The Role of Guido Thomaz Marlière in the Formation of Urban Settlements in the Zona Da Mata, in Minas Gerais, Brazil

1 5 th INTERNATIONAL PLANNING HISTORY SOCIETY CONFERENCE THE ROLE OF GUIDO THOMAZ MARLIÈRE IN THE FORMATION OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS IN THE ZONA DA MATA, IN MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL ÍTALO ITAMAR CAIXEIRO STEPHAN Address: Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, sala 07 / Campus da Universidade Federal de Viçosa / CEP: 36.570-000 / Viçosa-MG / Brazil e-mail: [email protected] JOSARLETE MAGALHÃES SOARES Address: Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, sala 12 / Campus da Universidade Federal de Viçosa / CEP: 36.570-000 / Viçosa-MG / Brazil e-mail: [email protected] ISADORA MARIA FLORIANO RIBEIRO Address: Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Campus da Universidade Federal de Viçosa / CEP: 36.570-000 / Viçosa-MG / Brazil e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT In the early nineteenth century, with the necessary expansion of the colonization in Minas Gerais due of the exhaustion of gold production in the mining regions, the Portuguese government started a systematic process of occupation in the forested areas existing at that time captaincy. It was in such context that the French military official Guido Thomaz Marlière was sent to the province of Minas Gerais. This article discusses Marlière’s influence on the formation of a series of urban settlements in the region known as the Zona da Mata Mineira. Specifically, it presents the main actions carried out in some cities, and to what extent Marlière has exceeded his role as a peacemaker among Indians, using his authority to found new urban settlements and to establish rules of use and parceling of land. INTRODUCTION The formation process of towns in Minas Gerais territory is bound, historically, to the discovery of gold in the last decades of the seventeenth century. The gold extraction method allowed the emergence of relatively dense human settlements and the consequent formation of various urban centers. Mining towns were an early and unprecedented phenomenon in the context of colonization. However, several regions of the current state of Minas Gerais, where precious metals were not found in significant amounts, were eventually occupied more slowly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as a result of processes occurring in parallel and after the moment of greatest dynamism of mining activity. The process of settlement and formation of cities in the current region of Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais (Fig. 1) is mostly related to these parallel processes, which later extended over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and covered a number Cities, nations and regions in planning history of peculiarities. During the colonial period, the region, as reported by many historians, was conceived as an area "forbidden” to occupation (VASCONCELLOS, 1974, p. 274). In fact, while mining was strong in the central areas, the Portuguese Crown sought to maintain the isolation and depopulation of the territories east of the captaincy so as to prevent the proliferation of routes that would allow diversion of royal taxes. Although the effectiveness of prohibitive measures can be challenged (CARNEIRO, 2008, p. 72-82), the dense forest that covered the region, where various Indian nations were established, was a natural barrier to continuous settlement. Thus, the process of occupation of the southern Minas Gerais was intensified as the income from mineral mines began to decline and agriculture became a stronger economic activity. Simultaneously, throughout the eighteenth century and especially in the early nineteenth century, there was a gradual change in the attitude of the Portuguese Crown against the occupation of the eastern captaincy of Minas Gerais (SOARES, 2009, p. 61-68). Reduced income from mining led to a growing demand for alternative colonial economic activities. In this scenario, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, the territory that today constitutes the Zona da Mata became a very attractive region for settlement and exploitation of its economic potential, mainly for its introduction into the agricultural economy of Minas Gerais. For such, special attention was given by the governments of the captaincy and the Empire (Portuguese and then Brazilian) to the contact between the population of new areas of settlement and the Indians still living in the forests of eastern Minas Gerais. INDIAN PACIFICATION POLICY IN THE EARLY DECADES OF THE 19th CENTURY With the transfer of the headquarters of the Portuguese government to America in 1808, Brazil experienced a series of transformations in its political and administrative organization. Throughout the period of stay of the court in Rio de Janeiro - between 1808 and 1821 - the Brazilian territory was affected by a broad process of political and economic openness, accompanied by several attempts to boost many production fields (HOLANDA, 1965, p. 9-39). In order to promote the economic use and regular settlement of the forest areas occupied by Indian populations, Dom João VI