“Circulating the spiritual substance that gives life and makes the political body work”: Gonçalo Lourenço Botelho de Castro's communication system in Piauí (1770-1777)

Abstract

In 1770, the governor of Piauí connected the capital to all the captaincy's villages through a postal service. The case is peculiar, among other reasons, because of the essay of a political communication theory in the documents issued and the thoroughness with which all elements of the communication flow were standardized. Based on documents from the Overseas Historical Archive, this article seeks to map the episode considering the populating process of the captaincy and the history of the development of written communication systems in Portuguese America.

Keywords:
political communication; Gonçalo Lourenço Botelho de Castro; Piauí captaincy; postal service