The Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras (English: Agulhas Negras Military Academy - named after the Agulhas Negras summit; AMAN) is the biggest among several schools of formation of combatant officers of the Brazilian Army. It originated in 1792 with the creation of the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing - first military school of the Americas - in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Today the Academy is located in the city of Resende, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1792, Queen Mary I of Portugal founded the Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho (Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing) in Rio de Janeiro, modeled after the similar existing Academy in Lisbon, intended to the train the artillery and engineering officers of the Portuguese Army in Brazil. This Academy is considered the pioneer of the military and engineering education in the Americas.
The transfer of the Portuguese Royal Court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in 1808 caused King Dom João VI to inaugurate on 23 April 1811 the Royal Military Academy, incorporating the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing. Its first location was at the Train's House of the Artillery, today the location of the National Historical Museum of Brazil.
The Military Academy (AM; Academia Militar in Portuguese) is a Portuguese military establishment, which has the ability to confer educational qualifications equivalent to a university. It develops activities of teaching, research and support for the communities with the purpose of training and forming officers for the Portuguese Army and the Republican National Guard.
The Military Academy has this designation since 1959, but the first such establishment occurred in 1640 when the Military Higher Education was created.
Currently, the Portuguese Military Academy is located in two different barracks, a main one in Lisbon' Bemposta Palace and a detachment in Amadora.