Colônias Orfanológicas da Estrela: a educação de crianças negras e desvalidas no Recôncavo da Guanabara (1876-1881)

Abstract

In order to analyze possible paths for the education and instruction of orphaned, black, and underprivileged children in an institution, the present research aimed to understand the process of creation and operation of the Orphanological Colonies of Estrela, located in the former municipality of Estrela, in the Province of Rio de Janeiro, in the geographic region that constitutes the current Baixada Fluminense. This analysis begins in 1876, with the creation of the first Orphanological Colony by the Judge of Orphans, Gonçalo Paes de Azevedo Faro. Due to the absence of records revealing the termination of activities in the institution, we selected the year 1881 as the final cutoff for this study. The research is based on documentary analysis, including reports from the presidents of the province of Rio de Janeiro, reports from the Ministry of Agriculture, educational legislation, and the regulations of the Agricultural and Industrial Orphanological Colonies of Estrela. With an emphasis on the use of "the regional as a unit and as a position of analysis," by Faria Filho (2009), and on the local history of Baixada Fluminense, the aim was to understand the creation, operation, and provision of education for labor for orphaned, black, and underprivileged children in the Agricultural or Industrial Orphanological Colonies of Estrela. Given the intention to transform boys into "useful young men to themselves and to the nation," through the application of the concept of "thread of the name" by Ginzburg and Poni (1991), this study also focused on the individuals involved in maintaining the project created by Judge of Orphans Gonçalo Paes de Azevedo Faro. During the investigations, four orphanological colonies were identified on the farms and potteries of the municipality, as well as 18 individuals active in the Fiscal Council responsible for the establishment, operation, and admission of children to the institution. Despite the absence of the enrollment book and the lack of knowledge about the destinies of the boys after leaving the colonies, the location of the institution's regulations revealed the daily life in one of the institutions. The discovery of a complaint also contributed to verifying the use of child labor and the construction of the national worker after the promulgation of the law on September 28, 1871.