It originated in 1792 with the creation of the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing, the first military school of the Americas, in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In 1792, Queen Mary I of Portugal and Brazil founded the Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho (Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing) in Rio de Janeiro, modeled after the existing Academy in Lisbon, intended to train artillery and engineering officers of the Portuguese Army in Brazil.

With the ever-growing need to improve the training of the officers of the Brazilian Army, it was merged with the School of War in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul.

Just like so many military academies in the world, the AMAN is a medium-sized, highly residential baccalaureate college, with a full-time, four-year undergraduate program that emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions with no graduate program, preparing men and women to take on the challenge of being officers of the Brazilian Army.

During the second period, the cadet practices command, continues with physical training and develops to meet the positions and functions of subordinate officer and captain.

Other activities include maneuvers, the Academic Olympics, sporting competitions against the Naval School and the Academy of the Air Force (NAVAMAER) and the South American Festival of Cadets.

The academic program consists of a structured core of subjects depending on the cadet's chosen specialty as a future Army officer, balanced between the arts and sciences.

During the Brazilian spring, all cadets go towards one year-end training exercise to assess their skills and apply the lessons learned during their studies.