Povoações, freguesias e vilas na Paraíba Colonial: Pombal e Sousa, 1697-1800

The towns presently named Pombal and Sousa, located in the hinterland of the State of Paraíba, Brazil, still keep vestiges of the colonization process they went through along the 18th and 19th centuries, when they both emerged as settlement nuclei in the extreme West of the then captaincy of Paraíba and attained the status of freguesia and vila in a later period. This research aims to comprehend the process of urban formation and development of the colonial urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa as they became povoados (hamlets), freguesias (parishes) and vilas (small urban communities with a local government), according to territorial expansion policies implemented by the Portuguese government from 1697 to 1800. The choice of the two urban settlements for this survey lies in the fact that they were part of the great conquest and colonization program undertaken by the Portuguese Crown. Another aspect that was considered was the fact that those towns are the oldest urban nuclei of Paraíba s hinterland. They came into being as early as in the times of the colony, thus producing a favorable environment to the study of the changes that occurred in the captaincy s hinterland scenery resulting from the process of formation and development of the colonial urban space. Three fundamental categories of analysis were defined since they have a direct bearing upon the urban configuration of the two colonization nuclei: povoado, freguesia and vila. The three of them are related to civil and ecclesiastic jurisdictions. Field, documentation and bibliography surveys were undertaken in order to develop the study. They allowed for the finding of vestiges of the old, colonial urban structures and for the development of theoretical analysis based on present-day studies of issues relating to the colonial urban history. The study purposes were, therefore, to try to understand how the old urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa fit in the territorial expansion policies undertaken by the Portuguese government; to relate the process of urban formation and development of such nuclei with the categories of analysis povoação-freguesia-vila by discussing the relations and influences they exert over one another and their territory, as well as to unveil, as much as possible, the configuration the urban spaces that were shaped along the 18th century

Arquitetura, cidade e território no Brasil colonial: a contribuição dos carmelitas calçados da Bahia e Pernambuco (1580-1800)

This study investigates the religious group named 'shoe wearing carmelites' (or Calced Carmelites) from Brazil´s Order of Carmo, from 1580 until 1800, in the Capitaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos (Recôncavo, city of Salvador and Sergipe) and in the Capitaincy of Pernambuco (Alagoas, Pernambuco and Itamaracá). The study does not include the religious group known as the 'Reformed' Carmelites from Goiana, Recife and Paraíba convents. The Order of Carmo is a religious order from the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 12th century. By the 16th century they were split into 'Calced' and 'Discalced'. In 1580 the Calced ones came from Portugal to Brazil, built convents in urban areas and were able to acquire slaves, farms and other assets. As any other religious order, the Carmelites had their modus operandi. This work emphasizes the way they operated or acted in the city, either individually or in association with other Carmelite religious foundations elsewhere (networking). Their action affected, although indirectly, the building of some specific aspects of the architecture, the city and the territory in colonial Brazil. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the impact of the Calced Carmelites from Bahia and Pernambuco upon the territory of colonial Brazil, which is analyzed according to three scales: 1) the region or interurban; 2) the city or intraurban; 3) the building or the architecture. The research employs the comparative method of analysis, especially for the architectural scale. The work demonstrates that although not acting as architects or urbanists, the Carmelites contributed to the formation of the colonial territory of Brazil, behaving as a well-articulated and hierarchized religious network, from an economic and social perspective. Moreover, they influenced the emergence and growth of several colonial urban nuclei, from Bahia to Pernambuco, mainly in the surroundings of their religious buildings. Finally, it is very clear this religious order’s contribution to colonial architecture, as it can be seen by the architectural characteristics of the convents and churches which have been analyzed, many of which still stand in a good state of conservation nowadays.

Povoações, freguesias e vilas na Paraíba Colonial: Pombal e Sousa, 1697-1800

The towns presently named Pombal and Sousa, located in the hinterland of the State of Paraíba, Brazil, still keep vestiges of the colonization process they went through along the 18th and 19th centuries, when they both emerged as settlement nuclei in the extreme West of the then captaincy of Paraíba and attained the status of freguesia and vila in a later period. This research aims to comprehend the process of urban formation and development of the colonial urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa as they became povoados (hamlets), freguesias (parishes) and vilas (small urban communities with a local government), according to territorial expansion policies implemented by the Portuguese government from 1697 to 1800. The choice of the two urban settlements for this survey lies in the fact that they were part of the great conquest and colonization program undertaken by the Portuguese Crown. Another aspect that was considered was the fact that those towns are the oldest urban nuclei of Paraíba s hinterland. They came into being as early as in the times of the colony, thus producing a favorable environment to the study of the changes that occurred in the captaincy s hinterland scenery resulting from the process of formation and development of the colonial urban space. Three fundamental categories of analysis were defined since they have a direct bearing upon the urban configuration of the two colonization nuclei: povoado, freguesia and vila. The three of them are related to civil and ecclesiastic jurisdictions. Field, documentation and bibliography surveys were undertaken in order to develop the study. They allowed for the finding of vestiges of the old, colonial urban structures and for the development of theoretical analysis based on present-day studies of issues relating to the colonial urban history. The study purposes were, therefore, to try to understand how the old urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa fit in the territorial expansion policies undertaken by the Portuguese government; to relate the process of urban formation and development of such nuclei with the categories of analysis povoação-freguesia-vila by discussing the relations and influences they exert over one another and their territory, as well as to unveil, as much as possible, the configuration the urban spaces that were shaped along the 18th century