ABSTRACT
This paper stems from the near disappearance of references to the Principais of the indígenas avilados (Natives living in colonial villages) in the documentation about the province of Grão-Pará, in the 1820s and 1830s. By reducing the role of the Principais in workforce recruitment and descimentos (the transfer of Native villages to colonial towns), the Royal Charter of 1798 added to the increased integration of old Native villages to colonial towns. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the result appears to have been a different social organization from the one established by the Diretório. On one hand, these aspects should be taken into account when examining the issue of Native identities, which, in spite of an adverse scenario, remained quite clear in the provincial society. On the other hand, changes in Native labor organization also strengthened officials of the Milícias de Ligeiros. As political actors, they started having a leading role in the province, always marked by the opposition to groups identified as liberal. Finally, this paper includes some notes on the attempts of city councils to protect Natives from abuses. In a preliminary way, we examine whether Native voices were still preserved in such spaces.
Keywords:
Natives; Principal; Grão-Pará; Empire of Brazil; workforce.