THE RIVER PLATE IN THE "NEW ATLAS OF PORTUGUESE AMERICA": STATE AND INFORMAL COMMUNITIES OF GEOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE CARTOGRAPHY OF THE JESUIT DIOGO SOARES (1713-1773)

• Grant number: 23/17903-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Denise Aparecida Soares de Moura
• Grantee: Renan Abbade Jardim
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This is a research project about the production process, circulation and use of geographical information about the southernmost tip of America in the 18th century, through the known "Novo Atlas da América Portuguesa", produced by the "mathematical priests" Diogo Soares e Domingos Capacci in the context of the geopolitical disputes between Portugal and Spain. Considering that the "Novo Atlas" resulted in 31 maps, the hypothesis of the present project is that the new enterprise was thought out and achieved according to the historical circumstances, memories and spatial interests of the specific regions, such as the River Plate region. This hypothesis derives from the fact that one of the interests of the Portuguese Empire was to guarantee the territorial extension of Brazil to the shore of the River Plate, which meant guaranteeing occupancy rights up to the Rio Grande. Another fact is that in the captaincy of São Paulo, from the countryside villages to the seaside, such as Santos, existed spatial memories and interest related to the cattle trade and distribution of supply goods from "práticos de sertão". When D. Luis Botelho Mourão assumed the government of the captaincy of São Paulo in 1756, one of the objectives of his South Central mapping project was guaranteeing the portuguese sovereignty in the northern shore of the River Plate region. Thereby, in order to verify the raised hypothesis, concepts and methodology from the History of the Cartography and the History of Knowledge will be applied, in Diogo Soares's maps of the River Plate region. In addition, data to interpret them will also be applied, which will be collected in handwritten and printed documents, in order to identify segmentations, historical processes and purposes of social agents involved in the mapping projects.