O ouro branco abre caminho: o algodão e a modernização do espaço urbano da Cidade da Parahyba (1850-1924)

The present research deals with the modernization process of the Cidade da Parahyba2, between 1850 and 1924, and its relation with the cotton economy, which represented the main source of wealth accumulation for both the private and the public sectors throughout the First Republic. This study on urban history was developed by focusing on the understanding of the city s spatial formation, and despite its emphasis on the economic aspects involved, other factors that also contribute to the development of the social life were not put aside. The modernization process of the Cidade da Parahyba was also analyzed during the period established for the study according to a chronological and thematic approach that established comparisons with the financial situation of the State, whenever this was necessary, with special attention to the contribution of the cotton economy to the State´s revenues. It was possible to detect a lack of financial help and loans from the federal and municipal administrations for finishing several public works already underway in the capital, since the federal funds allocated to the State of Parahyba do Norte were rather employed in emergency works against droughts and in agricultural development. One can then conclude that the financial resources required for the urban interventions were withdrawn from the State s treasury itself, resources that were collected mainly from activities such as cotton exportation and cotton trading. Another factor shows the interdependence between the urban remodeling and the cotton economy: during the years marked by great droughts or by hard plagues on the cotton plantations, cotton production decreased, as well as the State s finances. The first measures taken by the State s administrators were to halt all projects of urban remodeling in progress in the Cidade da Parahyba, which was, clearly, the most privileged city by the State s presidents during the period analyzed. 2 The city of João Pessoa was named Cidade da Parahyba, a designation that remained until September 1930, when it received its present-day name in order to pay homage to the president of the State, João Pessoa Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, murdered in the city of Recife in August of that same year. At that time, the State of Paraíba was known as Parahyba do Norte. Since this work is limited to a period of time comprised within the First Republic, the names employed respect the terms used in those days

Adam Smith visto por Roberto Campos: a (re)criação do mito e as necessidades do capitalismo

This work aims at analyzing how Adam Smith, one of the founders of the liberal regime was seen by Roberto Campos, one of the patriarchs of Brazilian liberalism. In this sense, it will be shown how and why the legacy of Scotland was used to legitimize the new pattern of accumulation necessary to capitalism from the second half of the twentieth century on. So, it is the intention to make explicit that the changes in Campos discursive form are consistent with the requirements of capitalism in crisis and were fundamental in the creation of another common sense. To achieve these goals it will be assessed in what way the liberal rhetoric of the Brazilian, harmonized with foreign authors with the same vision, has become an important weapon to transform Smith into a myth in contrast to the political and economic criteria advocated by the same, but valuable to what Roberto Campos intended

A eletricidade chega à cidade: inovação técnica e a vida urbana em Natal (1911-1940)

Dans les premières décennies du XXème siècle, un groupe d intellectuels brésiliens a pris pour soi la mission de conduire la nation aux chemins du progrès, en réfléchissant sur les transformations des villes et, souvent, en proposant et en mettant en avant des actions et mesures qui dirigeraient la modernisation du pays. Dans ce contexte, la ville apparaissait comme un synonyme de progrès en opposition à la campagne, en donnant emphase à la construction du Brésil urbain. À Natal, celui-ci a été une période de sensible modification dans l espace urbain, en suivant les préceptes de l hygiénisme et de l esthétique racionaliste, qui ont orienté les réformes entreprises dans beaucoup de villes brésiliennes. Les élites politiques et socioéconomiques de la capitale du Rio Grande do Norte ont developpé le discours en faveur de la modernisation qui avait pour objectif de justifier les interventions dans la ville et l introduction de l infra-structure de services urbains, par exemple, les services d illumination et de transport, qui à partir de 1911, ont commencé à être stimulés par l électricité. Cette modernisation est matérialisée par de nouveaux équipements et services, par des espaces remodelés en accord avec la rationalité technique de l urbaniste, pour l utilisation de nouvelles sources d énergie (gaz, électricité), en plus de la croissance de la population résidente en ville. Cependant, nous ne pouvons pas oublier que la construction de la ville moderne est passée tant par des transformations physiques, matérielles, comme par l absorption de valeurs, symboles, gestes, vocabulaires, objets, adoptions de nouvelles normes de comportement et par la formation de nouvelles sensibilités sur l espace urbain et la vie en ville. De cette manière, les nouvelles normes technologiques, comme l électricité, ont rendu possible des transformations dans la structure matérielle de la ville et en vie urbaine dans ses plus divers aspects. Ce travail propose d analyser la relation entre énergie électrique et la vie urbaine à Natal entre 1911 et 1940, en prenant en compte, pour cela, les actions d intervention de l État sur l espace urbain et les perceptions d intellectuels face aux transformations urbaines dont ils étaient les témoins. À partir de cette analyse, nous cherchons à préciser les efforts gouvernementaux pour la manutention des services d électricité et conservation des équipements urbains; comprendre comment l utilisation d énergie électrique a aidé à produire de nouvelles situations quotidiennes et comment elle a été perçue, traduite en sentiments et perceptions fondées dans la cohabitation avec cette innovation technique. Les élites locales désiraient diffuser des habitudes considerées modernes, en construisant une identification avec la manière de vie urbaine, fortement inspirée dans la vie dans les villes Européennes et Américaines. L électricité a rendu possible des expériences et sensations qui allaient caractériser l habitant de la ville

Escravidão na Vila do Príncipe, província do Rio Grande do Norte (1850/1888)

This dissertation presents a study on the slave population of Vila do Príncipe, from 1850 to 1888, based on the judicial and notarial collection of hand written documents as well as on the Reports of Presidents of the Province of Rio Grande do Norte. The issue that drives the research relates to the reproduction of slavery in a region of cattle breeding colonization. Therefore, the research aims to understand how in a peripheral socio-economic place (in Vila do Príncipe, cattle breeding Seridó) after the prohibition of the African slave trade, the slave relationships subsisted and structured themselves. In the sense, the research analyzed the dynamics of socio-economic slave units and their relationship with space, ownership structure and the slave family.