A exploração do pau-de-pernambuco nas províncias de RN, PB e PE : estanco e contrabando (1822 1858)

Abstract

This research project, presented to the Postgraduate Program in History at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), aims to analyze the exploration of pau- de-pernambuco (Paubrasilia-echinata) in the 19th century, from its extraction that took place in the provinces of Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco. The choice of the time frame has as its starting point the independence of Brazil in 1822 and will extend until the year 1858, due to the new Brazilian State and European industry, both aiming to meet their political and economic interests, articulating in the maintenance of extraction of this tree. National historiography indicates that this activity was in its final decades of export to Europe, due to the discovery of artificial dyes in 1858. Therefore, this research will analyze how Brazil, after its independence, internally reorganized this situation through the reform of the old Portuguese royal laws, which at the time had already regulated this monopoly for more than three centuries. The analysis of this legislation, associated with historical reports from botanists, public servants, local political leaders and their associates, makes it possible to understand how this extractive activity occurred in the national territory, shedding light on the requirements that the government made for the granting of logging licenses. , the extraction methods, the transport and storage of this wood, and finally its export and commercialization in Europe. Furthermore, through the sources collected, it is possible to collect data on the export of this commodity, so that we can measure the economic impact of this type of brazilwood for the provinces of RN, PB, PE and the Central Government. Finally, the errors that exist in this activity will be addressed. The theoretical conception used is based on the principles of Social History, starting from the observation of the political and socioeconomic relations of this situation between the provinces of RN, PB and PE and the Central Government, seeking to understand the productive force, the means of production, property, land use and the environment. With this study, we will contribute to national historiography in the construction of a perspective that places Pernambuco wood extracted from the North as the most valuable and important type of Brazil wood that was exported to be sold in Europe. The methodology of this research has as its source the documentation produced by the institutions of the Empire of Brazil between 1822 and 1858, in addition to the newspapers of the time, and the Almanaks Laemmert, O Auxiliador da Indústria Nacional, and the work of Balthazar Da Silva Lisboa: "Riques do Brazil in Construction Wood and Carpentry".