Índios e portugueses na capitania do Rio Negro: uma história de contato (1720-1760)

Abstract

The captaincy of Rio Negro, located in the northwestern Amazon, was marked by numerous "entries" made by missionaries and settlers throughout the colonial period and, during the eighteenth century, was the scene of intense concern about the territorial boundaries in the region. On the other hand, many Indians inhabited this region and were targets of important objectives set by the colonial administration in the Amazon, such as, for example, the recruitment of slaves among the indigenous populations. In this sense, this work sought to highlight the daily contact relations between Indians and Portuguese in this period, as well as to relate the indigenous populations as historical agents of the changes that occurred in the political and cultural aspects of the colony. The methodology used followed the reading and classification of manuscripts (correspondence) containing information about the indigenous populations - existing in the Public Archive of Pará - that were written during the 50s and 60s, from priests, military personnel and directors of the villages of the Rio Negro Capitania, to the Governor of the Grão-Pará Capitania. A bibliographical research was also carried out with historiographical discussions about the Amazonian colonial period. As part of the results, we found the existence of differentiated contact relations that varied according to a specific colonial policy that was implemented in our region. The daily interethnic contact revealed a cultural and political complexity that was able to realize the coexistence of conflicts and collaboration on the part of the indigenous populations in the process of demarcating the colonial frontiers in the region. Thus, indigenous societies can be thought of as historical subjects of the colonization process in Brazil, through their constant interference in the decisions made about them.