Territorialities in (Trans)formation: Villages and Cities in the Early Times of the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (1835-1843)

ABSTRACT

This research observed that the advent of the Regresso was reflected in the debates on the creation of towns in Minas Gerais, revealing the intertwined relationship between outbreaks of municipal autonomy and the intensification of partisan tension, which culminated in the revolt of 1842. The proposal is part of the theoretical perspective that emphasizes the role of legislative power and regional elites in the functioning of imperial politics. With the Additional Act of 1834, these elites represented in the newly created Provincial Assemblies gained the power to decide on territorial division. The analysis of parliamentary debates and laws voted in the period revealed, in an unprecedented way, the connection between the process of creating towns and imperial politics at its different levels. In effect, the intense political-administrative decentralization observed in Minas Gerais at the dawn of the Regresso showed that the centralization/decentralization binomial does not explain the complexity of the Regress Politics.

Keywords:
Political-Administrative Division; History of Cities; Municipal Councils; Liberal Movement of 1842; Minas Gerais