Denaturalization of indigenous peoples in times of just war in the Capitanias Do Norte (c.1680-1755)

• Grant number: 21/12077-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Camila Loureiro Dias
• Grantee: Victor André Costa da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/01931-2 - BEYOND WAR AND EXTERMINATION IN THE NORTHERN CAPTAINCIES: FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FROM AN ETHNOHISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (1680-1720), BE.EP.DR 22/12095-5 - Denaturalization of indigenous peoples in times of just war in the Capitanias do Norte (c.1680-1755), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The present research project aims to understand the formation and use of the practice of "denaturalization" of Indians, present in the discourses produced by agents of the Portuguese Crown, especially between 1680 and 1755, in the context of the just wars in the Northern Captaincies - spaces that in this period were associated with the so-called Barbarian War. In practice, denaturalization implied the removal of captive Indians resulting from just wars from the Capitania to which they were subjected to be sent to the jurisdiction of another Capitania, configuring compulsory displacements. However, the denaturalization is not explicitly mentioned in the royal laws as an acceptable measure; moreover, it is put into practice even after the royal determination of unrestricted freedom for the Indians in the law of 1680. Therefore, the main objective is to understand the tensions between the norms and the practice of this action in the colony regarding the attempts to dominate the indigenous people. The denaturalization became evident in legal and administrative documents, as in the terms of the Junta das Missões de Pernambuco and in consultations with the Conselho Ultramarino, the main sources that compose the documental corpus of this research. Especially through the crossing of information from these sources added to a specific bibliographic discussion, we intend to foster the debate about the indigenist legislation of the colonial period and its nuances. So, aim to contribute directly to the dialogue between researchers in the areas of indigenous history, colonial Brazil, and the Americas.