ABSTRACT
Brazil is bordered by Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, and Venezuela 2,200 km. The northern coast of Brazil was explored by Vicente Pinzón, a Spaniard in 1500, although theoretically already allotted to Portugal by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. Brazil was formally claimed by discovery until the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvars Cabral accidentally touched there also in 1500. In past centuries, Fernando de Noronha was invaded by the Dutch, the French, and the British, all wanting to establish a base in a strategic spot. In the 19th century, the island became a penal colony; during this period, the forests were cut down to prevent prisoners from using the trees to build boats and escape.
