Putumayo and Iquitos, 1895-1908. At the dawn of the twentieth century, the Amazon rainforest was swept by the rubber boom. Julio César Arana, a former hat seller, rose to power as the owner of vast rubber plantations in the Colombian and Peruvian Amazon. Calling himself Socio de Dios (God's Partner) for the extent of his territory and influence, he enslaved the Huitoto people, punishing disobedience with whipping, burning, and death.