republic · South America
Republic of Acre
Origins
During the Amazon rubber boom, thousands of Brazilian rubber tappers settled in Acre, which belonged to Bolivia by treaty. When Bolivia set up a customs post at Puerto Alonso in 1899, the Spanish adventurer Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias, backed by local interests, proclaimed the Independent State of Acre on 14 July 1899.
Rule and society
Gálvez declared himself president and set up ministries and decrees in Puerto Alonso, intending eventual union with Brazil. Brazil, which still recognised Bolivian sovereignty, sent a force that removed him in 1900. Conflict revived in 1902 when Bolivia leased the region to an Anglo-American company, the Bolivian Syndicate, and the Brazilian José Plácido de Castro led an armed uprising of rubber tappers.
Decline and legacy
Plácido de Castro took Puerto Alonso in 1903, and Brazil occupied the territory. By the Treaty of Petrópolis in 1903 the Republic of Bolivia ceded Acre to Brazil for £2 million and the promise of the Madeira-Mamoré railway.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →More states of South America →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Republic of Acre. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-acre
- MLA
- “Republic of Acre.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-acre. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Republic of Acre.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-acre.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Republic of Acre’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-acre (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