Republic of Acre

Republic of Acre
República do Acre / República del Acre
July 1899-March 1900 November 1900-December 1900 January 1903-November 1903
Flag of the First Republic of Acre (1899) -top- Flag of the Third Republic of Acre (1903) -bottom-
Motto "Patria e Liberdade"
Location of Acre in present-day Brazil
Capital		Antimary (Arieopolis)
Languages		Portuguese, Spanish
Government		Republic
President
•	1899-1900	Luis Gálvez Rodrígues de Arias
•	1903	José Plácido de Castro
History
•	First Republic declared	July 14, 1899
•	Restored to Bolivia	March 1900
•	Second Republic declared	November 1900
•	Second Republic suppressed	December 24, 1900
•	Third Republic declared	January 27, 1903
•	Treaty of Petrópolis	November 11, 1903
Area
•	1900	191,000 km² (73,746 sq mi)
Population
•	1900 est.	10,000
Density		0.1 /km²  (0.1 /sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Bolivia Bolivia Brazil

Flag of the First Republic of Acre (1899) -top-
Flag of the Third Republic of Acre (1903) -bottom-

The Republic of Acre (Portuguese: República do Acre), (Spanish: República del Acre) or the Independent State of Acre (Portuguese: Estado Independente do Acre), (Spanish: Estado Independiente del Acre) were the names of a series of separatist governments in then Bolivia's Acre region between 1899 and 1903. The region was eventually annexed by Brazil in 1903 and is now the state of Acre.

For forty years, after around 1860, Acre had been overrun by Brazilians, who made up the vast majority of the population. The territory of Acre was assigned to Bolivia in 1867 by the Treaty of Ayacucho with Brazil. Due to the rubber boom of the late 19th century, the region attracted many Brazilian migrants. In 1899-1900, the Spanish journalist and former diplomat Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias led an expedition that sought to seize control of what is now Acre from Bolivia. The expedition was secretly financed by the Amazonas state government and aimed to incorporate Acre into Brazil after its independence from Bolivia. Gálvez declared himself president of the First Republic of Acre on July 14, 1899 and set up his capital at Antimary, which he renamed Arieopolis. That first republic lasted until March 1900, when the Brazilian government sent troops to arrest Gálvez and give Acre back to Bolivia. Gálvez was deported to Spain and the inhabitants of Acre found themselves up against both Bolivia and Brazil.