Rio Branco

• Immediate Region of Brasileia

  • • Assis Brasil
    • Brasiléia
    • Epitaciolândia
    • Xapuri

• Immediate Region of Rio Branco

  • • Acrelândia
    • Bujari
    • Capixaba
    • Plácido de Castro
    • Porto Acre
    • Rio Branco
    • Senador Guiomard

• Microregion of Sena Madureira

  • • Manoel Urbano
    • Santa Rosa do Purus
    • Sena Madureira

Cruzeiro do Sul

• Immediate Region of Cruzeiro do Sul

  • • Cruzeiro do Sul
    • Mâncio Lima
    • Marechal Thaumaturgo
    • Porto Walter
    • Rodrigues Alves

• Immediate Region of Tarauacá

  • • Feijó
    • Jordão
    • Tarauacá

Initial settlement

Geoglyphs in the Amazon rainforest, Acre.

Since the 1970s, numerous geoglyphs, major geometric earthworks, have been discovered on deforested land in Acre, and dated to between 1–1250 AD. These are cited as evidence of complex Pre-Columbian societies.^[6][7] The BBC's Unnatural Histories explored studies of this area, concluding that the Amazon rainforest, rather than being a pristine "wilderness", has been shaped by man for at least 11,000 years. Traditional ancient practices included forest gardening.^[8] Ondemar Dias is credited as the first to discover the geoglyphs in 1977. Alceu Ranzi expanded their findings by flying over Acre.^[8][9]

During the 17th century, Portuguese expeditions reached many of the far ends of present-day Brazil. The expansion of the exploration to the west followed, and they reached lands under control by the Spanish colonies. The two nations negotiated to establish their territories, under the Treaties of Madrid (1750) and San Ildefonso (1777).^[10] Both of the treaties were based on the explorations of Portuguese bandeirante Manoel Félix de Lima of the Guaporé and Madeira river basins. The treaties established the riverbeds of the Mamoré and Guaporé to their maximum western limits on the left bank of the Javari as the border between the Spanish and Portuguese territories.

The Portuguese created the new royal captaincy of Mato Grosso (1751), stimulating settlement toward the frontier. New centers developed: Vila Bela (1752)^[11] on the banks of the Guaporé, Vila Maria (1778)^[12] on the Paraguay River, and Casalvasco (1783).^[13] Until the mid-19th century, there was little effort to settle the area systematically. At that time, the great virgin source of rubber attracted commercial interest, and development followed.

The empire was directed towards agricultural exports, based on coffee as the most important commodity. The territories of the extreme west were unknown and usually overlooked. For example, although Cândido Mendes de Almeida's Atlas of the Empire of Brazil (1868), was considered a model of its time, geographers knew nothing of the Acre River and its principal tributaries, which did not appear at all in the atlas.

Some few armed bands of Brazilian explorers exploited the rural and unpopulated region,^[14] not knowing and little interested in whether they were "controlled" by Brazil, Peru, or Bolivia.

But the rubber boom of the mid-19th century, stimulated exploration by various expeditions to survey this resource and develop a plan for colonial settlement. At that time, João Rodrigues Cametá initiated the conquest of the Purús River;^[15] Manuel Urbano da Encarnação, an Indian with extensive knowledge of the region, reached the Acre River, traveling up it as far as the vicinity of the Xapuri;^[15] and João da Cunha Correia reached the drainage basin of the upper Tarauacá.^[16] For the most part, these expeditions took place on Bolivian land.

Exploitative activities, the industrial importance of the rubber reserves, and the penetration of Brazilian colonists in the region raised the attention of Bolivia, which solicited a better fixation of boundaries. After much failed negotiation, in 1867 the Treaty of Ayacucho was signed, which recognized the colonial uti possidetis, or use of that territory by Brazil.^[17] A border was established parallel to the confluence of the Beni and Mamoré rivers, running eastward to the headwaters of the Javari River, even though the source of this river was not yet known.

