Tree Burning at Night, Fordlandia, Brazil, 1929

Summary

Henry Ford established Fordlandia and Belterra in the Brazilian rainforest to supply rubber for automobile production. He began shipping machinery and supplies to the Amazon in 1928. Ford paid the indigenous workers good wages and supplied various amenities -- he also imposed foreign work traditions and behavioral restrictions which the workers resented. The plantations failed and Ford Motor Company disposed of the project in 1945.

Henry Ford established Fordlandia and Belterra in the Brazilian rainforest to supply rubber for automobile production. He began shipping machinery and supplies to the Amazon in 1928. Ford paid the indigenous workers good wages and supplied various amenities -- he also imposed foreign work traditions and behavioral restrictions which the workers resented. The plantations failed and Ford Motor Company disposed of the project in 1945.

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

15 November 1929

Subject Date

15 November 1929

Creators

Oxholm, Einar, 1893?-1956 

Place of Creation

Brazil, Fordlandia 

Creator Notes

Photographed by Einar Oxholm at Fordlandia, Brazil.

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

2002.1.1830.1.7

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 3.25 in

Width: 4.375 in

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