Governantes das Capitanias do Norte: hierarquias territoriais, circulação e redes de conhecimento dos agentes governativos (1654 – 1800)

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze how the Portuguese Crown and the government agents saw and recognized the territories in hierarchical terms, focusing on the Northern Captaincy (Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande and Ceará) between the second half of the 17th century and the 18th century. Through the analysis of these perceptions, along with the study of the circulation of government agents and the processes of choice of these men, it will be possible to understand how the distributive logic of the Crown was a builder of hierarchies and attributed differentiated values to the territories. For the development of this work, it starts from the basic assumption that the society studied was structured in the recognition of inequalities as a social engine that was part of the functioning of social, political and administrative relationships. Thus, space was seen and perceived in different ways and these spaces were constantly being compared with others through the logic of assigning values and recognizing inequalities. Like spaces, men were also constantly compared to each other through the same logic. Therefore, the comparative analysis will be an essential factor for the development of this research and for the understanding of the administrative dynamics that involved the games of hierarchies in Portuguese America and, more specifically, in the Northern Captaincies.