Adolphe Brezet was a French military officer who proclaimed himself as the President of the

Free State of Counani The Republic of Independent Guiana (french: République de la Guyane indépendante) commonly referred to by the name of the capital Counani (rendered "Cunani" in Portuguese by the Brazilians), was a short-lived unrecognized state in South America ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

from 1904 to 1912. Brezet was a mysterious figure who fought against the British in the

Boer Wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

in the late 19th century before arriving in South America, and the Boer Republics had diplomatic relations with Brezet as a result. According to contemporary sources, Counani consisted of a group of European adventurers that settled in a remote part of what is now the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

. In order to boost speculation for investments, the men of Counani built fifty miles of railway tracks that led nowhere and had no trains running on them. The ultimate fate of Brezet is entirely unknown, and Counani ceased to exist around the year 1912. It was ultimately a failed business venture, and never achieved recognized independence, or even much attention from Brazil.

References

* Jordan, David Starr. The Days of a Man: Being Memories of a Naturalist, Teacher, and Minor Prophet of Democracy. Vol. 2, World Book Company, 1922. *
L'État libre de Counani ou l'expression d'une Guyane indépendante.
*
An account of the two Republics of Counani and some of its postage stamps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brezet, Adolphe French politicians 1900s in Brazil 19th-century French people Amapá

See also

References