Divertimentos em Ouro Preto no final do século XIX

Abstract

Ouro Preto, the capital of Minas Gerais for 177 years, went through notable transformations over time. The end of the the XIX century was one of these periods, when due to changes that influenced and been influenced by the republican thought and movement, the city went through improvements that aimed to adjust the city to the new time and to prevent the capital transfer to Belo Horizonte. Considering the moment the city was passing through and understanding that amusements were one of the indicatives of progress, civility, urbanity and modernity at the time, the objective of this research was to study the amusements in Ouro Preto, from 1870 to 1900, in order to identify which they were and how they took place in the city, as well as to verify if there was any relation between them and the capitals improvements in the attempt to maintain Ouro Preto as the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. A documental and bibliographic review was made, in which City Councils documents were the main sources mobilized. Different amusement were found, such as dramatic, equestrian, sleight of hand, musical and bull spectacles; billiard games, lotto, shrovetide and illicit games; carnival, religious and civic celebrations, besides references to prostitution and alcohol beverages abuse. These amusements used to occur in different locations, like the theater, circus, bar, kiosk, hotel, pensions, streets and squares. It was observed the variety of options of entertainment both in the central region of the city and in the suburbs, and that the amusements had varied functions by figuring as fruition possibility, education of the population in search of civility, source of City Council income, and a present preoccupation regarding improvements through projects of a new boulevard that would include garden and a theater; of Morro da Forca leveling to receive edifications destined to games, spectacles and also a public garden; and of a new theater and other gardens spread across town. The diversity of information found in the consulted documents made it feasible to establish possible relations between practices, spaces and subjects, and to realize that the combination of the construction of new spaces and the attempt to control the fruition of amusements through laws would bring Ouro Preto the progress, civility and embellishment intended by the City Council.