Paper short abstract:

The Lower Amazon and its estuary acted as frontier zones since pre-Columbian times as Tupi, Arawak and Carib-speaking societies interacted from the two shores of the river. Europeans inherited this constructed frontier but the Portuguese conquest since 1616 deeply transformed native patterns of integration.

Paper long abstract:

The Portuguese conquest and colonization of Brazil was mediated by the Tupi-Guarani societies that inhabited the Atlantic coast in a discontinuous pattern from the estuary of the River Plate to the mouth of the Amazon. In fact, the extension of Portuguese occupation coincides with the limits of expansion of these Tupi-Guarani societies in most regions, suggesting a historical relation with deep potential implications. This paper explores the conquest and construction of the Portuguese colonial frontier in the Lower Amazon and its estuary at the beginning of the 17th century, aiming to unveil the nature of the relations between Portuguese and Amerindian societies. The starting point is the hypothesis that the presence of Tupinamba societies from the Brazilian northeast, and of many other groups linked with them through language and culture, helped the Portuguese cause in their dispute for the control of the southern Amazon shores with other European competitors. However, this very same dependency on the Tupinamba also acted as a brake on the Portuguese conquest as it headed north. This is supposed by the fact that almost no Tupi-Guarani traces have been recorded on the northern shore of the Amazon, suggesting that the Amazon River acted as a frontier for both the Tupinambá and the Portuguese. This paper analyzes the frontier nature of the river since pre-Columbian times and the transformations provoked by European conquest, as colonial domination put an end to the previous integrative nature of this fluvial frontier.