The Evolution of Rubber and its impact on French Colonialism
“How did the invention of synthetic rubber influence French colonialism between
1900 and 1962?”
Extended Essay - History
May 2025
Word Count: 3440
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Table Of Contents
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Background​ ​
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Introduction​ ​
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Expansionism Between 1900 and 1914 ​
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The First and The Second World War​​
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Post World War Two​ ​
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Rubber in the French Economy​
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Social Injustices Faced by the Colonial Natives and Plantation Workers​
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Conclusion​
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Works Cited ​ ​
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Background
Following eventual French defeat in the Napoleonic wars, 1803 to 1815, the French empire faced
a troubling situation.1 All of its North American colonies and many of its South American
colonies had been seized in the treaties at the end of the Napoleonic wars or through
administrative cession.2 As a result, French international holdings had started to dwindle and the
new French government felt that this was unacceptable. Between 1830 and 1847 the Kingdom of
France, a constitutional monarchy founded after the July revolution of 1830 which marked the
end of the Bourbon Restoration, conquered Algeria and parts of Morocco to increase their North
African holdings.3 In 1863 the Second French Empire, which had assumed power after a
revolution in the Second French republic in 1852, started to expand their South Eastern Chinese
holdings, starting with South Vietnam and Cambodia.4 Following the success in Indochina the
French expanded into Laos in 1893 and formally founded French Indochina under the Third
French Republic.5 Similarly, in 1896 the Island of Madagascar had become dependent on the
Third French republic and was recognized as a French colony. After all of the French
colonization in the 19th century and the 20th century, French holdings had 12.3 million square
kilometers and a population of 68.7 million.6 At the same time, natural rubber within South
America was gaining international renown as a very positive investment due to its increased
demand.7 The French viewed gaining natural resources such as natural rubber as a goal of their
1
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Napoleonic Wars | Summary, Combatants, & Maps.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 29 Jan.
2019, www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars.
2
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8 Oct.
2024.
3
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8
Oct. 2024.
4
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8 Oct.
2024.
5
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8
Oct. 2024.
6
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8 Oct.
2024.
7
USA, Orings. BRIEF HISTORY & INTRODUCTION of RUBBER. OringsUSA.
3
extensive expansionism and after viewing British success felt that this could help make France
richer.8
Introduction
Originally stationed in South America, the natural rubber trees of Brazil provided a majority of
the international rubber, roughly 42 000 tons, until 1910 when the British colonies created their
own rubber plantations and started expanding their influence on the international market.9 The
French government saw this new found economic prosperity coming from the British colonies,
especially the colonies in South Eastern Asia, and wanted to try it for themselves. Michitake
Aso, a global environmental historian wrote the article The Scientist, the Governor, and the
Planter:The Political Economy of Agricultural Knowledge in Indochina During the Creation of a
“Science of Rubber,” 1900–1940, states that “The rubber industry in Indochina was dependent
on trans-colonial connections, suggesting the growth of a Southeast Asian identity centered on
agricultural production”.10 This shows that the Third French Republic was willing to combine
aspects from other colonies into their own. The way natural rubber was dispersed within their
colonies emphasizes this, as the major plantations were all within the Indochinese colonial
holdings and many of the more minor plantations were dispersed throughout French African
8
Aso, Michitake. “The Scientist, the Governor, and the Planter: The Political Economy of Agricultural Knowledge
in Indochina during the Creation of a “Science of Rubber,” 1900–1940.” East Asian Science Technology and Society
an International Journal, vol. 3, no. 2-3, 1 Sept. 2009, pp. 231–256, https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-009-9092-7.
Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
9
USA, Orings. BRIEF HISTORY & INTRODUCTION of RUBBER. OringsUSA.
10
Aso, Michitake. “The Scientist, the Governor, and the Planter: The Political Economy of Agricultural Knowledge
in Indochina during the Creation of a “Science of Rubber,” 1900–1940.” East Asian Science Technology and Society
an International Journal, vol. 3, no. 2-3, 1 Sept. 2009, pp. 231–256, https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-009-9092-7.
Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
4
holdings, specifically the tropical areas.11 As a result, many of these tropical areas began to
flourish economically.
The effect synthetic rubber had on these areas and the people living in them will be explored
from the perspectives given during the first and the second world wars. As synthetic rubber had
only recently been invented in 1882 and the quality was far behind that of natural rubber.12 At the
same time needing to defend distant land had no real meaning to the people living within France
as they felt no connection to it.
Another way in which the invention of synthetic rubber has influenced the French colonies can
be seen through the economy. The production of natural rubber greatly out performed the tiny
amount of synthetic rubber production. This led to cheaper natural rubber which the synthetics
couldn’t beat, until the technology that was necessary for easier and cheaper synthesis had been
completed.13 After the completion of the new technologies in roughly 1926 the amount of natural
rubber would slowly decrease as there was no need for the now more expensive natural rubber.14
The final viewpoint that reveals the truth behind how synthetic rubber affected French
colonialism between 1909 and 1962 is its impact on the French colonial social injustices. Many
of which focus on the terrible conditions in which plantation workers worked and the unfair
French capitalism which pushed for French economic dominance in their holdings. Similarly,
these social issues had been spread throughout all of the French colonial holdings and synthetic
rubber helped alleviate a majority of these injustices.15 As a result many of the changes synthetic
11
Danthu, Pascal, et al. HISTOIRE DU CAOUTCHOUC de MADAGASCAR / LE POINT SUR…. 2016.
Gent, Alan. “Rubber - the Rise of Synthetic Rubber.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound/The-rise-of-synthetic-rubber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
12
13
Gent, Alan. “Rubber - the Rise of Synthetic Rubber.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound/The-rise-of-synthetic-rubber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
14
Gent, Alan. “Rubber - the Rise of Synthetic Rubber.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound/The-rise-of-synthetic-rubber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
15
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675.
5
rubber brought to French colonialism allowed the decline of French colonial holdings into the
late 20th century.16
This paper is ordered thematically by the influences that synthetic rubber had on French
colonialism, in which the decrease in the number of square kilometers that the French held
internationally can be attributed to the influence the invention of synthetic rubber had. The
subsequent ideas confront the notion that this decline in holdings can be shown through the first
and second world wars allowing synthetic rubber to take to the world stage as a possible
resource; therefore an impact on the French economy can also be seen. Following this will be a
discussion of the social injustices faced by many of the plantation workers and the colonial
holdings native populations, which were drastically changed by the invention of synthetic rubber.
Expansionism Between 1900 and 1914
A major focus of the French people at the beginning of the twentieth century was expansion.
After many failed attempts in the 1800s and repeated successes of their neighboring empires
such as the British, the Dutch, the Germans, the Spanish, and the Belgians, the French people felt
that they were lagging behind on the world stage.17 As the scramble for Africa, the expansion of
empires into Africa looking for natural resources, land, and workers, occurred, the French
planned their expansion into North Africa, West Africa, and Equatorial Africa.18 This resulted in
a confrontation between the French Republic and the German Empire in Morocco in 1905 and
1906. This was due to the French Republic and the British Empire forming an alliance in 1904,
which allowed them to expand in North Africa without worrying about confrontation with the
16
“French Colonial Empire.” Mid.ru, 2024, mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/historical_materials/1957984/. Accessed 8 Oct.
2024.
