Amazon River

The Amazon River (occasionally River Amazon; Spanish: Río Amazonas, Portuguese: Rio Amazonas) of South America is one of the two longest rivers on Earth, the other being the Nile in Africa. The Amazon has by far the greatest total flow of any river, carrying more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined. Its drainage area, called the Amazon Basin, is the largest of any river system. The Amazon could be considered the "strongest" (largest volume of water per second).

Exploitation

For 350 years after the European discovery of the Amazon by Pinzon, the Portuguese portion of its basin remained an almost undisturbed wilderness, occupied by indigenous tribes split into countless fragments by their quest for food. Because of the difficulty of hunting and gathering food, the indigenous inhabitants probably had a population density no higher than one person to every 13 km² (5 sq. miles) of territory.

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A few settlements on the banks of the main river and some of its tributaries had been founded by the Portuguese either for trade with the Indians or for evangelizing purposes. The total population of the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin in 1850 was perhaps 300,000, of whom about two-thirds comprised by Europeans and slaves, the slaves amounting to about 25,000.

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The principal commercial city, Para, had from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves. The town of Manáos, now Manaus, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, had from 1,000 to 1,500 population. All the remaining villages, as far up as Tabatinga, on the Brazilian frontier of Peru, were very small.

Related Topics:
Para - Manaus - Tabatinga

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On September 6 1850, the emperor, Dom Pedro II, sanctioned a law authorizing steam navigation on the Amazon, and gave Barao Maua (Irineu Evangilista de Sousa) the task of putting it into effect. He organized the "Compania de Navigacao e Commercio do Amazonas" at Rio de Janeiro in 1852; and in the following year it commenced operations with three small steamers, the Monarch, the Marajo and Rio Negro.

Related Topics:
September 6 - 1850 - Dom Pedro II - Irineu Evangilista de Sousa

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At first, navigation was principally confined to the main river; and even in 1857 a modification of the government contract only obliged the company to a monthly service between Para and Manáos, with steamers of 200 tons cargo capacity, a second line to make six round voyages a year between Manaós and Tabatinga, and a third, two trips a month between Para and Cameta. This was the first step in opening up the vast interior.

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The success of the venture called attention to the opportunities for economic exploitation of the Amazon, and a second company soon opened commerce on the Madeira, Purus and Negro; a third established a line between Para and Manáos; and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams. In that same period, the Amazonas Company was increasing its fleet. Meanwhile, private individuals were building and running small steam craft of their own on the main river as well as on many of its tributaries.

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On July 31, 1867 the government of Brazil, constantly pressed by the maritime powers and by the countries encircling the upper Amazon basin, decreed the opening of the Amazon to all flags; but limited this to certain defined points: Tabatinga—on the Amazon; Cameta—on the Tocantins; Santarem—on the Tapajos; Borba—on the Madeira and Manáos—on the Rio Negro. The decree took effect on September 7, 1867.

Related Topics:
July 31 - September 7

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Manáos (now Manaus), Para and Iquitos are now thriving commercial centres. The first direct foreign trade with Manáos was commenced about 1874. The local trade of the river was carried on by the English successors to the Amazonas Company—the Amazon Steam Navigation Company—as well as numerous small river steamers, belonging to companies and firms engaged in the rubber trade, navigating the Negro, Madeira, Purfis and many other streams. The principal exports of the valley were india-rubber, cacao, Brazil nuts and a few other products of very minor importance.

Related Topics:
India-rubber - Cacao - Brazil nut

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