Um olhar sobre o sertão dos Pastos Bons a partir das memórias de Francisco de Paula Ribeiro

Abstract

This monograph aims to analyze the backwoods of the Pastos Bons in the nineteenth century context, from the writings produced by the Portuguese military Francisco de Paula Ribeiro. The sources used were the memoirs produced by the said author, as follows: Road Map that made Captain Francisco de Paula Ribeiro to the borders of the Captaincy of Maranhão and Goiás in the year 1815 in the service of S. M. Fidelíssima. Rio de Janeiro, IHGB Magazine, 1848. Missing the magazine number and Description of the Territory of Pastos Bons; Properties of their lands, their productions, character of their settlers, and current state of their establishments. Paula Ribeiro gave a comprehensive description of several aspects of the backwoods dos Pastos Bons, including physical geography, the historical aspects of the conquest and occupation of the Maranhão backlands, as well as producing an anthropological analysis, thus being a pioneer reporting life story of the inhabitants of the region. Paula Ribeiro's vast knowledge of southern Maranhão, as expressed in his memoirs, came as a result of the nearly twenty years he spent in the region rendering services to the Portuguese Crown. It can be seen from his writings a clear favorability of natural aspects of the interior, which, however, had not been reverted to a significant socioeconomic development for the region.