Entre leis e baionetas: Independência e Cabanagem no Médio Amazonas (1808-1840)

Abstract

The Grão-Pará, during the first half of the 19th century, had a period of intensive social disturbances and political crisis. During twenty years the province was emerged in two revolutionary processes which implied on significant changes, principally on political and representative structures, namely, the Independence and Cabanagem movement. Both processes can be represented as a variety of political ideas and specific social projects, creating a plural profile of multiple meanings and the idea of a heterogeneous movement. These particularities in the Grão-Pará's political scenario of the Independence and Cabanagem movement allow us to understand these processes through its multiplicity of projects and political acts on the médio Amazonas. From these projects we can see the importance of fight for the political-administrative separation of the Alto-Amazonas from the province of Grão- Pará to create the province of Rio Negro. This project was based on the local elite ideas and on the population interests. To the local elite the question of to separate or not from the Grão- Pará was as important as to separate or not from Portugal was to the elite of Belém. However, if the elites would fight to increase its domain, the population, specially the tapuias, often would also fight for more space, power and rights. Given this context, we propose on this study to understand how these ideas were developed during the revolutionary process of the first half of the 19th century, analyzing the presented projects in the political scenarion of the Grão-Pará considering on the background the Independence and Cabanagem movement.