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   alt.history      Pretty sure discussion of all kinds      15,187 messages   

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   Message 15,047 of 15,187   
   Jeffrey Rubard to Jeffrey Rubard   
   Re: Greg Grandin, "Fordlandia" (2009) (1   
   04 Feb 24 09:19:08   
   
   From: jeffreydanielrubard@gmail.com   
      
   On Friday, February 2, 2024 at 12:17:12 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:   
   > On Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 8:37:18 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 9:01:01 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > > On Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 2:45:14 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:02:58 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > > On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:38:52 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > > > On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 8:24:35 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > > > > On Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 12:30:58 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey   
   Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > On Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 8:27:50 AM UTC-7, Jeffrey   
   Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 8:34:33 AM UTC-7, Jeffrey   
   Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > > > On Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 1:10:38 PM UTC-7,   
   Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 2:32:06 PM UTC-7,   
   Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > From Chapter 15: "Kill All the Americans"    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > It took Dearborn's purchasing agents some effort to   
   find a factory whistle that wouldn't rust from the jungle humidity. Once they   
   did, they shipped it to Fordlandia, where it was perched on top of the water   
   tower, above the tall    
   trees, giving it a seven-mile range. The whistle was piercing enough not only   
   to reach dispersed road gangs and fieldhands but to be heard across the river,   
   where even those not affiliated with Fordlandia began to pace their day to its   
   regularly    
   scheduled blows. The whistle was supplemented by another icon of industrial   
   factory work: pendulum punch time clocks, placed at different locations around   
   the plantation, that recorded exactly when each employee began and ended his   
   workday.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Sponsor Message    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > In Detroit, immigrant workers by the time they got to   
   Ford's factories, even if they were peasants and shepherds, had had ample   
   opportunity to adjust to the meter of industrial life. The long lines at Ellis   
   Island, the clocks that    
   hung on the walls of depots and waiting rooms, the fairly precise schedules of   
   ships and trains, and standardized time that chopped the sun's daily arc into   
   zones combined to guide their motions and change their inner sense of how the   
   days passed.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > But in the Amazon, the transition between agricultural   
   time and industrial time was much more precipitous. Prior to showing up at   
   Fordlandia, many of the plantation's workers who had lived in the region had   
   set their pace by two    
   distinct yet complementary timepieces. The first was the sun, its rise and   
   fall marking the beginning and end of the day, its apex signaling the time to   
   take to the shade and sleep. The second was the turn of the seasons: most of   
   the labor needed to    
   survive was performed during the relatively dry months of June to November.   
   Rainless days made rubber tapping possible, while the recession of the floods   
   exposed newly enriched soils, ready to plant, and concentrated fish, making   
   them easier to catch.    
   But nothing was set in stone. Excessive rain or prolonged periods of drought   
   or heat led to adjustments of schedules. Before the coming of Ford, Tapajos   
   workers lived time, they didn't measure it — most rarely ever heard church   
   bells, much less a    
   factory whistle. It was difficult, therefore, as David Riker, who performed   
   many jobs for Ford, including labor recruiter, said, "to make 365-day machines   
   out of these people."    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > In 1927, Henry Ford bought a tract of land stretching   
   twice the size of Deleware in the Amazonian jungle of Brazil. Fordlandia, as   
   it was called, was meant to be a large rubber plantation.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Ford executives stand on the deck of the Lake Ormoc.   
   Left to right: William Cowling, Edsel Ford, Einar Oxholm, Henry Ford, Pete   
   Martin, Charles Sorensen, and AlbertWibel.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Workers chop down a tree in Fordlandia. Greg Grandin,   
   author of "Fordlandia," claims that the complex ecological conditions and a   
   clash of cultures between the Americans and native workers ultimately led to   
   the failure of the    
   project.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Along with the construction of the rubber plantation,   
   Ford also created small American towns that included central squares, indoor   
   plumbing, golf courses and hospitals.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Many of the plantation workers were to the jungle and   
   were moved into American style housing.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > This family bungalow was part of a housing development   
   styled after American homes.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Attempting to import American culture into the Amazon,   
   Fordlandia offered residents a dance hall, with a movie screen on the back   
   wall.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Malaria, yellow fever and viper bites claimed the   
   lives of many workers.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Mundurucu mission children stand with German nuns.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > The American cars were no match for the local   
   environment.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > Fordlandia's sawmill at Iron Mountain still stands 80   
   years later.    
   > > > > > > > > > > > > 1 OF 11    
   > > > > > > > > > > > >    
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)   

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