strengthened the Indian policy which had been implanted in Portuguese America. In Minas Gerais, the territory that now constitutes the Zona da Mata was a direct target of the new policy. In this scenario, in 1813, the lieutenant Guido Thomaz Marlière arrived in Presídio de São João Batista - current Municipality of Visconde do Rio Branco (BARBOSA, 1995: 370) (Fig. 1), to pacify territorial disputes between natives and new settlers. Marlière was a French Military, admitted to the Portuguese army in 1807, who came to Brazil in 1808, along with the delegation of the Portuguese Court. In 1813, he was named "Diretor dos Índios da Freguesia de São Manoel do Pomba, de São João Batista e aldeias anexas" (Head of the Indians of the parishes of São Manoel do Pomba, São João Batista and nearby villages). The successful actions of Marlière led to the rise and gradual extension of his powers and to his appointment as “General Inspector of all the Military Division of Minas Gerais”, in 1820. He remained in this position until 1829, when he was discharged at the age of sixty years (JOSÉ, 1958; ESPÍNDOLA, 2005, p. 176-220). 1 5 th INTERNATIONAL PLANNING HISTORY SOCIETY CONFERENCE The Indian policy of appeasement reached its greatest results mainly during the leadership of Marlière, in the region where he developed most of his work: the central portion of the region currently known as Zona da Mata. From 1810, there was a significant input of farmers in the forest areas (ESPÍNDOLA, 2005, p. 249). A number of advantages, such as the granting of privileges, tax exemptions and donation of land grants, were offered to those who were willing to live in the hinterlands. The regular settlement was thus both a consequence of the policy of appeasement and a means to ensure the continuity of land occupation process. Besides encouraging territorial occupation, another key aspect of Indian policy was the process of leading the native population in villages into a sedentary lifestyle. The nomadic nature of these populations inevitably conflicted with the ongoing expansion of farming. Thus, to avoid conflicts, it was necessary to adapt the Indians to the Luso-Brazilian way of life. In this sense, villages were implanted with farming as a livelihood and catechesis as a way to make Indians more docile and more attached to centers where there were chapels. Several urban areas emerged within the forest areas of Minas Gerais, as a direct consequence of this process. Thus, the work of Marlière with the Indians was not only related to the expansion of the agricultural frontier of Minas Gerais, but also to the training of initial urban centers of a number of cities of the Zona da Mata. Therefore, the general objective of this study was to investigate his role as the Director General of the Indians, during the implementation of Indian settlements in the Zona da Mata and aspects of the original urban morphology of these settlements. In addition, we sought to identify the cities of the Zona da Mata whose urban centers were formed in the process of Indian pacification implanted by Marlière. ABOUT GUIDO MARLIÈRE Guido Thomaz Marlière was born in Jarnage, in central France, in 1767. Little is known about his life in France. At 18, he joined the army in the French Revolution and fought alongside King Louis XVI. Marlière was hired by the Portuguese Army and came to Brazil in 1808. In 1809, he joined the troops of the Prince Regent and started his career in Portuguese America. Two years later, Dom João VI granted him transfer to Minas Gerais. Marlière moved to Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto), and settled on a land donated by the Portuguese Crown (AGUIAR, 2008, p. 79-81 e 102). Because of the Napoleonic Wars, monitoring of the Portuguese Empire against possible spies and opponents was intensified. Guido, due to its French origin, became the target of suspicions and accusations by the Portuguese. Thus, in 1811, he was arrested and had all his documents and correspondence were seized (JOSÉ, 1958, p. 26). After his arrest, 47 papers were seized from the Guido, but the analysis showed that the accusations were unfounded. In 1813, after acquittal, Marlière returned to Vila Rica and resumed his position. Upon his return, he was given a mission, which granted him considerable powers. He would command the peacemaking between the Indians and Portuguese settlers in the region of Presídio de São João Batista. He began to be appointed to increasingly higher management positions and was designated as Director General of the Indians of Minas Gerais, in 1824. Guido implemented projects of civilization and territorial integration, founded cities, Cities, nations and regions in planning history elementary schools, churches and roads. He was one of the most important settlers of the region and influenced the territories of Jequitinhonha, Doce, Pomba and Paraíba do Sul rivers. As reported by travelers Spix and Martius (1961, p. 237), which were in the region of the Indian villages around 1817, the main difficulty related to Indian sedentarization was introducing agricultural practices in their life style, so they could manage the land granted to them.

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