Acre War
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The Acre War, known in Brazil as Acrean Revolution ( pt, Revolução Acreana) and in Spanish as ("The War of the Acre") was a border conflict between
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and the
First Brazilian Republic The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic ( pt, República Velha ), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, refers to the period of Brazilian history from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with the d ...
over the Acre Region, which was rich in
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
deposits. The conflict had two phases between 1899 and 1903 and ended with an Acrean victory and the subsequent
Treaty of Petrópolis The Treaty of Petrópolis, signed on November 11, 1903, in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis, ended the Acre War between Bolivia and Brazil over the then-Bolivian territory of Acre (today the Acre state), a desirable territory in the Bolivia-Br ...
, which ceded Acre to Brazil. The outcome also affected territories disputed with
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.


Causes

The region of Acre possessed rich gold deposits and an abundance of timber, principally rubber trees. From the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, rubber trees were crucial to the automobile and transport industry, as synthetic rubber for the manufacture of tires and other objects was not discovered until around
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It is because of this that the war is also referred to as the Rubber War (''Guerra del Caucho''), as one of the motives that drove Jefferson José Torres, Governor of
Amazonas (Brazilian state) Amazonas () is a state of Brazil, located in the North Region in the northwestern corner of the country. It is the largest Brazilian state by area and the 9th largest country subdivision in the world, and the largest in South America, being ...
, was a rubber export tax.


Antecedents

The border between Brazil and Bolivia was delimited by the
Treaty of Ayacucho The Treaty of Ayacucho was an agreement between the Empire of Brazil and Bolivia signed in 1867. It assigned the land of Acre (now a state in Brazil) to Bolivia in exchange for 102,400 square kilometers of territory further north then annexed to ...
. The province of Acre, a territory of about five times the size of Belgium, belonged to
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. Embedded in the heart of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
, Acre aroused little interest for its inaccessibility and apparent lack of commercial value. Its population was composed of a small number of Indians without national identity and a handful of Brazilians and Bolivians. When the price of rubber rose significantly in the late 19th century, about 18,000 adventurers and settlers, most from
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, went to
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
to exploit the rubber trees. There were practically no roads so that the main means of transport were some river steamers, canoes and rafts.


First "Republic of Acre"

On January 2, 1899, Bolivia set up a customs office in Puerto Alonso (today Porto Acre), which upset the Brazilian settlers, who wanted to oust the Bolivian authorities. A lawyer, Dr. José de Carvalho, led a revolt against the Bolivians on April 30, 1899. Pressured by José de Carvalho, Bolivians were forced to leave the region. To prevent their return, the governor of Amazonas, José Cardoso Ramalho Junior, organized a team to enter Acre; commanded by Spaniard
Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias was a Spanish journalist, diplomat and adventurer who proclaimed the Republic of Acre in 1899. He ruled Acre between July 14, 1899 and January 1, 1900 for the first time, and between January 30 and March 15, 1900, ...
, who served as a Bolivian consul in
Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...
. Gálvez left Manaus on June 4, 1899, and came to the Bolivian town of Puerto Alonso, which had its name changed to Porto Acre, where he proclaimed the Republic of Acre on July 14, 1899, discreetly supported by willing '' amazonense'' officialdom, imposing his authority on the lands that the Treaty of Ayacucho (1867) had entrusted to Bolivia. Bolivia responded by sending a force of 500 men. Before his arrival, Galvez was taken prisoner by Antonio de Sousa Braga, who declared himself president of Acre. Shortly afterwards, however, he ceded power to Gálvez. On March 15, 1900, a Brazilian war flotilla reached Puerto Alonso, arrested Galvez and dissolved the Republic of Acre; as the Brazilian government, based on the Treaty of Ayacucho, considered Acre as Bolivian territory. A further reason for Ramalho Junior's interest in Acres occupation was that Galvez had discovered the existence of a diplomatic agreement between Bolivia and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
stating that there would be military support for Bolivia in the event of war with Brazil.


