O “Grande Sertão” do império: tensões políticas e sociais nos sertões do Rio Francisco (1827-1889)

Abstract

This Thesis analyzes the authorities of the sertão of the São Francisco river between 1827 and 1889. It’s a Regional History research that, based on the study of the authorities of the São Francisco River region, analyzes the power relations and the constitution of this hinterland as a region. Thus, from the approach of Regional History, we link Social History and Political History. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the actions of the authorities of the Brazilian Imperial State in the sertão of the São Francisco River and the organization of their support networks based on social and political tensions in the region. In this way, we pay attention not only to the circulation and political and bureaucratic career of the agents of the Imperial State, but also to the interference of the national and provincial governments in the territorial organization. The São Francisco’s district is a part of the sertão of the São Francisco river and it was annexed to the territory of the province of Bahia in 1827. It was created in 1820 and, in 1824, it was transferred to the province of Minas Gerais where it remained provisionally until 1827 when the transfer, on a provisional basis, to Bahia occurred. Thus, this research established the chronological cut from the transfer to Bahia until the end of the monarchical regime in 1889. Throughout the research we analyzed how the concept of sertão was shaped from the colonial heritage in which the interior was tied not only with the opposition to the coast, but was also perceived as a civilizational frontier by the agents of the Brazilian state. The participation of the authorities can be observed from the perceptions about order and civility, both by the Eurocentric prism, but also by its action in the repression of rebel movements and alliances with local elites in power disputes. Such authorities served as an important player in the games of control of the subordinate layers, as well as being political agents in the formation of regional power. The thesis is divided into 7 sections: 1) Introduction: we present the general ideas of the research, a bibliographic review on the concepts of Region and Regional History and the synthesis of the following sections; 2) addresses the notion of sertão and sertão of the São Francisco river observing the construction of the concept as part of a Eurocentric perspective of the ruling layers on the rural population; 3) deals with relations between the Brazilian State and the São Francisco River hinterland. Thus, we discuss the formation and transfers of the São Francisco River District, the projects of province creation and the economic structure; 4) we discuss the social tensions and the actions of the authorities to repress and control the subaltern layers; 5) We analyzed the political tensions and the action of the regional authorities in the struggles of the local potentates; 6) we analyzed the participation of the regional authorities in the regional political articulations; 7) The last section is Final Considerations. The thesis used a variety of sources such as handwritten documents (in particular correspondence of judges and councilors' chambers to the provincial government), rare works, 19th-century dictionaries, press and maps.