The Brazil–France border is the line, located in the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

, that limits 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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The border is located between the Brazilian state 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 ...

and

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 ...

. It is in length. It is the longest border France shares with another country, despite not being located in

metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

. The second longest is the one with Spain, at . The

Oyapock River 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 for ...

defines part of the border and is spanned by the

Oyapock River Bridge The Franco-Brazilian Binational Bridge spans the Oyapock River, linking the cities of Oiapoque in Amapá, Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana, France. The bridge is cable-stayed bridge, cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a ...

, the only bridge crossing the border, which connects the towns of Saint-Georges (French Guiana) and

Oiapoque Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...

(Brazil).

History

The basis of this border dates back to the Peace Treaty of Utrecht signed 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 ...

in 1713, which established the border between both the colonial holdings of both kingdoms in South America. Despite the treaty specifying the Japoc River as the border, disagreement between France and Brazil (as the heir of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

) continued into the following centuries due to uncertainty regarding the river's location. France considered the Japoc River mentioned in the text to correspond to the Araguari River, whereas Brazil considered it to correspond to the

Oiapoque River 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 for ...

. The dispute went on for two centuries as France and Brazil set up military posts and religious missions in what would spark the Amapá Question, an event which saw French troops invade Brazilian territory up to the Araguari river occupying approximately 260,000 km² (100,000 sq mi) of Brazilian territory. The territorial dispute was resolved in Brazil's favor in 1900 through an international arbitration in Switzerland. The international court took documents and texts collected by France and Portugal at the time and determined that those collected by the Portuguese gave more credence towards the Brazilian claim of the border being set at the

. Additionally, they took the history of the territory and its inhabitants into consideration. Aside from small coastal French settlements, this region of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

was entirely populated by

Brazilians Brazilians (, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian nationality law, Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, ...

and

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

who saw themselves as Brazilian nationals. As a cultural vestige of this period, small Amerindian communities still exist today in Amapá that speak Lanc-Patuá, a French-based Guyanese Creole.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil-France border Brazil–France relations Borders of Brazil Borders of France Amapá French Guiana International borders

History

See also

References