Our map began to be defined in the 15th century, even before the country was officially occupied by Portugal, with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Signed between Spain and Portugal, this agreement divided the “New World” that was beginning to be explored – America – between the two countries and ended up creating Brazil’s first border.
But in reality, such a boundary would never be respected. The invasion of Portuguese colonists in lands that, according to the Tordesillas agreement, should belong to the Spaniards forced a new treaty in the 18th century, that of Madrid, which greatly expanded the Brazilian territory.
When the country achieved its independence, in 1822, the current map was practically formed. There remained only a few disputes over small border areas with neighboring countries. “Almost all disputes were resolved through international arbitration”, says historian Francisco Doratioto, from the Rio Branco Institute, in Brasília. Still in the 19th century, the Brazilian government also used diplomatic means to scare away the foreign “evil eye” over an important part of the national territory. “Around 1850, a plan for the occupation of the Amazon by American landowners emerged. Brazilian diplomacy acted energetically, fortifying the mouth of the Amazon River, establishing a colonization plan and preventing the arrival of foreigners”, says another historian, Amado Luiz Cervo, from the University of Brasília (Unb).
READ TOO:
– How far does the territory of Brazil go outside the continent?
– Is it true that Brazil bought Acre for a horse?
– Who are the most numerous indigenous peoples in Brazil?
– What is the smallest country in the world?
stretched map
International agreements and British pounds gave the country much more land
original border
In 1494, the two powers of the time, Portugal and Spain, divided the world (with the exception of Europe) between them with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Under the agreement, the Brazil that belonged to the Portuguese basically included the current Northeast Region, almost the entire Southeast and small portions of the states of Pará, Tocantins, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Goiás
doubling in size
The Treaty of Tordesillas was never respected. The union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain between 1580 and 1640 allowed the Portuguese to expand westwards. In 1750, the two countries signed the Treaty of Madrid, determining that the lands belonged to those who actually occupied them. Thus, Brazil doubled, annexing almost the entire North Region, most of the South, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
call the judge
Between 1895 and 1904, territorial disputes with Argentina, French Guiana and Guyana were resolved by three international arbitrators: Presidents Grover Cleveland (United States) and Walter Hauser (Switzerland) and Italian King Vittorio Emmanuel III. The border problems were in the west of Santa Catarina and Paraná, in Amapá and in the east of Roraima
Buy a State
The last area to be annexed was the state of Acre, which belonged to Bolivia. Brazilian squatters invaded the region and declared an independent republic. Brazil then made a proposal of 2 million pounds for the purchase of Acre. Bolivia accepted and, in 1904, the region officially became part of the country.