Fire, broadax and fever relieve: southeastern Brazil and the boost toward the agrarian frontiers in early 19th century

Ano: 2014 | Volume: 20 | Número: 36

Autores: Carlos Alberto Medeiros Lima

Palavras-chave: Keywords: malaria in southeastern Brazil; agrarian history; environmental history.

Resumo Inglês:

Abstract
In the beginning of the 19th century, discussions about malaria by some physicians and authorities who had acted in many Atlantic
regions showed the idea that deforestation would impact positively on sanitation in Brazil. This was related to a boost — unknown until
then — toward the agrarian frontiers at the expense of traditional forests and strongly marked by the rural endemics. It all happened in a
time marked by the growth of the Brazilian free population, by the internalization of sugarcane farms — especially in São Paulo — by the
coffee expansion, by the increase of agrarian frontier as a survival strategy for poverty, by the suppression of regulations for the settlements
on vacant slots in 1822, and by the Atlantic recession in the second quarter of the 19th century. The dissemination of this conception can
be evaluated based on data about migration to the agrarian frontier and the impact of malaria among free people.