Brazil, located in the east-central part of South America, has a land area of 85 1.50 million square kilometers, and 1.822 became independent from Portugal in September. After its independence, Brazil expanded its territory by means of war, military deterrence and international arbitration, and then became the largest country in Latin America. At present, Brazil has seized nearly 300,000 square kilometers of land through two international arbitrations, and the reason why Brazil has made such achievements has a lot to do with the efforts of one person, that is Baron Rio Branco. Is Leo in the middle? Baron Rio Branco, Baron Blanco, is arguably the greatest foreign minister in Brazilian history. He was born in the spring of 1845. /kloc-at the age of 0/8, he entered the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro to study law. After graduation, he served as Consul General of Brazil in Paris and Liverpool. After entering the diplomatic field, Rio Branco changed his bohemian character and took advantage of his stay in Europe to wander between archives and libraries in European countries. 1893, Brazil and Argentina submitted the territorial dispute of La Plata to the United States for arbitration. Because of Rio Branco's in-depth study of the military history of La Plata, he was appointed by Brazil as the representative of Pakistan in this arbitration case. After receiving the appointment, Rio Branco went to Washington, D.C. to show all the achievements accumulated and studied in recent years, and finally persuaded American President Cleveland to award 1.37 million square miles (about 35,400 square kilometers) of land to Brazil, and he became a national hero in Brazil overnight. The arbitration case witnessed Rio Branco's erudition, intelligence and wisdom, and the close relationship between Brazil and the United States. Brazil and the United States established an unwritten alliance at the end of19th century, and the two countries formed an unwritten alliance. First, the United States, which pursues an expansionist policy, intends to take Brazil as the fulcrum of its South American policy to alleviate the distrust and hatred of South American countries towards the United States. Second, for economic reasons. Brazil's main export product is coffee. In the first decade of the 20th century, Brazil produced 77% of the world's coffee, half of which was exported to the United States. In addition to coffee, rubber is also the fist product exported by Brazil. With the advent of the second industrial revolution and the rise of the automobile industry, people's demand for rubber is getting higher and higher, and the price of rubber has also increased from 45 pounds per ton of 1840 to 565,438 pounds per ton of191,which undoubtedly affects the development of Amazon's rubber industry. From 1900 to 19 10, rubber contributed to the foreign exchange income of Brazil14. The United States is the largest buyer of Brazilian rubber. 19 12 years, the United States bought 36% of Brazilian rubber, much higher than Britain (15%). Therefore, it is natural for Brazil to establish friendly relations with the United States. The arbitration case of La Plata dispute made Rio Branco a famous national hero in Brazil, while the arbitration case of 1897 pushed Rio Branco's position and prestige to the peak. 1897 In April, Brazil submitted its dispute with France in Amapa area to Switzerland for arbitration. Amapa is located at the mouth of the Amazon River, with an area of 10 10000 square miles (about 26 16000 square kilometers). In this arbitration, Rio Branco cited a large number of historical facts to prove that Amapa belongs to Brazil, including three main points: First, 1637, Spain gave Amapa to a Portuguese general to prevent French harassment; Second, in the Treaty of Utrecht signed in 17 13, France recognized the land on both sides of the Amazon River as Portugal and the Oyabok River as the southern border of French Guiana. Thirdly, in the Vienna Final Minute signed in 18 15, France also agreed to take the Oyabok River as the boundary. The above historical materials are very convincing and ultimately affect the direction of arbitration. 1900 12, Swiss president Walter Hausel announced more than 800 pages of ruling, announcing that Brazil has Amapa. Through two international arbitrations, Brazil obtained 165438+4680 square miles (about 297000 square kilometers) of land, which is much more than the territory obtained in the war. At the same time, Rio Branco gradually began his brilliant diplomatic career by virtue of his outstanding performance in two arbitrations. 1902, Rio Branco was appointed as foreign minister. His term of office began at190265438+February 3rd and ended at1965438+February 2nd10th, totaling nine years, two months and seven days. During this period, Rio Branco was not involved in partisan disputes, but only cared about international affairs. Therefore, in the past ten years, although Brazil has changed four presidents, Riobu Ranco remains an impregnable foreign minister, ensuring the continuity and stability of foreign policy. Thanks to Rio Branco's efforts, Brazil has not only solved the border dispute that has plagued it for many years, but also improved its status, influence and international reputation in South America.