Legal Plans, Unusual Interests: Colonial Public Agents and the Project for the Dynamization of Ilhéus’ Economy in the Early 19^th Century

Abstract

the threshold of the 19^th century, the village of Ilhéus experienced changes in its economic profile, gradually moving from an economy focused on domestic supply to an export economy. This new regional character was part of a context of economic recovery in Bahia, which happened between the end of the 18^th the beginning of the 19^th century, when Ilhéus began to invest in sugar, coffee, and cocoa. The project for Ilhéus’ economic dynamization depended, however, on the construction of paths connecting the village to different regions, as well as on the control and use of indigenous labor. In this context, the Ilhéus-Vitória road and the village of Ferradas, located on the southwest axis of this region, imposed themselves as central establishments to the success of public and private projects directed to Ilhéus. This text analyzes the mechanisms used by some colonial public agents in order to carry out the project of economic dynamism destined to Ilhéus in the beginning of the 19^th century, likewise, the conciliation elaborated by them between the interests of the State and their own economic interests in that historical situation.

Keywords:
Public agents; economic dynamization; Ilhéus