Being a craftsman in the Portuguese America: work and labor organization in Recife on the eighteenth century (case study of Irmandade de São José).

Author(s)

Renata Bezerra de Freitas Barbosa

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2015-08-03

Examining board members

Maria Lêda Oliveira Alves da Silva; Marcelo Mac Cord; Iris Kantor

• Advisor: Maria Lêda Oliveira Alves da Silva

Abstract

Based on the case study of the Irmandade de São José (Brotherhood of Saint Joseph), in Recife, this dissertation aims to understand how the craftsmen carpenters, masons, joiners, and coopers were professionally organized, and how these workers were perceived in the town of Recife during the 18th century. This century is very significant to Recife, provided that at that time the city experiences a strong urban growth and pursues being established as a town, investing great efforts in material aspects. With an extremely heated construction industry and expanding labor market, the craftsmen from these four occupations attached to Recife joined and founded a religious confraternity under the patronage of Saint Joseph, in 1735. Then we believe that such confraternity, the Brotherhood of Saint Joseph, is a privileged spot to understand how these craftsmen were organized in the Recife of the eighteenth century, and the role they performed in this context. This study is grounded on Social History and mainly intends to identify likely changes in the organization of these workers over the 18th century, especially after the Pombal government, when the captaincy of Pernambuco received a further increase in its economy. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/06085-5 - Manual labor in the eighteenth century - The case of the Brotherhood of Patriarca São José dos Oficiais dos Quatro Ofícios Anexos(Recife, 1750-1777)
• Grantee: Renata Bezerra de Freitas Barbosa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master