SLAVEHOLDERS IN THE MODERN FESTIVALS: O CENTRO DA LAVOURA E DO COMMERCIO IN THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS (1880-1888)

Abstract

The article analyzes the Brazilian participation in 19th-century international exhibitions, true showcases of industrial capitalism, after the Empire began to be represented in these events by the Center of Agriculture and Commerce, between 1880 and 1888. Through the analysis of its main directors, it is possible to demonstrate that fractions of the master class, linked to coffee production in the Paraíba Valley, used the exhibitions and the state apparatus itself to expand their businesses and conquer new markets. It was the great slave-owners and coffee traders’ last attempt to increase their profits during the crisis of the second slavery.

Keywords:
International exhibitions; XIX^th century; crisis of slavery; coffee; Brazilian Empire; Center of Agriculture and Commerce; agricultural clubs