Dilemas do abastecimento na província do Amazonas 1852-1889

Abstract

The provincial period in Amazonas (1852-1888) was observed by its administrators, the presidents, as a context in which several projects needed to be elaborated with a view to achieving local development, as well as the implantation of a civilized society as new habits and characteristics. The rulers' strategy was also related to the intention of lowering and demeaning the customs and characteristics already established by the populations that inhabited the river banks in the province, communities that were constantly labeled as backward and their habits considered as a hindrance for local development. One of the most cited topics in the provincial reports is local supply and according to the administrators, food in the capital was precarious and even a period of scarcity and hunger in the city, a justified problem, in the view of the presidents by idleness and other stereotypes imposed on the inhabitants. The purpose of the research is to list in the narrative of the reports what was perceived as the need for change, the solutions imposed and the way the population was portrayed, as other sources compose the analysis in the attempt to problematize what was judged as truth in the official speech