Ciência e política nos trópicos: o Museu Nacional e as expedições científicas estrangeiras no Brasil (1930-1945)

Abstract

The role played by the National Museum of Quinta da Boa Vista (MN), since its creation in 1818, in the economic, social and scientific development of the Brazilian State is undeniable. The institution, through the various researches it carried out in the areas of natural and social sciences, placed Brazil on the international scientific scene and its scientists gained recognition in various fields of knowledge, especially in relation to the study of the natural environment and anthropological studies. As part of the state apparatus, the agency also provided other relevant services to the country, such as the preservation of historical and scientific memory, the elaboration of regulations for the protection of the natural environment, science teaching activities and the study of the composition of the Brazilian population. This thesis seeks to prove that the National Museum has become one of the main protagonists of the federal policy for the protection of the Brazilian natural heritage, while seeking to accumulate portions of power in favor of its institutional strengthening, the growth of its museological collection and the development of its projects of research. My reflections are based on the analysis of the position of the Museum's representatives on the Supervisory Board of Artistic and Scientific Expeditions in Brazil (CFEACB), on the study of the political and administrative relations established between the Museum, the federal government and the heritage defense organisms, and the institution's role in inspection, confiscation of scientific material and cooperation with foreign scientific expeditions that entered Brazilian territory to study fauna, flora, minerals and indigenous groups, in a political context that included the coup d'état led by Getúlio Vargas in 1930 , the installation of the dictatorship regime with the Estado Novo (1937-1945) and the growing international belligerence, which culminated in the Second World War (1939-1945). The National Museum has become a world reference for scientists who chose Brazil as their research location and in this privileged position established agreements with important scientific institutions in Europe and the United States, increasing its collection and consolidating its position as one of the main research institutions. with the scientific community and the federal government.