the continued impacts that rubber production has on the present global economy.
Initially, rubber has existed for an extensive period of time. When viewing the “early history of rubber development, [there] is evidence that rubber existed even before Columbus’ time” (Robert, E.A. 1952, p. 77). One of the earlier uses of rubber was documented in a Mexican Tribe where the natives of Mexico and West Indies played games using elastic balls (Robert, E.A. 1952, p. 77). Many scientists attempted to establish “suitable solvents for rubber since its arrival in Europe as a raw material in the late 1700s, however none had been successful” (Backer, C. 1997, p.14). Furthermore, it is relevant to say that the rubber industry was primarily established in Europe by Charles Macintosh, who was an industrial chemist in 1818 (Backer, C. 1997, p.14). Later on, the rubber industry began to devel...

... middle of paper ...

...e rubber production allows vehicles to have efficient tires. It is estimated that “seventy percent of the demand for rubber consumption comes from the tire industry (Backer, C.1997, p.15). As well as, the production of rubber had a significant role in promoting larger scale of Indian and Sri Lankan workers to work as indentured workers. It is quite obvious that the production of rubber has indeed had a great importance in world history. As well as, the production of rubber has endless possibilities and potential as it has a significant impact on the global economy today. Through the manipulation of rubber, producers were able to increase the standards in quality of living for people around the world. Rubber was manufactured into products for consumer use. Hence, the discovery of rubber changed the way the world functions and has been very useful in our daily lives.

Open Document