Bird Ecology, Biological Weapons? The Belem Ecological Project and a Historical Controversy Surrounding the Presence of the Smithsonian Institution and Rockefeller Foundation in the Amazon, 1963-1971

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the history of the Belem Ecological Project (1963-1971), coordinated by Philip Humphrey, from the Smithsonian Institution, and developed in the Brazilian Amazon in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Virus Laboratory. It explores the historical controversy surrounding claims that the project was a cover for US military tests developing biological weapons during the Vietnam War. The article is based on research in Brazilian and North American Archives, and it highlights the collaboration of state institutions and private foundations in carrying out US foreign policy during the Cold War. It concludes that the project had hybrid financing - private and public, civilian and military - and involved the transfer of information to the US armed forces.

Keywords:
Philip Humphrey; Smithsonian Institution; Rockefeller Foundation; Amazon; Biological Weapons