Acre (state)

Acre

Flag of Acre

See other Brazilian States

Capital

Rio Branco

Largest City

Rio Branco

Area

152 522 km²

Population
- Total
- Density

557 526
3.7 inh./km²

Governor

Jorge Viana

Demonym

Acreano

Timezone

GMT-5

ISO 3166-2

BR-AC

Acre ( pron. IPA: /'a.kɾi/) is a legendary 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.

Geography

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.

Indigenous population

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.

History

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.

Flag

larger image

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 colour symbolizes peace, green hope, and the star symbolizes the light which guided those who worked to make Acre a state of Brazil.