Ended the Acre War, transferring 191,000 km² of Bolivian territory to Brazil in exchange for land, money, and a railway pledge.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- November 17, 1903
- Territory transferred to Brazil
- 191,000 km² km²
- Brazilian territory ceded to Bolivia
- Over 3,000 km² km²
- Monetary payment to Bolivia
- 2 million British pounds GBP
- Railway project cost
- 33 million USD USD
- Deaths building Madeira-Mamoré Railway
- At least 3,600 persons
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The rubber boom made the Bolivian territory of Acre highly valuable, attracting Brazilian settlers and provoking a territorial dispute. Armed conflict known as the Acre War broke out between Bolivia and Brazil, with both nations contesting control of the resource-rich region along their shared border.
Signed on November 17, 1903, in Petrópolis, Brazil, the treaty was drafted by Brazilian foreign minister José Maria da Silva Paranhos. Bolivia ceded approximately 191,000 km² of the Acre territory to Brazil in exchange for over 3,000 km² of Brazilian land, a payment of two million British pounds, and Brazil's commitment to build the Madeira-Mamoré Railway.
Brazil gained permanent sovereignty over what is now Acre state. Construction of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway began in 1907 and was completed in 1912 at a cost of US$33 million and at least 3,600 lives. The railway operated briefly before collapsing rubber prices and new transport routes made it uneconomical; it was decommissioned in 1972 and superseded by the BR-364 highway.
Political Outcome
Bolivia ceded the Acre territory to Brazil; Brazil provided land, monetary compensation, and a railway commitment in return, ending the Acre War.
Acre was Bolivian territory, contested by Brazilian settlers during the rubber boom
Acre became Brazilian territory; Bolivia received compensation and a railway connection to navigable waters