Medieval rubber

What kind of technology and products would Europeans from the 11th-14th centuries produce if they had access to a rubber like material?
 
Rubber trees wouldn't exactly grow well in medieval Europe. The Brazilian rubber tree is a tropical species, as are some of the analogous species which lived in Mesoamerica, and wouldn't grow well if at all in Europe.

However, there is another possibility. The Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), native to parts of Central Asia (Kazakhstan and a couple of its neighbours) is a perennial species which can be tapped to produce a latex that functions like rubber. All that needs to happen is for this plant to be discovered and spread to Europe.
 
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Rubber trees wouldn't exactly grow well in medieval Europe. The Brazilian rubber tree is a tropical species, as are some of the analogous species which lived in Mesoamerica, and wouldn't grow well if at all in Europe.

However, there is another possibility. The Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), native to parts of Central Asia (Kazakhsta and a couple of its neighbours) is a perennial species which can be tapped to produce a latex that functions like rubber. All that needs to happen is for this plant to be discovered and spread to Europe.

Interesting! What's the cultivation of that plant like, and how much latex can be produced using the methods of the time?
 
However, there is another possibility. The Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), native to parts of Central Asia (Kazakhsta and a couple of its neighbours) is a perennial species which can be tapped to produce a latex that functions like rubber. All that needs to happen is for this plant to be discovered and spread to Europe.

Wow! Great info! Thanks for pointing me to this wonderful plant, I had no idea of its existence.

Interesting! What's the cultivation of that plant like, and how much latex can be produced using the methods of the time?

According to wiki, it can and was mass cultivated in several countries, and it's on the verge of coming back.

It has some benefits over regular rubber (allergies and sustainability it seems), but is yield is 8-10 times lesser per area compared to rubber trees. However, for medieval societies, this could be a good discovery. Perhaps it would come West with the regular nomad migrations, like the Huns or Mongols. This material could go far in the hands of Renaissance masters.
 
Interesting! What's the cultivation of that plant like, and how much latex can be produced using the methods of the time?
As @Prince di Corsica noted, its yield is much lower than the equivalent area of rubber trees. However, its cultivation is much quicker, since it's a flowering herb rather than, well, a tree. I think that it can start to yield after six months or so, compared to several years at least for rubber trees (maybe over a decade, can't remember exactly how long it takes). It's basically like a dandelion in terms of how it grows (ie a fast-growing weed), so it's just plant into most soils and let it grow.
 
As @Prince di Corsica noted, its yield is much lower than the equivalent area of rubber trees. However, its cultivation is much quicker, since it's a flowering herb rather than, well, a tree. I think that it can start to yield after six months or so, compared to several years at least for rubber trees (maybe over a decade, can't remember exactly how long it takes). It's basically like a dandelion in terms of how it grows (ie a fast-growing weed), so it's just plant into most soils and let it grow.
That might change after three centuries of selective breeding (depending on the POD) to produce dandelions with bigger yeilds. Of course it'll be nowhere near as much as a tree could make but look at what 400 years did to the watermelon.
watermelon-1.jpg
 
That might change after three centuries of selective breeding (depending on the POD) to produce dandelions with bigger yeilds. Of course it'll be nowhere near as much as a tree could make but look at what 400 years did to the watermelon.

Perhaps it wouldn't surpass the rubber tree in yield, but you're right, it can become much more yielding through selective succession through the medieval period and modern age. And with its faster growth and easier cultivation, it may very well outdo it in profit margins.

Speaking of it, what would be the first developments from rubber? The Mesoamericans, it seems, used them for ball games mostly. And one of the first European uses was for erasers, I guess that's useful for both art and literature, it could affect the Renaissance.

How long would it take for sturdy rubber wheels and clothing or even shipping insulation to begin? And how could those effect history? What regions would profit and how would society change?
 

