Acrean Revolution: 123 years ago, rubber tappers and adventurers changed the fate of a piece of the Amazon

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The Acrean Revolution is one of those historical passages worthy of film script: jungle battles, striking characters, economic power, international diplomacy and an surprising ending that changed the limits of the map of Brazil. Led by Plácido de Castro in the early twentieth century, the movement placed Brazilian rubber tappers in direct confrontation with the government of Bolivia for controlling rubber rich territory – the “white gold” of the time.

Although officially belonged to Bolivia by the Treaty of Ayacucho, signed in 1867, Acre was almost fully occupied by Brazilians attracted by the rubber cycle. The product was the engine of the world economy for supplying tire industries and other articles in Europe and the United States. With the explosion of cultivation, thousands of northeastern migrated to the region in search of fortune, transforming the area into a Brazilian economic hub, despite the Bolivian sovereignty.

The fuse: Arrival of Bolivian Syndicate

The tension increased in 1901, when Bolivia leased the region to an international consortium called Bolivian Syndicateformed by English and American businessmen. The idea was to explore the riches of Acre with foreign capital, which lit a warning in Brazilian rubber tappers and aroused fear in the government of Brazil regarding the presence of foreign powers in the Amazon.

It was in this context that José Plácido de Castro, Rio Grande do Sul Military with experience in the Federalist Revolution (1893–1895). Hired by the rebels, he took command of troops formed mainly by armed rubber tappers, riverside workers and volunteers. On August 6, 1902, with the Xapuri taking, the group proclaimed the independent state of Acre, officially breaking with Bolivian rule.

Plácido de Castro amid Soldiers of the Status Status Acrean/Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Curiosities of the revolutionary uprising:

• Placido de Castro created his own flag for Republican Acre, with a red star symbolizing the “blood shed for freedom.”

• The Movement Rue Bolivians not only by land: rubber tappers built armed artisanal canoes to master strategic rivers.

• The combatants improvised weapons and gunpowder with forest materials and received clandestine donations from ammunition sent by Brazilian supporters.

With the advancement of revolutionary troops, the Bolivians were surrounded in Porto Acre. On January 24, 1903, Commander Rojas Galindo surrendered to Placido de Castro, marking the end of Bolivian military resistance. Brazil intervened diplomatically to avoid international conflicts, and after long negotiations with Bolivia, the agreement was sealed.

Conflict in the Acrean Revolution/Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Petrópolis Treaty: Money and courage exchange Acre’s fate

Signed on November 17, 1903 in the city of Petrópolis (RJ), the Treaty officialized the purchase of Acre territory by 2 million sterling pounds-a value funded by English banks-and compromised Brazil to build the Madeira-Mamoré railway, linking Porto Velho to Guajará-Mirim to facilitate the flow of Bolivian production to the Atlantic. The railroad, nicknamed the “devil’s railway” by the high number of deaths in its construction, was completed only in 1912, with enormous human sacrifice in the forest.

From self-proclaimed province, Acre became Brazilian federal territory and, in 1962, gained state status, officially occupying a seat among the 27 units of the federation.

Resistance inheritance

The Acrean Revolution is celebrated to this day as a symbol of the fearless spirit of the forest people. The movement was one of the few in the country led by workers that resulted in alteration of international borders. On August 6 – Date of Xapuri taking – schools, offices and state squares recall the story of characters such as Plácido de Castro, José Carvalho, Antonio de Sampaio and thousands of anonymous rubber tappers who fought for a land they chose to call home.