Memória sobre a economia extrativa da poaia – leste de Minas Gerais (primeira metade do século XIX)

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of the ipecac extractive economy that was developed in the first half of the nineteenth century in the East of the Province of Minas Gerais. This extractive economy consists on the historical process here reconstituted, which can be defined as a set of commercial activities involving different historical subjects in the constitution of a network of goods which extension exceeded the limits defined by national political boundaries. For this study we referred to a body of highly fragmented and diverse sources, enabling the recovery of the pharmacological characteristics of ipecac, its medical application, its extraction process in the natural environment and its presence in the account books of Records of Barra do Pomba, along with other products exported by the province of Minas Gerais. To this end, we observe the characteristics of both the extraction and the trade of ipecac from the collection held by the Indians in the areas of forest to its export to Europe from the port of Rio de Janeiro. Initially, the medical uses of ipecac are informed, which have direct relation to its commercial importance. Afterwards, an investigation of the collection activity is done, considering the agents involved, plants and men in a dynamic and interactive motion. Finally, we carried out an exercise of data systematization in search of sizing the commerce of the plant in a comparative perspective in relation to other products.