Northeast occupation

As the price of rubber rose in the market,^[18] the demand for it grew. The race to the Amazon increased. Plantations multiplied in the valleys of the Acre, Purús and, farther west, the Tarauacá. In the year 1873–1874, in the drainage basin of the Purús, the population rose from around one thousand to four thousand inhabitants. The Brazilian imperial government, already sensitive to the resulting offerings of rubber, considered the entire valley of the Purús to be Brazilian.

In the second half of the 19th century, disturbances were registered in the demographic and geo-economic balance of the empire. The coffee boom in the south attracted financial resources and workers, to detriment of the northeast.^[19] The growing impoverishment of that region stimulated migratory waves to the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo.^[19] The movement of population became particularly active during the prolonged drought of the northeastern interior, from 1877 to 1880. Hundreds of Ceará indigenous people headed for the rubber plantations in search of work.^[20]

The Cearense migration reached the banks of the Juruá^[21] and accelerated the occupation of land which Bolivia would later reclaim. The great fluvial rivers and their tributary systems were full of small ship fleets transporting colonists, goods, and supply material to the most isolated centers. The governments of Amazonas and Pará quickly established supply houses, which financed various types of operations, guaranteed credit, and promoted the commercial incentive of the rubber tree groves.^[22]

The rubber race had the frantic urgency of gold rushes of the 18th century.^[23] The situation drew the attention of the government to the economic use and development of an almost completely unknown area. The activities of private businesses would enable the government to incorporate the new region.

Land dispute

In 1890, José Manuel Pando, a Bolivian official, alerted his government to the fact that more than three hundred rubber plantations had been developed in the Jura basin, and most were occupied by Brazilians on what was nominally Bolivian territory.^[24] The Brazilian penetration had advanced west from the 64th meridian to beyond the 72nd, in an extension of one thousand kilometers, despite the borders having been established. The Treaty of 1867 limited Brazil to land above the confluence of the Beni and Mamoré rivers.^[25]

In 1895 a new commission to define the borders was created.^[23] The Brazilian representative, Gregório Taumaturgo de Azevedo, resigned after verifying that the ratification of the Treaty of 1867 would harm the Brazilian rubber gatherers already settled in Bolivian territory.^[26][27] In 1899, the Bolivians established an administrative post in Puerto Alonso, exacting taxes and customs duties upon Brazilian activities.^[28] The following year, Brazil accepted the sovereignty of Bolivia in the zone, when it officially recognized the old boundaries at the confluence of the Beni and Mamoré rivers.

Distant from the diplomatic process, the rubber workers judged their interests to have been cheated, and initiated insurrection movements. Some of this was in response to brutal treatment and abuse by forces managed by the major rubber companies. In the same year that Bolivia established administration in Puerto Alonso (1899), two serious uprisings occurred.^[28]

In April, a Cearense lawyer, José Carvalho, led an armed movement, which culminated in the expulsion of the Bolivian authorities.^[23] Shortly thereafter, Bolivia began negotiations with an Anglo-American trust, the Bolivian Syndicate, in order to promote, with exceptional force (exacting of taxes, armed force), the political and economic incorporation of Acre into its territory.^[23] The governor of Amazonas, Ramalho Júnior, informed of the agreement by a functionary of the Bolivian consulate in Belém, Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias, sent military contingents forward to occupy Puerto Alonso.^[23] Gálvez proclaimed the independence of Acre, in the form of a republic. He became its president with the acquiescence of the rubber gatherers. Under protests from Bolivia, President Campos Sales abolished the ephemeral republic (March 1900).^[23]

Bolivians, reinstated in the region, suffered in 1900 from the assault of the so-called Floriano Peixoto expedition, or "expedition of the poets".^[29] It was made up of intellectual bohemians from Manaus.^[29] Following brief fighting in the area surrounding Puerto Alonso, the expedition was completely scattered.^[29] Ultimately, the Bolivian government signed a contract with the Bolivian Syndicate (July 1901).^[23] The Brazilian congress, shocked by the arbitrariness of the act, took measures, canceling commercial accords and navigation between the two countries, and suspending the right of travel to Bolivia.

