Acre is a state of Brazil, located in the north_western part of the country. To the north is the state of Amazonas, to the east is a short border with the state of Rondônia, to the south is Bolivia and to the west is Peru.

Geography

Acre has a territory covered mostly by jungle of the Amazon Rainforest. The state is a well-known producer and exporter of rubber.

Indigenous population

Acre is inhabited by various indigenous groups of the Panoan language family, including Kashinawa, Jaminawa and Xanenawa. There are also three groups of other language families, Madiha (Kulina) of the Arawan family as well as Yine (Manchineri) and Ashaninka (Kampa) of the Arawakan family.

History

The name "Acre" is a reminiscence of the last of the historical Crusader states of Palestine. Luiz Galvez Rodrigues de Arias was the leader of an 1899-1900 expedition that sought to seize control of what is now Acre from Bolivia. He declared himself president of a republic of Acre on July 14, 1899. That first republic lasted until March 1900. In spite of a second attempt at creating an Acre Republic (November 1900 - December 24, 1900), Acre remained part of Bolivia until 1903, when Brazil bought it through diplomatic agreement, after a secessionist war against Bolivian authorities. On February 25, 1904 it was officially made a federal territory of Brazil, and a federal state in 1962.

Flag

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The flag was adopted on March 15, 1921. It is a variation of the flags used by the secessionist state of Acre, with the yellow and green parts exchanged and mirrored. The yellow color symbolizes peace, green hope, and the star symbolizes the light which guided those who worked to make Acre a state of Brazil.

External links

• Official homepage (http://www.ac.gov.br) (Portuguese)
• Brazilian Embassy in London (http://www.brazil.org.uk/page.php?cid=351)