A coruja de minerva: o museu paraense entre o império e a república, 1866-1907

Abstract

The goal of the thesis is to reflect upon the institutional construction of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará) between the decade of 1860, when it was created, and the end of turn of the Swiss zoologist Emilio Goeldi (1859-1917) as its director, in 1907. At this time, the Museu Paraense occupied a place of prominence on the Brazilian scientific scene, due to the intense scientific production that was instantiated there. In the thesis, we analyzed the political changes that placed the Museu Paraense, after the republican blow of 1889, as one of the priority state institutions in terms of application of financial resources and as important symbol for the identity of the local elites. The construction of the museum after this re-qualification is studied based on the profile stipulated for the institution, the built space, the hired staff, the scientific agenda and the relations with the local politicians, which are expressed by the allocation of resources and the willingness of the museum director to attend the state demands. The results attest that the establishment of the Republic and the consequent federalist system enforced in Brazil are essential landmarks for the history of the Museu Paraense, for they have permitted the institution to specialize in the studies on the Amazonian economic frontier.