Coloniality, Real Estate, and Trans-Atlantic Capitalism in Late Nineteenth-Century São Paulo

• Grant number: 24/17818-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: April 30, 2025
• End date: November 29, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Paulo César Garcez Marins
• Grantee: Monique Félix Borin
• Supervisor: Michael Goebel
• Host Institution: Museu Paulista (MP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/00841-4 - Potentialities of Aguirra archive to São Paulo's history: a case study through the dimension of coloniality in the urbanization of the capital of São Paulo (1871-1929), BP.PD

Abstract

This research proposes to examine the long-term impacts of colonization, conceptualized through the lens of coloniality, in the urbanization of São Paulo. To assert this phenomenon, the analyses will focus on the investments of European urban agents in the real estate and rental market for the working class in São Paulo as an expression of global capitalism reorganization in the nineteenth century. Thought visiting research period at the Freie Universität Berlin, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Michael Goebel, will be conduct a large-scale historiographical assessment of the issue, beginning with its global connections. This will be achieved through access to collections and libraries, but most importantly through the discussions facilitated by the Global Urban History Project. The historiographical review will begin by analyzing the trajectories of several European investors who frequently appear in the core research documentation, particularly the land transaction files from the Aguirra Archive. We will select key figures who appear frequently in our research for further investigation in European collections, aiming to trace the origins of their initial investments. This will help guide the historiographical review. By the end of this visiting research period, we aim to consolidate a historiographical overview grounded in internationally available literature, while also refining the documentation that supports the analysis of the European investors' trajectories studied in this research.