At the same time, Brazilians organized a large armed assault on the disputed area.^[23] The operations were led by a former student of the Military School of Rio Grande do Sul (Escola Militar do Rio Grande do Sul), José Plácido de Castro. The rubber gatherers occupied the village of Xapuri in Alto Acre (August 1902), and took Bolivian officials into custody.^[23] Finally, Plácido de Castro's forces besieged Puerto Alonso, proclaiming the Independent State of Acre, after the capitulation of Bolivian troops (February 1903).^[23]

Diplomatic intervention

Revolução Square (Praça Plácido de Castro) in the capital, Rio Branco.

José Plácido de Castro was proclaimed governor of the new Independent State of Acre,^[30] and he had to discuss the question of borders in the diplomatic sphere.^[31] The Baron of Rio Branco, who had just assumed the role of Brazil's Minister of External Relations,^[32] immediately opened channels which were meant to have put an end to the question.

The simplest problem, with the Bolivian Syndicate, was resolved by Brazil paying one hundred and ten thousand pounds to renounce the contract (February 1903).^[33] Next, commercial relations were reestablished with Bolivia,^[23] while a part of the territory on the upper Purús and Juruá, militarily occupied in March 1903, was declared litigious.

Bolivia finally agreed to cede to Brazil an area of 142,800 km² (55,100 sq mi), in exchange for two million pounds sterling, paid in two installments.^[23] Brazil committed to the construction of a Madeira-Mamoré Railway, connecting Porto Velho to Guajará-Mirim, at the confluence of the Beni and Madeira rivers.^[23] These actions were ratified in the Treaty of Petrópolis (November 17, 1903), through which Brazil acquired the future territory, now state of Acre.^[23]

Peru had also claimed sovereignty over the entire territory of Acre and part of the state of Amazonas, based on historic colonial titles.^[34] After armed conflicts between Brazilians and Peruvians on the upper Purús and Juruá, a joint administration was established in those regions (1904).^[20] The studies to determine the borders proceeded until the end of 1909, when a treaty was signed that completed the political integration of Acre into Brazilian territory.

Development from territory to statehood

The Sociedade Recreativa Tentâmen, in Rio Branco, built in 1924, with Rural Gothic architecture, was, for many years, a symbol of Acre's bohemia, a reflection of the prosperous years from the rubber cycle

Exercising a prominent role in national exports until 1913,^[35] when rubber was introduced to European and North American markets, Acre enjoyed a period of great prosperity. At the start of the 20th century, in a period of less than ten years, it grew to have more than 50,000 inhabitants.

From 1946 on, the federal government undertook actions to revive the economy of the Amazon Basin, and to include it in regional development projects.

Attending to the judicial arrangements of the Treaty of Petrópolis, President Rodrigues Alves sanctioned the law which created the Territory of Acre (1904),^[36] further dividing it into three departments: Alto Acre, Alto Purús, and Alto Juruá, the latter being separated to form Alto Tarauacá (1912). The departmental administration was exercised until 1921 by mayors appointed by the President of Brazil.^[37] At that time the arrangements were altered, passing the administration to a governor. The second Constitution of Brazil (1934) conceded to Acre the right to elect representatives to the National Congress of Brazil.^[38]

Members of an uncontacted tribe encountered in 2008, at the Brazil–Peru border.

During the Estado Novo (New State) political ideas involving the valorization of the interior took hold, with the intention of promoting the articulation of more isolated areas. Thereafter, the vote of 1946 commended the channeling of budgetary resources from the Union to the Amazon, determining that the Territory of Acre would be elevated to the condition of state as soon as its revenue reached the equivalent of the lowest state tax exaction.^[39]

In the 1960s, the second cycle of efforts to accelerate the progress of the Amazon area was begun with the Superintendency of the Development of the Amazon (Superintendência do Desenvolvimento da Amazônia or SUDAM, 1966).^[40] Better networking of regional sub-sectors within the state was sought out, thus connecting the branch lines of the Transamazônica, which connected Rio Branco and Brasiléia, on the upper course of the Acre River, and Cruzeiro do Sul, on the banks of the Juruá, crossing the valleys of the Purús and the Tarauacá. Planning politics developed, therefore, destined to correct the demographic, economic, and political distortions of national integration.

