Abstract
This article analyses the modernization of road infrastructure in the Zona da Mata mineira during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. The evidences gathered indicate: (1) an intense circulation of engineers and how their activities interwove technical and economic problems during the process of construction roads and bridges; (2) the weaknesses of the Brazilian patent system (1830) to stimulate the construction of suspension bridges; (3) the presence of internal routes that supported the circulation of agricultural and livestock goods. The article explores the relationship between State, market (export sector and non-export sector) and the transportation system.
Keywords :
Mata mineira region; nineteenth century; modernization; economy; transport