17
J. Llewellyn et al, “France before World War I” at Alpha History, https://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/france/,
2014, accessed November 26th 2024
18
Magdoff, H., & Webster, R. A. (2024, October 30). The race for colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. Encyclopædia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Western-colonialism/The-race-for-colonies-in-sub-Saharan-Africa
6
other which Germany felt threatened by.19 The confrontation in Morocco between the French and
the Germans ended up developing into a crisis known as the First Moroccan Crisis.20 Following
this crisis the Germans pushed development of synthetic rubber and in 1909 synthetic rubber had
been synthesized.21 This helped slow down the rate at which the French colonial holdings were
expanding. Even though the first synthetic rubber was expensive, the investors of colonial
companies focusing on natural resources, such as natural rubber, invested in the newly acquired
synthetic rubber. Many of them foresaw that the rate at which the automobile industry was
expanding and how many militaries were beginning to include motorization that a natural rubber
would not be able to compete with the rubber demand. As a result, investments in the colonial
companies of the French decreased and slowed down expansionism into tropical areas but did
not stop it all together. However, with tensions between the Empires and their power blocs
tightening, French expansionism halted as they began preparing for war.22
The First and The Second World War
The invention of synthetic rubber played a major role in the continuation of the First world war.
This was primarily due to the German Empire making it a focus to create synthetics because of
the Allies blockade.23 Known as “methyl rubber” the material was both more expensive and less
satisfactory than natural rubber.24 As a result, once the first world war was over, the German
19
History.com, E. (n.d.). The first moroccan crisis | March 31, 1905.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-moroccan-crisis
20
History.com, E. (n.d.). The first moroccan crisis | March 31, 1905.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-moroccan-crisis
21
Alex. (2024, August 27). The history of Synthetic Rubber. Coruba.
https://www.coruba.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-synthetic-rubber/
22
History.com, E. (n.d.). The first moroccan crisis | March 31, 1905.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-moroccan-crisis
23
Gent, Alan. “Rubber - the Rise of Synthetic Rubber.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound/The-rise-of-synthetic-rubber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024
24
Gent, Alan. “Rubber - the Rise of Synthetic Rubber.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound/The-rise-of-synthetic-rubber. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024
7
Government switched back over to natural rubber. This can be seen as one of the first large scale
uses of synthetic rubber even though it was significantly inferior to the natural product. Hence
the reason the French Government did not want to start synthesizing their own rubber. However,
a major problem within the French military was the sexually transmitted infection (STI) rate of
their soldiers. Originally having a contraction rate of 4.2% in peaceful times, the number would
rapidly climb during wartime.25 This caused great problems for the French military as it reduced
their total manpower and the only ways for them to prevent this was through using clean
brothels, providing sex education for their soldiers, and having contraceptives at the ready. This
influenced the consumer goods synthetic rubber was made from as the French military was not
creating their own rubber condoms but was relying on French capitalist companies like Michelin
to do so.26 Similarly, the production of tanks, vehicles, planes, and warships required a large
amount of rubber. During the First world war the French government was able to overcome this
with their natural plantations. However, the move to mobile warfare in the Second world war
caused a great increase in the amounts of rubber needed.27 As a result the French natural rubber
productions were not able to catch up with the demand and a push for synthetic rubber was
deemed necessary.
Due to their rapid capitulation after a successful German push to Paris, the new priority was to
get back into mainland Europe and maximize synthetic rubber development. Following this the
Germans established a fascist French government known as Vichy France which controlled the
25
“Venereal Diseases / 1.0 / Handbook - 1914-1918-Online (WW1) Encyclopedia.” 2024. 1914-1918-Online
(WW1) Encyclopedia. July 9, 2024.
https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/venereal-diseases/#toc_treatment_of_venereal_disease_in_entente
_nations.
26
“Rubber / 1.0 / Encyclopedic - 1914-1918-Online (WW1) Encyclopedia.” 1914-1918-Online (WW1)
Encyclopedia, 7 July 2024, encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/rubber/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
27
Solutions, AirBoss Rubber. “World War II and How It Changed Rubber Forever - AirBoss Rubber Solutions.”
AirBoss Rubber Solutions, 11 Oct. 2023,
airbossrubbersolutions.com/world-war-ii-and-how-it-changed-rubber-forever/.
