Entre manuscritos e a imprensa: ideias, livros e poder no sul de minas gerais, entre os séculos XVIII e o XIX

Abstract

The different aspects and relevance of the reading for education, sociability, economic organization and, above all, for the political power in the South of Minas region between the XVIII and XIX centuries, are the main topics of this article. Analyzed from the perspective of Cultural History, contextualized between the peak of mining and the Brazilian State constitution, these themes distinguished the south of Minas Gerais: due to the emergence of a national ruling class of traders and landowners; before a strait interprovincial, cultural and economic relation, with the capital of the country; due to the pioneering in the development of the press; establishing a wide circulation of ideas and values about social and economic behaviors and, finally, due to the fact that the region becomes a national reference for the supply of basic necessities.