Science, Nature, Drought, and Labor: Aspects of Territorial Modernization in Ceará, Brazil, in the 19th Century Based on Portuguese Archives

• Grant number: 24/19913-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Manoel Fernandes de Sousa Neto
• Grantee: Igor Carlos Feitosa Alencar
• Supervisor: Marcelo Henrique Carapito Martinho Fragoso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/03972-5 - ARE THERE BORDERS IN THE GARDENS OF REASON? Work, drought and scourge in the subordinated incorporation of Ceará territory in to the logic of commodities (1877-1902), BP.DR

Abstract

The research project aims to deepen ongoing doctoral investigations, seeking to understand how the semi-arid climate conditions were mobilized by the Ceará landowning class in the 19th century to transform droughts into events of capitalist advancement by installing fixed capital through the exploitation of drought-stricken laborers. Methodologically, this study combines documentary source analysis with theoretical frameworks. The research internship at the Research Center for Architecture, Urbanism, and Design at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon, is based on three pillars: firstly, the circulation of ideas and climate management for labor exploitation; secondly, experiences with drought in Brazil and Portugal; and thirdly, flows of people, information, and capital between Ceará and Europe. Research was conducted in eighteen Portuguese institutions, including archives and libraries, to gather documentary sources and scientific works that will enable a critical analysis, aiming to reveal the political-scientific nuances that underpinned the modernization of Ceará's territory under the logic of value through drought, labor exploitation, and systemic violence. Thus, the research internship in the form of a Sandwich Doctorate at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon is based on three main axes: first, the circulation of ideas and climate management for labor exploitation; second, the experiences with drought in Brazil and Portugal; and third, the flows of people, information, and capital between Ceará and Europe. Consequently, we have identified eighteen Portuguese institutions, including archives and libraries, that hold documentary sources and scientific works, which will enable us to conduct a critical analysis. This analysis seeks to reveal, in contrast to prevailing narratives, the political and scientific nuances underlying the process of modernization in Ceará, driven by the logic of value, droughts, labor exploitation, and barbarism. (AU)