8
Indochinese colonial territories and the African territories. In July 1941, Vichy France signed an
agreement with Japan to jointly control the Indochinese holdings.28 This caused a problem for the
Free French who saw the Vichy as an illegitimate government and this agreement would severely
weaken the possibility of future recapture of the colonies as the Free French were already at war
with the Axis and Vichy France. The lack of Indochinese rubber caused the Free French to push
for synthetic alternatives to keep their fight alive.29 During this time the Free French began trying
to take over the Vichy French holdings in Africa. However, for the Africans living in the
ex-colonies they realized that what would come was increased quotas, possible enlistment, and
hardening colonial practices30. The trouble caused by France's capitulation was not unknown to
the Free French government and they were readily trying to increase their production of all
materials. Primarily, the downsides of having a world-wide empire had shown itself. The
problem that was most represented was the logistics behind moving troops for defense, bringing
in the natural resources acquired within the distant territories, and defending it. This would later
be a proving point to the French as to why not to have a colonial empire.
Post World War Two
Following the second world war the French government had to face the independence
movements of their overseas territories. Many of which started violently resisting French
occupation.31 During this time of upheaval and fights for independence, 1945 to roughly 1960,
the French people switched through a variety of leaders and governments as the French mainland
was split between letting colonies go or keeping them. At the same time the price of synthetic
28
Admiral Toyoda. “Historical Documents - Office of the Historian.” State.gov, 2024,
history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1931-41v02/d232.
29
Jennings, Eric T. Free French Africa in World War II. Cambridge University Press, 8 July 2015.
30
Jennings, Eric T. Free French Africa in World War II. Cambridge University Press, 8 July 2015.
31
Britannica, E. (n.d.). French Decolonization in Africa. Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/French-Decolonization-in-Africa/311336
9
rubber had dropped due to the technological advancements brought along by the second world
war. Looking at figure 1.1 the difference between natural
rubber prices and synthetic rubber prices can be seen, and
even though figure 1.1 is in U.S export units this trend
and the difference between natural and synthetic rubbers
over time, is the same internationally for all democratic
and communist nations world wide.32 This trend in pricing
and availability greatly affected the outcome of the
resistance in French territories internationally, as now the need for raw and natural resources had
been greatly reduced from the technological advancements brought on by the second world war.
In turn, the French under Charles De Gaulle, founded the French Community which was a
collaboration of all the French African colonies and France itself. Which allowed many of the
colonies to become self-governing to a certain extent; however, the majority of power would still
reside with the mainland French government.33 Yet, after negotiations with leaders of Guinea, the
French allowed them to leave the French Community and find their own place in the world,
without any French support. As stated by Britanica “Guinea’s success encouraged the other
French colonies to reconsider their positions, and they soon began to demand independence as
well. By the end of 1960, the territories of Equatorial Africa had emerged as the independent
nations of the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, and Gabon; those of French West Africa
had become independent as Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Upper Volta (renamed Burkina
Faso in 1984), Niger, and Mali; and the Malagasy Republic had proclaimed independence as
32
Grilli, E. R., Agostini, B. B., & Hooft-Welvaars, M. J. ’t. (n.d.). (rep.). The World Rubber Economy Structure,
Changes, and Prospects (File, Vol. 30, Ser. occassional papers, pp. 1–229). World Bank.
33
Britannica, E. (n.d.). French Decolonization in Africa. Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/French-Decolonization-in-Africa/311336
10
Madagascar” which was partly allowed due to the French no longer needing the resources that
the African colonies provided, primarily natural rubber, as they could synthesize their own or
buy synthesized rubber for significantly less cost.
At the same time the French had encountered many conflicts in their Asian colonies with
communists and freedom fighters. After repeated French defeats they ended up losing control of
their Asian colonies and started looking for peace. This resulted in the Geneva Conference of
1954 where the Korean war was discussed along with the First Indochina war. After the First
Indochina war France would not return to the Asian continent with colonization or realm
expansion.34
Rubber in the French Economy
Rubber's effect on the French economy was the major reason as to why their colonialism was so
extensive. Within their Indochinese colonies natural rubber played an important role. At the
Indochinese natural rubber's peak of exportation in 1939 it was making a minimum of 268 000
000 Francs roughly 45.5 Million USD.35 Similarly Tuyen Mong Thi Nguyen, the author and
researcher of French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam,
states that “Rubber export in 1939 increased more than eight times from 1929 from 11,000,000
Francs to 96,000,000 Francs” within the Vietnamese economy.36 The Red Land Plantation
Corporation (Plantations des Terres Rouges, abbreviated as Terres Rouges, or SPTR), a rubber
plantation within Vietnam, was particularly important to the French colonial government and the
34
Foreign Service Institute, O. of the H. (n.d.). Dien Bien Phu & the Fall of French Indochina, 1954. U.S.
