Dimensions of color and faces of politics in the nineteenth century's Brazil: a study based on the trajectory of the Viscount of Jequitinhonha

Abstract

Already an old acquaintance of nineteenth-century Brazilian scholars, Francisco Gê Acaiaba Montezuma, Viscount of Jequitinhonha (1794-1870), constitutes a character that is still scarcely explored by historiography. In the times of the Empire, Jequitinhonha, a free man "of color", as it used to be said, walked through the world of politics and literature, with great strength. Even more, he made a fortune and stood out in spaces traditionally occupied by subjects, if not socially qualified as "white people", who at least seemed to want to be recognized as such.This project, greatly betting on the biographical aspects, aims at following the steps of the Viscount, in order to unravel and discuss, through them, some of the different mechanisms, possibilities and limits of social insertion and mobility that set the construction of identities, relationships and hierarchies in nineteenth century's Brazil.Associated with the Theme Project developed within CECULT/ UNICAMP, titled "BETWEEN SLAVERY AND THE BURDEN OF FREEDOM..." (2013/21979-5), this research aims to gather some elements to support a basic hypothesis. In a few words, I believe that the slow corrosion of slavery regime have encouraged a progressive hardening of certain social barriers of color and origin. A process that I intend to evaluate based on the different uses and appropriations of racial argument on the public scene. (AU)