The Amapá Question, known in France as the Franco-Brazilian Dispute (
French: ''Contesté franco-brésilien'') was a 1895 border dispute involving France and Brazil. The French intrusion into Amapá resulted in skirmishes between the two sides.
Border dispute
France did not recognize the
Oyapock river as the border between
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
and the Brazilian province of
Amapá
Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...
, also known as "Brazilian Guyana", claiming for itself part of the territory of the province to the south of the river; a region occupied by French colonists. However, the
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
, signed in 1713 between France and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, established the Oyapock as the border between both kingdoms in South America. Brazil alleged it had the right to exercise sovereignty over the region as "heir of the Portuguese Empire".
Intrusion
The French intrusion into Amapá took place on 15 May 1895, on the border between the Brazilian Amapá state and French Guiana, the culminating event of the territorial dispute known in Portuguese as the ''Questão do Amapá'' (Amapá Question). This event marked Captain Charles-Louis Lunier leading French troops in a invasion of Brazilian territory. French troops advanced to the
Araguari River, occupying approximately of Brazilian territory.
The invasion was repelled by the honorary general of the Brazilian Army
Francisco Xavier da Veiga Cabral.
International response
After the military confrontation, the territorial dispute was settled by an international court on 27 December 1897. The decision was favorable to Brazil, which maintained control over the disputed region.
[Donato, Hernâni (1987). ''Dicionário das Batalhas Brasileiras'' . São Paulo: Editora Ibrasa]
Walter Hauser, president of Switzerland, served as
arbitrator. On 1 December 1900, Hauser issued a report favoring Brazil.
See also
*
Brazil–France relations
Brazil–France relations are the bilateral and historical relations between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the French Republic.
France and Brazil share a 730km long-border via the French department of French Guiana, Guiana, the longest in ...
*
Brazil–France border
The Brazil–France border is the line, located in the Amazon Rainforest, that limits the territories of Brazil and France. The border is located between the Brazilian state of Amapá and French Guiana. It is in length.
It is the longest bord ...
*
French colonization of the Americas
France began colonizing America in the 16th century and continued into the following centuries as it established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France established colonies in much of eastern North America, on several Caribbean is ...
References
Brazil–France border
First Brazilian Republic
Territorial disputes of Brazil
Territorial disputes of France
National questions
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