Emperor Pedro II of Brazil issued a proclamation opening the 4000 mile long Amazon River and its tributaries, including the Tocantins and the San Francisco, to the commerce of all nations, effective on September 7, 1867. Bolivia had opened its tributaries to foreign commerce in 1853 but this had been crippled until now by the Brazilian policy of restricting foreign commerce on the Amazon. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Brazil," The American Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1866 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873), 66-67.