"The hinterland was still deeper than in present times" - the "alto sertão" and the production of the territory in the Empire of Brazil

Abstract

The power disputes around the hinterland of Cariri - interior region of Ceará, Pernambuco, Paraíba and Piauí - during the imperial period are the subject of discussion in this article. The region is understood as a dynamic space, moved by the different perceptions of those who define it and as the product of experiences, interests and perceptions. Among the perceptions, one overlapped historically based on the idea that the hinterland, despite being more accessible, had not reached the modernity and the pace of progress that the capital would have. Vision produced in the 19th century, but permanent in the writing of the second half of the twentieth. Thus, at the time of administrative centralization of the Empire of Brazil, tensions are observed between the interest in delimiting the territory of the modern nation and the resistance of those who fought their experiences in a hinterland not always understood by imperial power. It was noticed in the tensions indicated in crafts, newspapers and historiography about the region, the hint of a space, the high backlands, a network of relationships built by agents in a certain time and space, which was not always consistent with the interior recommended by the State Brazilian imperial, but that resisted him, as in the revolts of Pinto Madeira and the quebra-kilos.

Keywords:
History; Region; Sertão; 19th century