ABSTRACT
This article analyzes the change in the Masonic profile of the visitors to two of the oldest Masonic temples in the city of São Paulo, Piratininga and América, founded respectively in 1850 and 1868. The Masonic lodges brought together important political and social leaders of the city, characters like the abolitionists Luiz Gama, Joaquim Nabuco and Antonio Bento. By the end of the 19th century, the organization had become one of the main spaces for sociability, where political and social debate became frequent. Freemasonry as a space for interlocution, a tributary of prestige and status, at the beginning of the 19th century, the participation of more affluent groups in society was markedly circumscribed, however, a series of social transformations would signal the entry of less privileged groups into the organization, such as “men of color”, born free and freed, immigrants and national workers. The entry of less privileged groups would raise conflicts, disputes and debates within the Masonic temples. Characteristics that call into question the historiographical claim that the Masonic organization comprised a homogeneous group.
Keywords:
sociability; freemasonry; São Paulo; identity; masonic profile