Xapuri () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located in the southeast of the
Brazilian state of
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
.
It was the scene of an early bloodless victory during the war to make Acre independent of Bolivia. The town is known as the birthplace of the
rubber tapper
Rubber tapping is the process by which latex is collected from a rubber tree. The latex is harvested by slicing a groove into the bark of the tree at a depth of with a hooked knife and peeling back the bark. Trees must be approximately six years ...
and environmentalist
Chico Mendes and of the surgeon and professor
Adib Jatene
Adib Domingos Jatene (June 4, 1929 – November 14, 2014) was a noted Brazilian physician of Lebanese background, university professor, scientist and thoracic surgeon. He is remembered as the inventor of the arterial switch operation (somet ...
.
Location
Xapuri is at the point where the
Xapuri River
Xapuri () is a municipality located in the southeast of the Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and ...
meets the
Acre River.
Its name is said to come from the Indigenous word ''Chapury'', meaning "river meeting".
Another explanation is that its name comes from the indigenous tribe of "Xapury" people.
The town is about northwest of the
BR-317 highway which leads from
Rio Branco, to the east, to
Brasiléia
Brasiléia () is a Brazilian municipality located in the northern state of Acre. Its population in 2020 was estimated at 26,702 inhabitants. Its area is 336,189 km2. Located 237 km south of Rio Branco on the border with Bolivia, has ...
, to the west. It has broad streets and wooden houses.
The area of the municipality is .
It is 12th largest in area in Acre.
It is bounded by the municipality of
Sena Madureira to the west, Rio Branco to the north,
Capixaba to the east,
Epitaciolândia
Epitaciolândia () is a municipality located in the southeast of state of Acre. Its population is 18,696 inhabitants and its area is 1,659 km². It is the southernmost municipality in Acre.
The municipality contains part of the Chico Men ...
to the south, and
Brasiléia
Brasiléia () is a Brazilian municipality located in the northern state of Acre. Its population in 2020 was estimated at 26,702 inhabitants. Its area is 336,189 km2. Located 237 km south of Rio Branco on the border with Bolivia, has ...
to the southwest.
The municipality contains part of the
Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve
Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista Chico Mendes) is an extractive reserve in the state of Acre, Brazil.
Location
The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve has an area of .
It is in the Amazon biome.
The reserve covers parts of t ...
, a sustainable use environmental unit created in 1990.
The reserve is fairly well maintained apart from a few locations of deforestation, but its surroundings are quite deforested, compromising its buffer zone.
History
Xapuri was born in 1883 shortly after Volta da Empreza (today's
Rio Branco) was founded.
The first Europeans came to the region in the first rubber boom, a period of uncontrolled
land grabbing
Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals.
While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as ...
and extraction of forest resources.
The village of Xapuri became one of Acre's main rubber trading posts, and the region was an important producer of rubber and Brazil nuts.
Until the
Acre War of 1902–03 it was part of
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 ...
, although most of the new colonists were Brazilian.
At the time of the Acre War the Bolivians called the post Mariscal Sucre.
At the start of 1902
José Plácido de Castro accepted an invitation to lead a revolt against Bolivia.
Although he argued for immediately attacking the garrison of 230 troops at Puerto Alonso (now
Porto Acre), Plácido de Castro was persuaded to first take the outpost at Xapuri.
He entered Xapuri with 33 men in the early morning of 6 August 1902 and captured the sleeping garrison without spilling blood.
On 7 August 1902 he issued a manifesto proclaiming that Acre was independent.
After further fighting the last Bolivian forces surrender at what is now Porto Acre on 24 January 1903.
The village of Xapuri was officially elevated to the status of a town on 22 March 1904 by the prefect of Alto Acre, Colonel Augusto da Cunha Matos.
On 22 March 1905 it was elevated to the status of city by the interim prefect Captain Odilon Pratagi Brasiliense.
Xapuri was officially made a municipality on 23 October 1912.
Infrastructure was soon built, including trading houses and schools.
For many years Xapuri was known as the Little Princess of Acre (''Princesinha do Acre'') due to its great wealth from rubber.
The city became famous after the 1988 assassination of the rubber tapper and environmentalist
Chico Mendes, who was born in Xapuri.
His house has been preserved as one of the attractions of the town.
People and economy
The municipality of Xapuri has the 9th largest population in Acre.
As of 2010 the population was 16,091.
The estimated population in 2020 was 19,596.
The population density of 2010 was 3.01 people per square kilometre.
The town is an important Acre tourist destination for its monuments to the
Acre War and the house of
Chico Mendes, and has an eco-lodge at the Seringal Waterfall.
Apart from cattle ranching and subsistence farming, there is a condom factory, wood flooring factory and furniture workshops.
There are several settlement projects for extraction of nuts and rubber, subsistence agriculture and forestry.
The people also raise livestock, hunt and fish.
The Xapuri I and II projects are trying to bring back extractors and farmers who had moved to the city and to promote recovery of areas of pasturage and slash-and-burn agriculture by replanting fruit trees and timber trees.
File:Cidade_de_Xapuri,_Acre_02.jpg, Rural Gothic architecture is common in Acre state, Brazil. Photo: Downtown Xapuri, Acre
File:Xapuri_03.jpg, St. Sebastian Church, Xapuri, Brazil
File:Procissão na Festa de São Sebastião, em Xapuri 02.jpg, Saint Sebastian Festivities, Xapuri, Brazil
File:Cidade_de_Xapuri,_Acre_05.jpg, Xapuri, Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
File:Usina_de_Beneficiamento_de_Castanhas_Chico_Mendes_01.jpg, Brazil nut
The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...
Finishing Power Plant, Xapuri, Brazil
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
Municipalities in Acre (state)