Largest cities

Largest cities or towns in Acre (state) (2010 census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)[43]
	Rank		Mesoregion	Pop.	Rank		Mesoregion	Pop.
Rio Branco Cruzeiro do Sul	1	Rio Branco	Vale do Acre	335,796	11	Epitaciolândia	Vale do Acre	15,126	Sena Madureira Tarauacá
	2	Cruzeiro do Sul	Vale do Juruá	78,444	12	Porto Acre	Vale do Acre	14,806
	3	Sena Madureira	Vale do Acre	37,993	13	Rodrigues Alves	Vale do Juruá	14,334
	4	Tarauacá	Vale do Juruá	35,526	14	Marechal Thaumaturgo	Vale do Juruá	14,200
	5	Feijó	Vale do Juruá	32,311	15	Acrelândia	Vale do Acre	12,538
	6	Brasiléia	Vale do Acre	21,438	16	Porto Walter	Vale do Juruá	9,172
	7	Senador Guiomard	Vale do Acre	20,153	17	Capixaba, Acre	Vale do Acre	8,810
	8	Plácido de Castro	Vale do Acre	17,203	18	Bujari	Vale do Acre	8,474
	9	Xapuri	Vale do Acre	16,016	19	Manoel Urbano	Vale do Acre	7,989
	10	Mâncio Lima	Vale do Juruá	15,246	20	Jordão	Vale do Juruá	6,531

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are also part of the official high school curriculum.

Airports

• Rio Branco

Rio Branco International Airport.

Intersection of the BR-364 and the Interoceanic Highway in Senador Guiomard, Greater Rio Branco

Rio Branco International Airport is located in a rural zone of the municipality of Rio Branco, in the state of Acre. It was opened on November 2, 1999, with a unique characteristic: it moved 22 kilometers away from the previous airport site. Rio Branco Airport serves domestic and international flights (by scheduled carriers and air taxi firms) along with general and military aviation. The terminal can receive 270 thousand passengers a year and serves an average of 14 daily operations.

• Cruzeiro do Sul

Cruzeiro do Sul International Airport is located 18 kilometers away from the city center, which helps access to the Alto Juruá region. It was opened on October 28, 1970, and absorbed by Infraero on March 31, 1980. The airport infrastructure was built in 1976 by the municipal government. In 1994 the runway was totally renovated.

Domestic airports at Tarauaca, Sena Madureira and Brasiléia.

Highways

• BR-364 (Rio Branco to Southeastern Brazil);
• BR-317 (Rio Branco to south of Acre);
• AC-040 (Rio Branco to Plácido de Castro);
• AC-401 (Plácido de Castro to Acrelândia);
• AC-010 (Rio Branco to Porto Acre).

Two roads to Peru:

• at Boqueirão
• BR-317 from Assis Brasil to Highway 30C to Iñapari and Highway 26 to Cuzco.

Three roads to Bolivia:

• from Rio Branco at Plácido de Castro,
• from Rio Branco to Santa Rosa,
• from BR-317 in Brasileia to Ruta 13 in Cobija.

One road to Amazonas:

• BR-317, plus BR-364 passes through Amazonas.

One road to Rondônia:

• BR-364 (via Amazonas).

Stadiums

• Arena da Floresta stadium;
• José de Melo stadium;
• Federação Acreana de Futebol stadium;
• Dom Giocondo Maria Grotti stadium;
• Adauto de Brito stadium;
• and many others.

The Arena da Floresta stadium in Rio Branco was one of the 18 candidates to host games in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil, but did not make it to the final 12 chosen.