Concept

Amapá

Summary
Amapá (amaˈpa) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the North Region of Brazil. It is the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by French Guiana to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Pará to the south and west, and Suriname to the northwest. The capital and largest city is Macapá. The state has 0.4% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for only 0.22% of the Brazilian GDP. In the colonial period the region was called Portuguese Guiana and was part of Portugal's State of Brazil. Later, the region was distinguished from the other Guianas. Amapá was once part of Pará, but became a separate territory in 1943, and a state in 1990. The dominant feature of the region, and 90 percent of its total area, is the Amazon rainforest. Unexplored forests occupy 70 percent of Amapá, and Tumucumaque Mountains National Park, established in 2002, is the largest tropical forest park in the world. The estuary of the River Oiapoque is the northernmost point of coastal Brazil. During the colonial era from 1637 to 1654 the Amapá region was merged into the Captaincy of Pará, which was the Captaincy of Cabo de Norte. In the early colonial period the Amapá region was a rich source of lumber, resins, annatto, vegetable oils, and salted fish, all of which were exported to Europe. The French established sugarcane plantations in this period. With the discovery of mineral deposits the Amapá region was invaded by the British and Dutch, who were ultimately repelled by the Portuguese. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 established the boundaries between the colony of Brazil and French Guiana, but these were not respected by the French. A fort was constructed at São José de Macapá, in present-day Macapá, as a base of Portuguese power in the region. In the 18th century, France retook control of the area. This international dispute continued until 1900.
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