Banca de DEFESA: VITÓRIA MASCARENHAS DE JESUS

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : VITÓRIA MASCARENHAS DE JESUS
DATE: 22/09/2025
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Virtual - Meet
TITLE:

THE EXPANSION OF THE COLONIAL FRONTIER: THE ACTION OF PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS IN THE BACKLANDS OF THE LOWER AMAZON (1684-1755)

KEY WORDS:

Lower Amazon; private actors; backlands trade; economy of favors

PAGES: 152
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:

This study seeks to examine the expansion of the colonial frontier into the Lower Amazon during the late seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century. This period marks the first Portuguese military advances, with the establishment of colonial administrative and defensive outposts in Tapajós, Paúxis, and Paru—referred to in colonial sources as the sertões. Rich in resources such as Indigenous labor and the so-called drogas do sertão (backlands commodities), these areas were of strategic importance to the Portuguese Crown, which began reinforcing its presence with the construction of fortresses from 1684 onward.The expansion of this frontier relied on private individuals who occupied the posts of capitães-mores. This analysis therefore focuses on expansion policies that engaged individuals invested in the overseas conquest and who were rewarded with titles, offices, and land grants through what was known as the economy of favors (economia das mercês). Our aim is to understand who these actors were, how they obtained such positions, the conflicts in which they became entangled with other local authorities, and the multiple ways they negotiated power in these remote areas, far from the administrative centers of Maranhão and Grão-Pará.We also highlight how these individuals inserted themselves into the profitable backlands trade through canoe expeditions to collect drogas do sertão and to resettle Indigenous groups—activities made possible by navigating the Amazonian river system. These practices, shaped by the dynamics of the region, could either align with or diverge from the Portuguese Crown’s expansionist goals. The sources examined include chronicles and archival documents from the Overseas Historical Archive (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, AHU), the Public Archive of the State of Pará (Arquivo Público do Estado do Pará, APEP), and the National Archive of the Torre do Tombo (Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, ANTT).

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1324248 - CARMEN MARGARIDA OLIVEIRA ALVEAL
Interno - ***.412.534-** - THIAGO ALVES DIAS - UPE
Externa à Instituição - WANIA ALEXANDRINO VIANA - UFPA