Department of State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/dien-bien-phu
35
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
36
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
11
main French government, as it was funded and run by French administrators.37 As a result, by
1935 the French funds within SPTR had expanded to 110 000 000 francs and by 1955 SPTR had
become the largest rubber plantation in Vietnam with a workforce of 421 000 people. 38
Alternatively, Nguyen tells about the “Far East Rubber Corporation (Société des Caoutechoues
d’extrême-orient), known as CEXO, founded in 1911”.39 It was a merger between two previous
rubber plantations, Indochina Rubber Corporation (Société des Caoutechoues de l’Indochine)
and Indochina Corporation of Tropical Plants (Sociéte Indochine des Cultures Tropicales), and
was owned by a French citizen known as De Laland.40 As a result, CEXO’s “fund grew on the
yearly basis, with 4,500,000 Francs in 1912 to 6,000,000 Francs in 1917, 8,000,000 Francs in
1920 and 28,000,000 Francs in 1934”.41 A third company was also used by the French and its
name is “Dong Nai rubber company (Le Caoutchouc du Dona, abbreviated as LCD), whose
predecessor was Bien Hoa Forest and Engineering Company”.42 Dong Nai rubber company's
headquarters was in Paris. Similarly, Dong Nai rubber company had a fund of 6 000 000 in 1919
and in 1939 they tapped 1184 tons of latex from plantation trees.43 To prevent any Vietnamese,
37
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
38
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
39
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
40
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
41
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
42
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
43
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
12
Chinese, or any other local capitalist from becoming rubber barons the French government
refused to give any funding through their banks.
Synthetic rubber allowed major nations to synthesize their own rubber without needing to deal
with exporting from other countries. This was highly important during the first and second world
wars as it allowed France to keep its natural rubber colonies to a certain extent, as Germany was
already synthesizing enough for their needs. However, after the second world war due to
technological advances in rubber synthesis less focus was put on natural rubber. The United
Nations,UN, stated in an economic report on Africa “Between 1950/51 and 1952/53 average
agricultural production in Tunisia was below pre-war level”.44 Similarly the UN states “French
North African exports declined in 1953 to a level 22 per cent higher than in 1950, whereas other
African territories continued to increase and in 1953 were 41 per cent greater in value than in
1950”, which shows how French North Africa was slower in economic growth compared to
others as their primary economical power was their agriculture which had dropped.45 French
West African exports of rubber in 1951 which were 961 Long tons and in 1953 being only 14
Long tons.46 Alternatively the Cameroons under French administration went from 2 112 Long
tons in 1951 to 2 664 Long tons in 1953 but it couldn’t combat French West Africa’s declining
exports combined with French Equatorial Africa’s decline of 41 Long tons, roughly a 37%
decrease, from 1951 to 1953.47 Altogether, French African exports of Natural rubber decreased
14% in just 2 years. The French government did not feel driven to invest in natural rubber post
world wars because they could synthesize all that they needed.48 More focus was placed on
non-synthesizable materials like raw elements.
44
United Nations. Review of Economic Activity in Africa 1950 to 1954. united Nations, 1955.
United Nations. Review of Economic Activity in Africa 1950 to 1954. united Nations, 1955.
46
United Nations. Review of Economic Activity in Africa 1950 to 1954. united Nations, 1955.
47
United Nations. Review of Economic Activity in Africa 1950 to 1954. united Nations, 1955.
