This article investigates some of the dynamics associated with the establishment of urban nuclei in the captaincy of São Paulo during the administration of the Morgado de Mateus, governor and captain-general of the captaincy from 1765 to 1775. Several significant aspects about the formation process of urban landscapes stand out, from the recruitment of settlers and the search for suitable sites to the definition of urban layouts. The intention of this study is to show that the Portuguese crown made efforts to organize certain processes for conducting urban expansion, whilst local experience and circumstances continually demanded new and specific arrangements. The analysis is based on a selection of previously-published official documents, as well as mostly unpublished correspondence from local agents in charge of settlement-related tasks. The urbanization policy of the period is dealt with as a process that was executed in the context of conflicts, rather than as the product of a project pre-planned by metropolitan authorities or detached from the realities of the place at that time.
Urbanization; Urbanizing policy; Captaincy of São Paulo; 18th century