Driftless

Donor
A couple of mundane uses:
  • Eraser* for graphite pencils - which were 15th-16th Century. Nice synergy for expanding the use of both the pencil and the eraser
  • An earlier appearance of rubber coated boots for fishermen and farmers.
*Eraser = rubber for non-US folks
 
Speaking of it, what would be the first developments from rubber? The Mesoamericans, it seems, used them for ball games mostly. And one of the first European uses was for erasers, I guess that's useful for both art and literature, it could affect the Renaissance.

How long would it take for sturdy rubber wheels and clothing or even shipping insulation to begin? And how could those effect history? What regions would profit and how would society change?
As you said the Mesoamericans used it to make balls but the Aztec also used it to make containers and waterproof textiles. I assume those would be a safe bet for early European products. But personally I think footwear could be the most valuable use for it. Everybody obviously walks but it seems most peasants went barefoot most of the time while the leather shoes, for those who could afford it, were biodegradable. Soes were also vital to armies who have to march all day while tripping on a battlefield in bad terrain would leave you vulnerable at inopportune times. And as @Driftless said, it would be useful for farmers and fishermen who have to work in mud and cold water. Maybe rubber could be a cheap solution that could last longer and offer more comfort then it's leather counterpart?

But researching this further has made me realized that the lack of vulcanization is probably why Mesoamericans didn't use it for shoes. Otherwise natural rubber melts in hot weather and cracks in the winter.

So my guess is that people in Kazakhstan discover it and start using it for balls and such. Then once it spreads to Europe some Alchemists start derping around with it. Optimistically they then discover that mixing it with sulfur turns it into a more durable material. This would most likely happen near sources of sulfur so maybe this would first arise so maybe Byzantine Milos would be the discovery site or Iceland perhaps?
 
The only thing that differentiate modern leather boots from ancient footwear is the rubber soles and Goodyear welting. Rubber also makes things like hoses and gaskets possible. With a rubber ring you could make mason jars with hermetic seal making that type of food preservation accessible.
 
So my guess is that people in Kazakhstan discover it and start using it for balls and such
Waterproof textile use is more valuable for shepherds (and was actually done on small scale, IIRC). So what is needed is for some Silk Road travelers to notice this.
Though the common use of the plant was the one of chewing gum.
 
I have often thought that if I was transported back to medieval times with my modern knowledge and wanted to take over the world the difference-makers in my army would be soap, nutrition and footwear. The first army with vulcanised rubber-soled shoes would have a tremendous advantage in ability to cover distance and be fighting ready when they got there.
 
Waterproof textile use is more valuable for shepherds (and was actually done on small scale, IIRC). So what is needed is for some Silk Road travelers to notice this.
Though the common use of the plant was the one of chewing gum.
Interesting, maybe the travelers add some sugar or something to it and it takes off as a treat in Europe?

It seems that normal dandelions deep roots can help break up soil and bring nutrients to the top layer for other crops to feed on. Maybe farmers can rotate it out before they plant their usual crops?

But I'm not a botanist so I'm just wildly speculating.
 
It seems that normal dandelions deep roots can help break up soil and bring nutrients to the top layer for other crops to feed on. Maybe farmers can rotate it out before they plant their usual crops?

But I'm not a botanist so I'm just wildly speculating.

That's a very interesting aspect of the question. If the Kazakh dandelion has the same property (and if it doesn't, could hybrid versions with other dandelion species get it over the generations?), perhaps this plant, bringing both rubber and a more nourishing soil, could accelerate the Agricultural and Industrial revolutions in Europe?
 
It has. It's kinda pre-requisite for existing in arid areas.

Thanks for the info! I really have to get reacquainted with botany...

I found this article about the industrial history of rubber:

https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/rubber-the-muscles-and-sinews-of-industrial-society

Very interesting stuff. Apparently vulcanised rubber was discovered at least twice independently (giving hope to it being discovered in medieval times if this dandelion comes to Europe) and its uses were immediately recognised for water protection and insulation, for hoses, footwear, printing press and for tires. Not to mention for the manufacture of the various pieces of industrial machinery.

I'm liking this for a Renaissance industrial age
 
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