SPECIFICITIES OF THE SUGAR SOCIETY

CAMPINAS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE QUADRILÁTERO PAULISTA (1836)

Abstract

Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, the sugar production park – aimed at supplying the international market of tropical articles – of the so-called Quadrilátero do Açúcar went through a process of establishment (c. 1790), expansion (c. 1790-1830) and decline (c. 1830-50). Insofar as conditioned by not only global, but also local matters, this process turned out to be different in each São Paulo village. Despite these singularities, however, recent studies of the Nominative Lists of Inhabitants led us to suggest the hypothesis that the case of Campinas could indeed be considered as sui generis, and that its sugar industry would hold specificities in relation to the other villages of the Quadrilátero. This work is an effort to discuss this hypothesis, in order not only to put it to the test but also to understand its nature.