Trajetória histórica do café na região Sul de Minas Gerais

Abstract

This piece ofwork had as an aim a historical analysis on coffee in the south of Minas Gerais region. We consideras objects of historigraphic study, the literary works, documents, texts of nature joumaUstic, memorialistic, biographical, documental and educational. Another method used was the quantitative one, besides the spoken history and the history of life that have completed the main documents. Our empiric aim ofinvestigation was the south region ofMinas Gerais and the theme of study, the historical development of coffee in this region. We call attention to the concept of region and space as building, concrete historical process, therefore, crossed by time and interfering on it. The expansion ofthe coffee grower in the south ofMinas Gerais caused a new scene to appear - the coffee scene. Where there was virgin forest, the selfsufficient farms appeared, giving new frame to the region. It provoked the rising ofmany towns. It multiplied the railways, which carne to substitute the tracks made by donkeys. The fírst coffee crops ofsouth Minas Gerais were established in Aiuruoca, Jacui and Baependi, in the Rios Sapucaí and Grande valleys in the late 18a1 century, through the merchants who travelled on horseback joining the south ofMinas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro. The greatest difficulty to the expansion of coffee crop in the south ofMinas Gerais concemed means oftransportation. The means ofcommunication were very precarious and the distances very long. Until the end ofthe 19a1 century, production and expoitation was small because ofother áreas ofproduction which were nearer to the harbors ofshipment. The beginning ofthe 20a1 century brought a new productive dynamism due to of the railways. The productive performance would change only in the 70's with the Plan ofRenewing and Recovering ofcoffee crops, supplied by IBC. The south of Minas Gerais is nowadays a standard of commodities system approach, despitethe fect that the greatest part ofits production is exported. These last two hundred years of coífee related activities make the region deserving to be referredto as a "traditional coffee region".