Infernal Tambopata. British Involvement in Twentieth Century Slavery in Peru and Bolivia

Abstract

The Putumayo Atrocities (murder, torture, Slavery of indigenous rubber workers) committed by the British registered Peruvian Amazon Company are well known. The official response of the British Government was that there was no direct British involvement; they were an aberration. There is though much evidence that during the early years of the 20th century, other British rubber companies in the Amazon Basin used the enganche por deudas bonded labour system. This article, adopting a granular approach, examines the activities of one British company, the Tambopata Rubber Syndicate, concentrating on its barracas at San Carlos and Marte, between 1907 and 1913. Using unpublished sources (diaries, correspondence and company records) it reveals direct British involvement in slavery. It details ill-treatment of indigenous workers and demonstrates the human consequences of rubber exploitation.