“Dando rédeas ao instinto de perversidade”: cotidiano, sociabilidade e violência em Cajazeiras, PB (1890-1903)

Abstract

The society that experienced the transformations in the post-abolition and post-Republic period had its trajectory marked by a series of social and behavioral norms. Based on this context, this dissertation aims to analyze the experiences of individuals in various social spaces of the city of Cajazeiras, Paraíba — from urban spaces like the Public Market, the Fair, the Game House, and the suburbs, to rural areas — questioning how formal and informal norms guided and manifested in the daily lives of these individuals. The main source for this research consists of criminal case records from 1890 to 1903, which are significant historical records for analyzing social scenarios after the establishment of the Republic, a period marked by increased state efforts to regulate behaviors considered “deviant.” The choice of this time frame is justified by the fact that 1890 marks the promulgation of the first Republican Penal Code, replacing the 1830 Criminal Code, while 1903 represents the last year with transcribed legal records available from Cajazeiras (PB). The documents used are part of the collection of the Fórum Dr. Ferreira Júnior in Cajazeiras and allowed the construction of a research focused on analyzing social relations among the popular classes, through the crimes registered in the records, especially because these groups are often invisible in the traditional narratives about the locality, which generally privilege elite sectors. In dialogue with these records and to fill gaps left by judicial sources, editions of Gazeta do Sertão, a liberal newspaper circulating in Paraíba, were also consulted, providing information on relevant events in Cajazeiras, such as droughts and debates surrounding the promulgation of the Code of Postures, a document that regulated behaviors and urban organization. The 1890 Census was used as a parameter for demographic analysis, revealing quantitative and racial variations among the local population. The analysis was conducted within the History and Regionalities line, part of the Postgraduate Program in History at the Federal University of Paraíba (PPGH-UFPB), and is theoretically grounded in Social History, adopting the "History from Below" perspective. The research concludes that, beyond the formal norms produced and applied by the State and society to resolve daily conflicts, it is through leisure and entertainment episodes that social connections and the agency of individuals who created and experienced the city become visible. These lived experiences, not always in accordance with established rules, reveal plural ways of negotiating, occupying, and transforming urban and rural spaces in the studied context.