35 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 F. S. Gontijo et al., Queer Natives in Latin America, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59133-5_4 Chapter 4 The Amazon European colonization in the northern portion of South America took place from the beginning of the sixteenth century almost on three fronts: the frst generated Brazil under the Portuguese orders, more focused on the east coast of the continent, respecting the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 (signed between the Kingdoms of Portugal and Castile); the second one generated the Viceroyalty of Peru (later the Vice-Kingdoms of Granada to the north and River Plate to the south), under the Spanish orders, more oriented to the west coast and the Andes; and fnally, the last one generated the Amazon, turned toward the north coast, entering the large rivers in disrespect to the Treaty and therefore putting in direct confict Portuguese and Spanish—and also, then, Dutch, English, and French explorers—(Grão-Pará and Maranhão, Rio Negro and Guyana). In this chapter we will refect on the effects of the colonial situation (Castro-Goméz and Grosfoguel 2007), the elaboration of the colonial difference (Mignolo 2002), and the embodiment of the colonial power (Quijano 2005) on the Amazon region and its original populations—with emphasis on Brazil, as the country that encompasses most of the region, particularly on the experiences of sexual and gender diversity of the indigenous peoples since the imposition of the hegemony of sexual dimorphism and gender binarism in the molds of Christian morality and scientifc-legal biopowers. To this end, the Amazon will be defned here not only based on biophysical limits related to hydrography, relief, or the vegetation, nor solely based on administrative boundaries recognized by national States or territories under tutelage (such as French Guiana), but above all based on social dynamics deriving from colonialism, cultural particularities, and the economic logic that have historically generated a fragile regional sense of unity, beyond the administratively defned borders and the differences between Portuguese and Spanish models of colonization (Gondim 2007; Pizarro 2012). 1 1 We will consider here, in addition to the excellent critical historical analysis of Gondim (2007) and Pizarro (2012), the defnition produced by the Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG), consisting of research institutions and non-governmental organi- zations from various countries that make up the region: see < https://www.amazoniasocioambien-