Acre (state)
For other meanings of the word Acre, see also: Acre (disambiguation)Acre (
pron. IPA: //
[The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.]) is a
state of
Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the north is the state of
Amazonas, to the east is a short border with the state of
Rondônia, to the south is
Bolivia and to the west is the
Ucayali Region of
Peru.
Acre has a territory covered mostly by jungle of the
Amazon Rainforest. The state is a well-known producer and exporter of
rubber. The
Acre River runs along the southern boundary of the state, forming the border with Bolivia.
See also:
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List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
Acre is inhabited by various indigenous groups of the
Panoan language family, including Kashinawa,
Jaminawa and
Xanenawa. There are also three groups of other language families,
Madiha (
Kulina) of the
Arawan family as well as
Yine (
Manchineri) and
Ashaninka (
Kampa) of the
Arawakan family.
Some people on hearing the name "Acre" think it is derived from
Akko the last of the historical
Crusader states of Palestine, and others speculate that it is a corruption of the word
Jacarés, the name of a local river ("alligator"); however, historical evidence shows that the name originates from the local native word
Aquiri.
The territory was assigned to Bolivia in 1867 by the
Treaty of Ayacucho with Brazil. In 1899-1900
Luiz Galvez Rodrigues de Aria led an expedition that sought to seize control of what is now Acre from Bolivia. He declared himself president of the first
Republic of Acre on July 14, 1899. That first republic lasted until March 1900. In spite of a second attempt at creating an Acre Republic (November 1900 - December 24, 1900), Acre remained part of
Bolivia until
1903. In January 27, 1903 a Brazilian soldier
José Plácido de Castro, who was sent to Acre by Governor Neri of Amazonas, declared the
Third Republic of Acre. President
Rodrigues Alves of Brazil, with the backing of his most able minister
Barão do Rio Branco, ordered Brazilian troops into Northern Acre. It should be noted that for years Acre had been overrun by Brazilians, who made up 99% of the population. After negotiations a treaty was signed. The
Treaty of Petrópolis, which was signed in November 11, 1903, gave Brazil Acre (191,000 sq. km). On
February 25,
1904 it was officially made a federal territory of Brazil, and a federal state in
1962. Acre is best known for being the home of the world's first ecomartyr, the rubber tapper
Chico Mendes, who was murdered at the orders of powerful cattle ranchers in 1988.
The flag was adopted on
March 15,
1921. It is a variation of the flags used by the secessionist state of Acre, with the yellow and green parts exchanged and mirrored. The yellow color symbolizes peace, green hope, and the star symbolizes the light which guided those who worked to make Acre a state of Brazil.
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Acre's location on a 3D globe (Java)*
Official homepage (Portuguese)
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Brazilian Embassy in London
