Wall Street, Rebels, and Rio Branco - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 148

WhenSyndicatedirectorFrederickWhitbridgeandAndeanexplorerandfielddirector
of the enterprise Sir Martin Conway arrived in Berlin with a letters of support from the
British foreign minister Joseph Chamberlain, Rio Branco intervened strongly. The Syn-
dicate hadcome torequest monies fromGerman bankers, notbecause they lacked capit-
al but because they preferred a wider diversity of investors and a greater range of allies.
Germany's imperial prestige added to that of Britain would have further legitimized the
Acreenterprise asaninternational colonyintheheartofSouthAmerica. RioBrancoex-
pressed in the clearest terms to German foreign secretary Manfred von Richthoven that
the boundaries were in contest and asked him to advise his national bankers of the risk
of lending to the Bolivian charter. Rio Branco imposed on Edouard de Rothschild to use
his influence as well. Assis-Brasil meantime had had an acerbic visit with Secretary of
State Hay, who telegrammed his consul Charles Page Bryan in Rio, “Let it be known
to whom it may concern, that it would be very disagreeable to this government that the
interests of innocent Americans suffer in the Acrean Question.” 32 Thus, while express-
ing a considered position of neutrality in the boundary question between two sovereign
states, the behind-the-scenes posture that the United States and Bryan took was that US
Acrean interests would be “vigilantly watched and resolutely protected.” 33 This was the
“diplomatic support” that Bolivia yearned for.
RioBrancowasswornintohispostasforeignministerinDecember1901inthemidst
of the Amazonian volatility, and he began to completely revise the stance and policy of
earlier administrations with his usual originality. 34
The War at the End of the World
Once the Acreans discovered the details of the agreements of the Bolivian Syndicate,
thechartercompanyofwhichtheywouldnowbesubjects,theypreparedtheirrebellion.
Their revolt was easily justifiable after the arrival of Lino Romero, designated repres-
entative of President Pando. A more profoundly divisive and incompetent figure for a
region as politically delicate as the Acre is difficult to imagine. Romero arrived in April
1902 and immediately emptied out the administrative positions of the previous Bolivi-
ans. This move would alienate his local countrymen, who had been relatively obliging
to the Brazilians, thus calming resentments over earlier battles in the way that those on
frontiers often made accommodations to the “enemy” due to their shared circumstances.
Romero proceeded to populate these posts with his cronies in the capricious manner
typical of petty caudillos. He further required that all residents register their lands six
months after his arrival and pay a fee to do so. This was a lucrative sideline, with pos-
sibilities for acquiring the lands of holdouts, as well as a useful arena for corruption, but
for the Brazilians it seemed the first step in their dispossession.