Cattle Corral, Soul\'s Corral: Urbanization of the Brazilian Northeasterner Hinterland between the 17th and 19th Centuries

This dissertation analyzes the urbanization process in the Brazilian northeastern hinterland between the 17th and the 18th centuries as connected to the so called Curral de Reses (Cattle Corral) and Curral de Almas (Souls\' Corral). Curral de Reses (Cattle Corral) investigates the several aspects of urbanization in the sugar-producing Northeast, relating it to the role of extensive cattle ranges in the process of population growth, to the land ownership and to the development of hamlets alongside the herding trails. The herds pushed from the coast, broke through the Brazilian northeasterner hinterland, creating hither, thither and yonder new pathways, therefore demystifying the unknown. Later in time, these trails were used by colonial and clerical authorities to start missionary settlements - \"Currais de Almas\" (Souls\' Corrals)- that aimed at the material and spiritual welfare of the Church and the Order of Christ and the conversion of the native peoples. \"Curral de Almas\" investigates the activity of the Catholic Church associated to the portuguese government as the \"Tapuia \" native people and the itinerant cowboys (who \"bummed\" around the land) settled and congregated at first in missions and later in strategically located urban centers. Another focal point has been the investigation of the missionary work of Jesuit and Capuchin friars as well as \"The Congragation of the Oratory\" in the construction of religious settlements as early as the second half of the 17th century. The town of \"Oeiras\" (PI) -created by the Marquis of Pombal- and the Indian villages \"Monte-Mor o Novo da América\" (CE) and \"Crato\"(CE) were selected as case studies, attempting to analyze the influence of cattle industry, herding trails, determinations from Lisbon and the church in the planning of the urban center. (AU)