Entre réus, vítimas e testemunhas: redes de relações e crimes de portugueses na Cidade de Belém (1900-1925)

Abstract

This thesis has as object of historical investigation the crimes committed by Portuguese immigrants in the capital of the state of Pará, in the city of Belém. The problem I try to scrutinize is: What do the judicial processes of the 4 th court of the capital Belém reveal in relation to the crimes committed by Portuguese immigrants in the first quarter of the 20 th century? In the direction of this questioning, I raised as a central hypothesis of this investigation that the crimes committed by Portuguese immigrants, which occurred in the first quarter of the 20 th century, produced in the context of the capital of Pará, Belém, networks of ambiguous relationships, sometimes marked by solidarity and complicity, sometimes by conflicts and tensions. Therefore, the general objective of this research was to understand the meanings that the crimes committed by Portuguese immigrants, in the first quarter of the 20th century, produced in the daily life of the capital of Pará, the city of Belém. The sources used were: a) Files of criminal cases; b) Records of occurrences and complaints; c) Criminal reports; d) Offices of the Chief of Police; e) Newspapers; f) Brazilian Penal Code of 1890; g) Messages from governors of the State of Pará; h) Acts of the Municipal Intendancy. The results not only confirm the hypothesis of the production of relationship networks, but also the thesis that the crimes articulated specific and demarcated networks, particularly by four groups: 1) Minors and young people; 2) Countrymen; 3) Deportees; 4) Women. These groups build such networks due to economic, financial, and institutional conditions that are unfavorable to immigrants displaced to the region.