After the proclamation of the Republic, international recognition of the new regime introduced in Brazil did not take long. During the first republican period, Brazil maintained intense relations with other countries, both American, European and Asian. Boundary questions with our neighbors, which had not been resolved under the Empire, were resolved in the First Republic; loans were made abroad after the recovery of domestic finances; Brazil has established, in international politics, a position of respect.
The projection of Brazil on the international scene was perhaps the greatest work of the governments of the First Republic. Rui Barbosa, Joaquim Nabuco and José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco, were the main responsible for this.
To the Baron of Rio Branco, who headed the country's diplomacy for ten years, Brazil was granted sovereignty over several hundred thousand square kilometers of its current surface.
The main facts of international relations during the Old Republic were:
Occupation of the island of Trindade by the British, who used as a pretext the argument that the island was abandoned. The question was taken to the discretion of King Carlo I of Portugal, who agreed with Brazil. The British withdrew from the island.
Resolution of the question of boundaries between Brazil and Argentina (Questão de Palmas or das Missões). Brought to the arbitration of US President Grover Cleveland, this issue was decided in favor of Brazil.
Resolution of the Amapá Question, on the limits between Brazil and French Guiana. The referee, president Walter Hauser of Switzerland, also won Brazil.
Resolution of the Pirara Question, referring to the establishment of boundaries between Brazil and English Guiana. The king of Italy, Vítor Emanuel III, who was the arbitrator of the matter, divided the disputed region between England (to which Guyana belonged) and Brazil.
Signing of the Treaty of Petrópolis, through which Acre, formerly belonging to Bolivia, passed to Brazil. Acre, inhabited mostly by Brazilians, was to be leased by the Bolivian government to an Anglo-American company, the Bolivian Syndicate. The Brazilian government, through Rio Branco, reached an understanding with Bolivia to resolve the issue. By the Treaty of Petrópolis, of November 17, 1903, Brazil would receive Acre in exchange for the payment of 2 million pounds to the Bolivian government and the commitment to build a railway along the cascading stretch of the Madeira and Mamore.
Resolution of the boundary issue with Peru, whose government disagreed with the decisions of the Petropolis Treaty and claimed more than 400,000 square kilometers of our territory. Through an agreement made by Rio Branco directly with the Peruvian government, Peru agreed to keep only 39,000 square kilometers of disputed territory.
Solving border problems with Dutch Guyana, Colombia and Uruguay. Brazil ceded the condominium of the Mirim lagoon and the Jaguarão river to the Uruguayans.
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Brazil Republic - history of Brazil - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SCHOOL, Team Brazil. "Issues of International Boundaries"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/questoes.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.