Espaço, história e cidade: uma abordagem geográfica do processo urbano de Juiz de Fora na última década do século XIX

Abstract

This work lies in the field of what we call historical geography, that is, an analysis of the space datached from the present time, with an eye to the past in order to understand the structures that generate certain spatial configurations and formation processes of a capitalist city. Locating in space-time, our work aims to verify whether the economic conditions of the final years of the nineteenth century impacted the urban process in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. During this period, the progressive development of techniques allowed the world economy to achieve, for the first time, a significant globalization stage. In this context, we have identified a growing and controversial interference of the central countries in the economies of peripheral countries such as Brazil. Combined with a set of internal policies, these interventions have fostered the Encilhamento crisis in this country, a period characterized by the opening of numerous corporations, the extreme deregulation of the capital market and for an exorbitant emission of currency. At the same time, the Republic of Proclamation granted through the Constitution of 1891, a significant change in policy until then denied by the Empire: the municipal autonomy. Ratified by the Constitution of Minas Gerais, the municipalities took the reins of management of urban space and became a central figure in this process. Together, these political and economic changes have led to a sharp acceleration of the urban process of Juiz de Fora, marked by the commodification of urban land, the consolidation of a securities market, and a profusion of public works.