Work and conflict in the northwest of Brazil: the strike of railroader of 1914

Author(s)

Diego Francisco de Carvalho

• 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: 2009-12-07

Examining board members

Jose Jobson de Andrade Arruda; Pedro Paulo Zahluth Bastos; Jorge Luis da Silva Grespan

• Advisor: Jose Jobson de Andrade Arruda

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the workers involved in construction, maintenance and operation of the Noroeste do Brasil Railroad, focusing especially on the rail strike occurred in the year of 1914. Issues relating to the composition of the workforce - both the construction and operation of the rail and existing working conditions are themes to be examined. The period of analysis covers the years among 1904, year the Companhia Noroeste was formed, and 1917, when the purchase of E. F. Bauru-Itapura occurs by the Union. The Noroeste do Brasil Railroad, as it is known from its appearance, which connects the cities of Bauru (SP) and Corumbá (MS), began to be built in 1905, at Porto Esperança (MS) in the year 1914, when completed 1272 km in length. By crossing regions still not occupied by white men, the Noroeste do Brasil was the first railroad of the state to \"open\" new territories, unlike its predecessors, which appeared to help the coffee production that already existed. The difficulties in the construction of many railroads. The crossing of unhealthy areas, wet and stank of mosquitoes, the crossing of rivers, the indigenous presence in the region, the difficulty in recruiting workers, the greed of contractors, besides the repressive method of Companhia Noroeste with its employees, have made this process a complex undertaking in all aspects and at the same time, challenging to the limits of man. Until 1917, the Noroeste do Brasil was in fact formed by two independent and interconnected roads: by E. F. Bauru-Itapura, private, ownership of the shareholders of the Companhia Noroeste, and by E. F. Itapura-Corumbá, ownership of the Union. On December 1917, to E. F. Bauru-Itapura was purchased by the Union, and the following year, to the E. F. Itapura-Corumbá, so the two came to be called the Noroeste do Brasil Railroad. Between 1918 and 1956, the railroad was under the administration of the federal government. In 1957, the Noroeste was integrated to Federal Railway Network (RFFSA). (AU)