The Republic of Independent Guiana (french: République de la Guyane indépendante) commonly referred to by the name of the capital Counani (rendered "Cunani" in Portuguese by the Brazilians), was a short-lived unrecognized state in

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 southe ...

Republic (1886–1891)

The borders between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

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 ...

were not clear. Attempts at negotiations failed, and in 1862 it was decided that the area between the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and the

Oyapock The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá. Course The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist fores ...

was a neutral territory. Paul Quartier who had previously visited the territory in 1883, returned in 1885 and had a meeting with the village chiefs of Counani and Carsewenne (nowadays: Calçoene) who were hostile to the Brazilians. The gentlemen signed a treaty on 23 July 1886 creating the country of ''Counani'' in the disputed area. A government was set up in

Counani The Republic of Independent Guiana (french: République de la Guyane indépendante) commonly referred to by the name of the capital Counani (rendered "Cunani" in Portuguese by the Brazilians), was a short-lived unrecognized state in South America ...

lead by

Jules Gros Jules Marcel Gros (2 February 1890 – 25 December 1992) was a Breton linguist specializing in the Breton language. He was born in Paris. Gros' studies began very early in the twentieth century, from his grandmother and other people in his ...

as President, Guigues as Minister of State and Quartier as

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

. They set about recruiting settlers, and according to ''Le Gaulois'' received over 3,000 requests. Both France and Brazil did not like what was happening and released a joint statement on 11 September 1887 stating that the Republic of Counani is not recognized. Gros was later deposed by his officials, and the death of Gros in 1891 resulted in the end of the short lived first Republic. In 1894 gold was discovered in the

Calçoene River Calçoene River is a river of Amapá state in north-eastern Brazil. In 1894, the river was at the heart of gold rush with there were 6,000 to 10,000 gold miners active in and around the river. See also * List of rivers of Amapá References Bra ...

, which resulted in a declaration of another autonomous state under Brazilian protection by general Francisco Cabral. In May 1895, Cabral arrested the village chief of Calçoene who had changed sides to the French. Camille Charvein, the Governor of French Guiana, sent troops to Mapá (nowadays: Amapá), and forced Cabral to retreat. Six French, and 30 Brazilian soldiers and civilians were killed during the battle, with an additional 60 French casualties. In 1897, France and Brazil asked Switzerland to settle the dispute, and most of the territory of the former state of Counani was given to Brazil in what is nowadays the state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

Free State of Counani (1901–1904)

Flag of the Free State of Counani (1904-1912)

In 1901 a Frenchman named

Adolphe Brezet Adolphe Brezet was a French military officer who proclaimed himself as the President of the Free State of Counani in South America from 1904 to 1912. Brezet was a mysterious figure who fought against the British in the Boer Wars of South Africa ...

proclaimed himself "Président de l'État libre de Counani". According to newspaper articles based on Brezet's statements, he was elected democratically in 1901. This "special" State had a constitution, a flag and issued some stamps. It was never recognized by Brazil or France, but the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n Boer Republics opened diplomatic relations with Brezet (who had fought for them previously) during the

Boer wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...

. In 1904, Japan and Russia asked for vessels which Brezet didn't have, and thus exposed himself to France and Brazil. Nevertheless he claimed to be a president until 1911 when he was exiled to London. In 1913, he claimed support of the British navy in a plan to recapture Counani.

Claimants of Head of State

(1809–1891) – a French journalist who laid claim as head of state from 1887 to 1891; he was Secretary of the

Société de géographie The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...

in 1883 * Francisco Xavier da Veiga Cabral - a Brazilian general (1894-1895) *

- a French military officer (1901–1904)

References

Citations

Sources

*
"Annales d'hygiène et de médecine coloniale, Tome quatrième"
(1901), about the sanitary situation in Counani, pp. 121 to 128
p. 121p. 122p. 123p. 124p. 125p. 126p. 127p. 128
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guyana, Republic of Independent First Brazilian Republic Former countries in South America Former unrecognized countries Former republics French colonization of the Americas

Republic of Independent Guyana The Republic of Independent Guiana (french: République de la Guyane indépendante) commonly referred to by the name of the capital Counani (rendered "Cunani" in Portuguese by the Brazilians), was a short-lived unrecognized state in South America ...

States and territories established in 1886 States and territories disestablished in 1891 Amapá