A economia pastoril e os primórdios do capitalismo na região do Araguaia paraense (1890-1960)

Abstract

This study analyzes the historical process of occupation in the southern Amazonian region during the republican period before the Brazilian military regime. At that time the main economic activity in the region was the peasantry cattle settlements which presented high economic autonomy and regional isolation. This isolation was partially broken by the rubber extraction in the area which was organized to provide rubber inputs to the North American and European automobile industries. This paper also describes the social and economic characteristics of the region where in the sixty decade of the twenty century the Brazilian Government provided tax incentives to develop cattle projects. The beginning of the substantial environmental and social changes in Amazonia was caused by those projects.