48
Dunham, D.M. Spatial Implications in the Competition between Natural and Synthetic Products: With Special
Reference to the Case of Rubber. Institute of Social Studies.
45
13
Social Injustices Faced by the Colonial Natives and Plantation Workers
Another major way synthesized rubber influenced French colonialism was through the way it
helped alleviate the social injustices that occurred due to natural rubber and its plantations.
Primarily, many of the social injustices were centered in French African colonies, specifically the
French congo was plagued with terrible social unrest. Reuben A. Loffman explains this in his
article Rubber Production in Africa “notably the French Congo and the Congo Free State (CFS),
later the Belgian Congo, and, to a lesser extent, Angola, were blighted by violence as they
conceded land to companies that lacked capital and relied on violence”.49 This violence brought
on by French companies revealed the truth of how locals were being viewed within companies.
As a result these tactics of coercion ended up being called “The legacy of coercive rubber
production” and made international news due to how inhumane the practices were.50 Reuben A.
Loffman states “The horrific conditions in which rubber was collected in the two Congos in
particular eventually became global news”.51
Sadly, Africa wasn’t the only place that these tactics occurred. Within Indochina under French
colonial rule similar tactics were used, however they occurred with increasing violence. During
the First Indochina war, 1946 to 1954, the French allowed bombing of locally owned rubber
plantations to force the owners to hand them over to the French companies. Nguyen states “
Moreover, in the war, these rubber areas belonged to the Vietnamese so the French attempted to
destroy by shelling, bombing and bulldozing those areas that did not belong to their financial
groups.”.52 The French went as far as they could to gain Indochinese rubber plantations including
49
Loffman, Reuben A. “Rubber Production in Africa.” African History, 22 Feb. 2023.
Loffman, Reuben A. “Rubber Production in Africa.” African History, 22 Feb. 2023.
51
Loffman, Reuben A. “Rubber Production in Africa.” African History, 22 Feb. 2023.
52
Thi Nguyen, Tuyen Mong. “French Colonialists’ Investment in and Exploitation of Natural Rubber in Vietnam.”
Journal of Asian Development, vol. 5, no. 2, 17 Apr. 2019, p. 101, https://doi.org/10.5296/jad.v5i2.14675. Accessed
6 Nov. 2020.
50
14
illegal activities. These actions conveyed how the French Colonial government felt about the
people that were living within their colonies.
Alternatively, synthetic rubber was a solution to these social injustices, because less land
and people were needed to synthesize rubber. At the same time synthetic rubber was cheaper to
produce than the natural resource, which would allow the quotas placed on plantations to
decrease. Following this trend all the colonial holdings would end up lessening their
requirements from the original natives of the land. In addition the world wide human rights
movement had started developing and citizens of mainland France found that what was going on
within the colonies was not up to their standards. As a result the social unrest was able to settle
significantly. This helped conclude “The legacy of coercive rubber production”.53 However, the
main problems still remained and eventually, due to other exploitation of natural resources being
conducted within French colonial rule, many of the territories ended up fighting for their
sovereignty and by 1962 the French Colonial government ended.
Conclusion
The invention of synthetic rubber majorly influenced French colonialism between 1909 and
1962, as the First and the Second world wars became a playground for new technologies
especially in synthetics, which allowed countries like the German Empire to persist even after
suffering the Allies’ blockade. Similarly, the economic impact synthetic rubber had on the
French economy is not unapparent. The economic gain from expanding the amount of
international holdings became less significant as synthetic rubber producers expanded, as the
need for more land was completely unnecessary. Furthermore, the injustices suffered by the
natives of the colonial holdings caused much discord between the plantation owners and their
53
Loffman, Reuben A. “Rubber Production in Africa.” African History, 22 Feb. 2023.
15
workers. This caused many of the natives to become infuriated with the French government who
supported their oppressors. As a result, many of the colonies declared independence or had a
referendum and gained their sovereignty. The invention of synthetic rubber redirected the French
government’s attention towards a increasingly centralized economy.
16
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