A cidade e o povo: composição espacial e relações sociais em Cajazeiras - PB (1872-1903).

Abstract

Cajazeiras is a city located in the Alto Sertão of the State of Paraíba and, like several other spatialities of the Sertão, its history is closely linked to a dominant elite group. Due to this traditional ideal, several other protagonists and aspects of the region were silenced in the memorial productions, and incorporated by scholars. In this way, the present analysis proposes a review about Cajazeiras-PB, aiming to discuss the constitution of the city and the social plots related to it, between the years 1872 and 1903. The research was based on the analysis of written sources, such as: post-mortem inventories, property purchase and sale deeds and criminal cases, existing in the archives of the Cajazeiras Municipal Forum, as well as the 1872 Census. The city was analyzed in this research through its spatial and social characteristics, and based on theoretical discussions that dialogue both with Urban History and Local History, developing a re-reading and re-writing of the narratives about the locality. The research focused on demographic, economic, spatial (urban, rural and suburban), daily life, social and gender issues, resulting in a better understanding of Cajazeiras society in the late XIX and early XX centuries.