Abstract
An analysis is presented, based on an unpublished document dated 1727, entitled “Letter that came from the mines” (“Carta que veio das minas”), of how the concepts of nature and mining were used to mobilize moral and political precepts in the construction of an interpretation of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The document and its conventions are analyzed in comparison with other eighteenth century writings, then, based on an analysis of the letter’s contents, the symbolic use of nature and mining in the construction of a negative discourse about the mines is discussed. This is associated with a regulatory meaning, whereby abusive practices of particularly representative groups from that society – magistrates and men of letters – are denounced.
mining; nature; Minas Gerais; literature; abuse of power