Por rios e terras: a atuação dos comerciantes estrangeiros no comércio do Baixo Amazonas (c.1838-c.1870)

Abstract

The Province of Pará underwent significant transformations between 1838 and 1870. The 19th century was marked by attempts to control labor and commercial activities in the province. The commercial dynamics between the lower Amazon and the city of Belém favored the involvement of many foreign traders. The period is also characterized by attempts by authorities to diminish the privileges of foreign traders and increase provincial revenue. Authorities also tried to control illegal trade to prevent traders from dealing with cabanos and mocambeiros, which affected foreign traders whose workers were involved in negotiations with mocambeiros, although this control was not exclusive to foreigners. To minimize attempts to control illegal trade, the portuguese José Pinto de Campos and Antônio Caetano Maciel established relationships with the Caetano Correia Family. In this dissertation, we seek to evaluate the actions of foreign traders Joaquim José Cohen, Francisco Caetano Correia, José Pinto de Campos, Antônio Caetano Maciel, John Hislop, and João Fernandes in the lower Amazon. Our analysis is marked by the reopening period of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Pará and the stage that precedes the extraordinary demands for rubber in the international market, which occurred in the 1870s. For the research, criminal records, civil records, reports from the Province of Pará, travelers reports and newspapers were analyzed. We conclude that the foreign traders who migrated and operated in the commerce of the lower Amazon region conducted business with Belém, Santarém, and, in the case of Jonh Hislop, with Mato Grosso, establishing relationships with the local elite, some of whom were also formed by foreign individuals and families, or their descendants, who had been settled in the province for a longer time. These traders ascended in the social hierarchy of the region, and much of their business involved illegality and trade with mocambeiros, freedmen, free people and cabanos, resulting in a tense relationship with authorities who created restrictive measures to control trade in the region to combat illegal trade and the influence of foreigners, particularly those who did not originate from nations that had friendship treaties with Brazil, excluding the Portuguese.