Amazonas (Brazilian state)

Lore & Background

Amazonas, the largest Brazilian state, occupies the northwestern corner of the country and is named for the Amazon River. Its appearance is overwhelmingly defined by dense tropical jungle, with nearly all settlements clustered along navigable waterways. The capital, Manaus, is a modern city of over two million people situated on the Amazon River, roughly 1,500 kilometers inland from the Atlantic. The state’s vast area—greater than the combined territories of Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay—is accessible primarily by boat or plane. Its defining characteristics include a history shaped by colonial expansion: originally part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, the region was settled by Portuguese moving northwest in the early 1700s and formally incorporated into the Portuguese Empire by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid. The state’s geography was forged over millions of years; the Amazon River once flowed westward, but the rise of the Andes and the linking of the Brazilian and Guyana shields created a vast inland sea that eventually drained eastward, giving birth to the rainforest. During Ice Ages, the forest retreated into isolated patches, allowing species to diverge, which contributed to the region’s immense biodiversity. Pre-Columbian inhabitants were seminomadic peoples, and today uncontacted tribes still exist. The state’s population is concentrated in Manaus and a few other riverine cities such as Parintins, Manacapuru, Itacoatiara, Tefé, and Coari, all located in the eastern half of the territory.

Reader's Guide

Amazonas is significant as the largest Brazilian state and the largest country subdivision in South America, greater than the areas of Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay combined. Its history reflects colonial conflicts between Spain and Portugal, with the territory initially part of the Spanish Empire's Viceroyalty of Peru before being settled by the Portuguese. The state's name derives from the Amazon River, named by Francisco de Orellana after a reported conflict with indigenous women. The region's pre-Columbian inhabitants were seminomadic peoples, and approximately two thousand tribes lived there in the sixteenth century, though disease and assimilation reduced their numbers to about three hundred thousand by the end of the twentieth century. The Amazon rainforest itself formed about ten million years ago when the river began flowing eastward after the rise of the Andes. The state's legacy includes its vast biodiversity, with species such as over 20 species of stingray adapted to freshwater, and its role in the geopolitical history of South America, with borders defined by treaties including the Treaty of Madrid and the Treaty Vásquez Cobo–Martins.

Did You Know?

• Amazonas is the largest country subdivision in South America, greater than the areas of Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay combined.
• The Amazon River once flowed westward, possibly as part of a proto-Congo river system when the continents were joined as part of western Gondwana.