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- Acre:
Official website: http://www.ac.gov.br
Capital: Rio Branco
Area: 153,149 km2
Population: 557,226 (2000)
Important cities: Cruzeiro do Sul, Tarauacá, Sena Madureira, Brasiléia
Important newspapers: O Estado do Acre
Acre is in the far west side of Brazil, covered by the Amazon forest. Difficulties of access and tough living conditions cause the State to be scarcely populated;
more than half of population is concentrated on only two cities, the capital Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul; extractivism of natural resources (particularly rubber)
is the main economic occupation.
Rivers are the main means of transportation. Almost all cities were built by the banks of a river; roads between smaller cities are often non-existant or are in very
bad conditions; moving between them can take several days of walking (during the wet seasons, cities are completely isolated).
Public Health infrastructure is very poor. Only Rio Branco has piped water, and no city in Acre (including Rio Branco) has a sewage system. Disenteria and malaria
are main causa mortis of children.
- Physical Geography:
Practically the whole State of Acre is in the Amazon region, with low and little variant altitudes (two thirds of the State are between 200 and 300 meters of altitude);
in the western border there is a mountain chain, the Serra da Contamana, with the highest peak at 609 m.
Climate is hot and very wet, classified as Am in the Koppen system. Average monthly temperatures range from 24 to 27 degrees Celsius. Yearly rain is about 2,100 mm,
with a dry season on June, July and August.
- Vegetation:
The State is covered by the Amazon forest. There is a particular abundance of rubber trees, and the State is the main Brazilian producer of rubber.
- Rivers:
All rivers in Acre belong to the Amazon basin. Main rivers: Juruá, Tarauacá, Embira, Purus, Iaco and Acre; rivers flow in almost parallel courses, meeting
only outside of Acre. Rivers are the main means of transportation in Acre, but they canīt be navigated during the dry seasons.
- History:
Acre is in the western extreme of Brazil, in the middle of the Amazon forest. The long distances from the coast, the wild forest and the non-existance of a
resource to be economically explored caused that the settlement of the area was delayed for several centuries.
According to the Treaty of Tordesillas, the area of Acre belonged to Spain; because of the difficulties, however, the Spanish Crown didn't have much interest in
the area, either, until the 18th century. The bandeirantes visited the area and established a few settlements. The Treaties of Madrid (1750) and Santo Ildefonso
(1777), which adopted the uti possidetis (the land would belong to the country which settled it), recognized the boundaries of the Portuguese possessions as being
the basins of rivers Guaporó and Madeira (Eastern from the current borders).
Even with the possession, neither the Portuguese nor the independent Brazil (after 1822) were motivated to develop the area until around the middle of the 19th century.
In 1839, the American Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanization of rubber, which allowed its use in vehicle tires; the rubber trees, which were explored
only in low scales, became a huge factor of attraction to a large part of the Amazon forest, including Acre.
The extraction of the rubber from the trees was a manual process, requiring large amounts of human work. Many Brazilians migrated to Acre, but, in particular, the cearenses
(people from the Brazilian State of Ceará , who faced a prolongued drought period from 1877 through 1880, moved in hordes to Acre.
The sudden valorization of the rubber called the attention from the Bolivians, who claimed the possession of the area; in 1867, Brazil and Bolivia signed the Treaty of
Ayacucho, to define the borders. However, technical difficulties (to phisically determine the boundaries determined by the treaty) and the impetus of the rubber explorers
caused that the Brazilian settlements penetrated well inside Bolivian land.
Years of political disputes followed. In 1900, the Brazilian government recognized the Bolivian soveregnity on parts of Acre. However, the Brazilian population which
inhabited those parts rebelled against the Bolivian government, and proclaimed the independent Republic of Acre (with the declared intention of, later on, be anexed to
Brazil); the Republic lasted only eight months, being extinguished by the Brazilian government. The Bolivians took over again, but still had to handle with the rebels.
In the first years of the 20th century, there were military combats between Bolivia and Brazil. On November 17th of 1903, a Brazilian diplomatic team led by the Baron
of Rio Branco (after whom the capital city of Acre was nominated) signed the Treaty of Petropolis; Brazil acquired Acre from Bolivia, paying about two million sterling
pounds; furthermore, small areas in the States of Amazonas and Mato Grosso would be given to Bolivia. The law nr. 1181, from February 25th 1904, created the Territory of
Acre, as part of the Brazilian federation.
After settling with Bolivia, Brazil had to talk with Peru, which also claimed parts of Acre. After diplomatic and military actions, the Baron of Rio Branco, again,
negotiated with the Peruvian government, and on September 8th 1909, an agreement was reached. The area of Acre was definely incorporated to Brazil, which gained its final
(current) boundaries.
In the first decades of the 20th century, competition of other producers (particularly from Eastern Asian countries, where rubber trees are cultivated - in opposition to
the Brazilian rubber, which is all from natural trees) caused the Brazilian rubber to loose value, with a consequent stagnation of Acre.
In 1962, Acre became a Brazilian State (acreans could elect their own governor and be fully represented on the Congress).
The State is still one of the least populated and less economically developed of Brazil.
- Economy and Infrastructure:
The economy is heavily based on the exploration of natural resources. The most important product is rubber, which was the main cause of the settlement of the State.
As the rubber trees grow by the rivers, itīs along them that most cities were built. Most production comes from the area of the basin of the river Purus (eastern half
of the State). There is legal and illegal exploration of timber in Acre. Hunting and fishing are important subsistence activities of the local population.
- Agriculture:
There are small cultures of manioc, beans, sugar cane and rice, most for local consumption. Industry is also incipient. Rio Branco, the capital, receives flights from a
few cities. Also, some federal roads connect the capital to Porto Velho and Cuiaba, linking the State to the South of Brazil. Rivers are important means of transportation;
because they flow near parallel courses, distances travelled can grow very large.
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