Second "Republic of Acre"

At that time, Bolivia organized a small military mission to occupy the region. Arriving in Porto Acre, it was prevented from continuing its movement by Brazilian rubber tappers. In November 1900 there was another rebellion in order to take Acre from Bolivia and create an independent republic. Known as the "Expedition of Poets" or "Expedition Floriano Peixoto", this force, under the command of journalist Orlando Correa Lopes, was based on the river monitor ''Dovapor Solimões'', equipped with the help of the governor of Amazonas province,
Silvério José Néri Silvério José Néri (Coari, Silvério José Nery; 8 October 1858 – 23 June 1934) was a Brazilian soldier and politician who was a federal deputy from 1897 to 1899, governor of the state of Amazonas from 1900 to 1903 and a senator from 1904 t ...
. The Solimões operated on the Purus river and seized the vessel ''Alonso'', which was renamed ''Ruy Barbosa''. Carvalho Rodrigo became president of the newly declared Republic of Acre, whose forces had a light cannon, a machine gun and about 200 men. Around Christmas 1900, this force attacked Puerto Alonso and was defeated by the Bolivian military, resulting in the loss of a dozen men and the machine gun, eventually leading to the dissolution of the republic. On December 29, the Bolivian vessel ''Rio Afua'' strengthened the garrison of Puerto Alonso. Although Bolivia deny the agreement with the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
previously mentioned, on June 11, 1901
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
signed a lease with a Bolivian Trading Company (also known as "Bolivian Syndicate of New York City", or simply "Bolivian Syndicate"), based in
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. The company had some very influential shareholders, including the king of
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and relatives of
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
, then president of the United States. Bolivia had given the company almost total control over the Acre province to protect its sovereignty. Under the agreement, the group of U.S. and British capitalists would assume total control over the region, occupying and exploiting it for 30 years. At that time Bolivia was ruled by General Jose Manuel Pando. The number of Brazilians in the region grew, searching forest wealth, mainly in the northeast. Brazil and Peru, which also claimed the territory, strongly disapproved of the lease act. Brazil withdrew the consul of Puerto Alonso and closed the tributaries of the Amazon River to trade with Bolivia. The international powers, who considered the basin as
international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
, protested, leading Brazil to reduce the ban to war materials and release the Bolivian goods addressed to foreign nations. At 26 years old, having fought in the
Federalist Revolution The Federalist Revolution ( Portuguese: ''Revolução Federalista'') was a civil war that took place in southern Brazil between 1893 and 1895, fought by the federalists, opponents of Rio Grande do Sul state president, Júlio de Castilhos, seeki ...
, the gaucho José Plácido de Castro came to Amazon. In 1902, rubber tappers made a deal with Castro. The military, believing that it could profit from the border struggle, offered Castro to train and command 2000 tappers to fight the Bolivians. At 5 o'clock in the morning of August 6, 1902, Castro led 33 riflemen in canoes on the Acre River. Castro quietly entered a wooden house in the city of Xapuri, in which the Bolivian quartermaster depot was based. Soon, Castro took possession of the site and imprisoned the Bolivian military personnel. The local people mistook the group as part of the celebrations of the Bolivian Independence Day. On September 18, a Bolivian battalion of 180 men, led by Colonel Rosendo Rojas, surprised the forces of Castro, which now had about 70 men. The Brazilians, armed with Winchester rifles, low on ammunition and suffering from tropical diseases and desertions, lost twenty men and were defeated. Castro then recruited another force, with about a thousand men. Part of that force besieged the city of Puerto Alonso on May 19, 1902. On October 14, the force captured some external fortifications and captured the ''Río Afua'', which wrecked on the island during the fighting. The river vessel, renamed ''Independence'', was used against its former owners. Despite the setback, the Bolivians obstinately kept Puerto Alonso. Elsewhere, the Brazilian adventurers besieged Company, which capitulated on 15 October. Other battles, almost all won by the forces of Plácido occurred in Bom Destino, Santa Rosa and other coastal cities. On January 15, 1903, the Brazilian force attacked and captured some positions out of Puerto Alonso. The ''Independence'', anchored upriver, was charged with thirty tons of high-quality rubber and focused on the passage by the Bolivian batteries to bring the river rubber down, which could be sold. The Plácido forces used the money to buy weapons and ammunition. On January 24, the Bolivians in Puerto Alonso surrendered to the rebels, who had taken the entire region. Three days later, on January 27, the Third Republic of Acre was proclaimed, now with the support of President
