Regional elite in rails

farmers and merchants from São João del-Rei in the last decades of the Empire

  • Welber Santos
Keywords: Railway boom, West of Mina, Merchant elite, Internal market

Abstract

The nineteenth century roadways upgrading, represented by the railways and initiated in Europe, when arrived in Brazil, has generated great interest in all regions. If the first movement of construction occurred in plantation areas, starting with coffee culture from Paraiba River Valley and then São Paulo, and the culture of sugar cane in São Francisco Valley, soon it expanded to where the internal market was already a priority. In Minas Gerais the railway boom starts in the Zona da Mata Mineira, where coffee economy was the main culture, and soon the merchant elite of Rio das Mortes appears with his project to build a railroad that could enhance its connection to the west of Minas, neat, dairy and swine, sugar and cotton producing area, and the market, represented mainly by the Rio de Janeiro. The railway fever takes the union of bonds owners and public money.

Published
2010-12-31
Section
Seção Livre