The Brazil–Guyana border is the international border between the territories of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. The terrestrial boundary is 1,605 km (997 mi) long.

History

The marshy terrain and lack of easily exploitable natural resources in this region of South America delayed colonization by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Portuguese, which allowed the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

to create colonies along the coasts and rivers. In 1835, just 4 years after the establishment of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

in 1831, increased interest in the region led Prussian explorer

Robert Hermann Schomburgk Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk (5 June 1804 – 11 March 1865) was a Holy Roman Empire-born explorer for Great Britain who carried out geographical, ethnological and botanical studies in South America and the West Indies, and also fulfilled diplo ...

to explore Guiana's interior. After brief land disputes between Britain and Brazil, Schomburgk claimed the entire area between the mouth of the

Barima River The Barima River is a tributary of the Orinoco River, entering from the Atlantic Ocean. It originates from the Imataka Mountains in Guyana, flowing for approximately before entering Venezuela about from its mouth. Features Early recorded ex ...

and the confluence of the Tacutu River and

Ireng River The Ireng River (or Maú River, generally used in Portuguese) forms part of Guyana's western border with Brazil. It flows through the valleys of the Pakaraima Mountains for most of its length. It is the only major river in Guyana which flows fro ...

, proclaiming the whole area as British domain. As a resolution to the series of land disputes known as the , a treaty was drawn up and signed on November 6, 1901. It was then submitted to the arbitration of King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

of Italy who, on June 15, 1904, ruled in favor of Britain and granted them the territory enclosed by the Tacutu and Ireng Rivers. It is also where the Takutu River Bridge is which is the only instance in the Americas of a land border where drivers must change from driving on the left (in Guyana) to driving on the right (in Brazil), or vice versa. The changeover is achieved by means of a crossover bridge on the Guyanese side. In 1926, a slight modification gave the boundary the present shape, and boundary markers were placed between 1932 and 1939.

References

{{Borders of Brazil Brazil–Guyana relations Borders of Brazil Borders of Guyana International borders