Rodrigues Alves Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, PC (; 7 July 1848 – 16 January 1919) was a Brazilian politician who first served as president of the Province of São Paulo in 1887, then as Treasury minister in the 1890s. Rodrigues Alves was elected the ...
and his Foreign Minister, the
Baron of Rio Branco Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
, who ordered the Acre occupation and established a military government under the command of General Olimpio da Silveira. The besieging force advanced towards the place where the rivers Chipamanu (also called Manuripe) and Tahuamanu meet to form the Rio Orton. Soon, a Bolivian force under the command of General Jose Manuel Pando, the Bolivian President, took the opposite bank. However, before it did any significant combat, as a result of the excellent work of diplomacy by the Baron of Rio Branco, the governments of Brazil and Bolivia signed a preliminary treaty on March 21, 1903; finally ratifying the
Treaty of Petrópolis The Treaty of Petrópolis, signed on November 11, 1903, in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis, ended the Acre War between Bolivia and Brazil over the then-Bolivian territory of Acre (today the Acre state), a desirable territory in the Bolivia-Br ...
on November 11, 1903. By said treaty Bolivia gave up Acre in exchange for Brazilian territory from the State of Mato Grosso, the payment of 2 million pounds (~ 640 million
réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 19 ...
) and the promise to construct the
Madeira-Mamoré Railroad The Madeira-Mamoré Railroad is an abandoned railroad built in the Brazilian state of Rondônia between 1907 and 1912. The railroad links the cities of Porto Velho and Guajará-Mirim. It became known as the "Devil's Railroad" because thousands of ...
; linking the
Mamoré River The Mamoré is a large river in Brazil and Bolivia which unites with the Beni to form the Madeira, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon. It rises on the northern slope of the Sierra de Cochabamba, east of the city of Cochabamba, and is kno ...
and the
Madeira River The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is ...
in order to allow the flow of regional production, particularly rubber. Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brazil actively participated in the negotiations with Bolivia, representing the Brazilian government in its signature. The Bolivian Syndicate was compensated with 110,000 pounds (~ $35 million réis). The taxes collected from Brazilian Acre financed the damages and the loan for the construction of the railway over a course of 30 years. The first of Placido Castro's decrees took place on January 26, 1903, applying Brazilian law until the enactment of a state constitution. It considered valid all land titles issued by Bolivia or the state of Amazonas, defined the Portuguese language as official and adopted the Brazilian monetary standard. The Treaty of Petrópolis, signed in 1903 by the Baron of Rio Branco and Assis Brazil, was approved by Brazilian federal law on February 25, 1904, and regulated by a presidential decree of April 7, 1904, incorporating Acre as part of Brazil. Placido de Castro, who died on August 11, 1908, was the first president of the Acre Territory. Castro, the Baron of Rio Branco and Assis Brazil became namesakes of the state capital ( Rio Branco) and two counties (Assis Brazil and Plácido de Castro). The Acrean Revolution demonstrated Brazil's advantage over their neighbors because of its downstream location in relation to the rivers that run almost the entire continent, being born in the Andes and flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil could send reinforcements to the disputed area by the rivers, while the Bolivians had to cross the Andes. Apparently, the Bolivian effort was fully funded by the rubber barons, particularly
Nicolás Suárez Callaú Nicolás Suárez Callaú (1851 in Portachuelo – 1940 in Cachuela Esperanza) set up a multinational rubber empire in South America at the beginning of the 20th century. Attracted by the rubber boom, Nicolas Suárez with his six brothers cro ...
. For the second time, Bolivia lost in a war of their plains populated sparsely for a stronger and well-managed neighbor (the first was in the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...
).


Treaty of Petrópolis

In 1867 the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship", or Ayacucho Bolivia Treaty, had yielded 164,242 square kilometers of area which were annexed by Brazil to the then-province and present state of Amazonas. The Treaty of Petrópolis is a peace treaty signed between Bolivia and Brazil in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis on November 17, 1903. Bolivia yielded an approximate area of 191,000 square kilometers, which mainly correspond to the current state of Acre, Brazil.


References


External links


Official Brazilian map from 1873, recognizing Acre as Bolivian or Peruvian.

Cap. Arthur Posnansky and the Acre War: Biblioteca EEADV

La Guerra del Acre: ''Los Tiempos'' newspaper

La Guerra del Acre: Huellas de Bolivia


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1890s conflicts 1900s conflicts First Brazilian Republic Wars involving Bolivia Wars involving Brazil Bolivia–Brazil relations 1899 in Bolivia 1899 in Brazil 1903 in Bolivia 1903 in Brazil