“An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone

This article studies the history of Manaus, the largest city in Amazonia and the capital of Amazonas, Brazil’s largest state, between the end of Amazon rubber boom, in the 1910s, and the creation of an Industrial Pole in the 1970s. When rubber went bust, regional elites sought to transform Manaus f...

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Main Author: Adrián Lerner Patrón
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Iberoamericana / Vervuert 2025-03-01
Series:Iberoamericana. América Latina - España - Portugal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.iai.spk-berlin.de/index.php/iberoamericana/article/view/3166
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author Adrián Lerner Patrón
author_facet Adrián Lerner Patrón
author_sort Adrián Lerner Patrón
collection DOAJ
description This article studies the history of Manaus, the largest city in Amazonia and the capital of Amazonas, Brazil’s largest state, between the end of Amazon rubber boom, in the 1910s, and the creation of an Industrial Pole in the 1970s. When rubber went bust, regional elites sought to transform Manaus from an extractive enclave into an industrial center. The result was the Manaus Free Trade Zone, inaugurated in 1967, which would also include an industrial district, the Industrial Pole of Manaus, launched in 1972. The Free Trade Zone created extraordinary economic and demographic growth but, paradoxically, it also reproduced some of the dynamics of the rubber era. It was based on exploitative labor regimes and remained dependent on import-export houses and consumption within the city. Moreover, it ultimately exacerbated the city’s extractive demands on the rainforest and its peoples.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Iberoamericana / Vervuert
record_format Article
series Iberoamericana. América Latina - España - Portugal
spelling doaj-art-3467669af9e048eea3b12f46c9955fa32025-08-20T03:44:23ZengIberoamericana / VervuertIberoamericana. América Latina - España - Portugal1577-33882255-520X2025-03-01258810.18441/ibam.25.2025.88.11-25“An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade ZoneAdrián Lerner Patrónhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1710-950X This article studies the history of Manaus, the largest city in Amazonia and the capital of Amazonas, Brazil’s largest state, between the end of Amazon rubber boom, in the 1910s, and the creation of an Industrial Pole in the 1970s. When rubber went bust, regional elites sought to transform Manaus from an extractive enclave into an industrial center. The result was the Manaus Free Trade Zone, inaugurated in 1967, which would also include an industrial district, the Industrial Pole of Manaus, launched in 1972. The Free Trade Zone created extraordinary economic and demographic growth but, paradoxically, it also reproduced some of the dynamics of the rubber era. It was based on exploitative labor regimes and remained dependent on import-export houses and consumption within the city. Moreover, it ultimately exacerbated the city’s extractive demands on the rainforest and its peoples. https://journals.iai.spk-berlin.de/index.php/iberoamericana/article/view/3166UrbanizationDevelopmentExtractivismManausAmazonia
spellingShingle Adrián Lerner Patrón
“An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
Iberoamericana. América Latina - España - Portugal
Urbanization
Development
Extractivism
Manaus
Amazonia
title “An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
title_full “An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
title_fullStr “An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
title_full_unstemmed “An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
title_short “An Empire of Beads”? The Making of the Manaus Free Trade Zone
title_sort an empire of beads the making of the manaus free trade zone
topic Urbanization
Development
Extractivism
Manaus
Amazonia
url https://journals.iai.spk-berlin.de/index.php/iberoamericana/article/view/3166
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