A Bello Horizonte de 1899 no Jornal Diário de Minas : uma paisagem registrada desde as corografias setecentistas à imprensa do final do século XIX

Abstract

In this research, to understand the election of Curral del Rei as the ideal locality to establish in 1897 the New Capital of Minas Gerais – Belo Horizonte – a further look of this historical episode was possible observing the landscapes and the urban aspects of Minas Gerais and Belo Horizonte, registered in diverse official documents from that century. Therefore, we initiate this investigation at the chorographic studies from the beginning of the 19th century, such as: the Geografia histórica da Capitania de Minas Gerais, written by José Joaquim da Rocha in 1778; the Carta geográfica da Província de Minas Gerais, by Henrique Gerber in 1863; and the Tratado de geographia descriptiva especial da Província de Minas Gerais, conceived by José Joaquim da Silva in 1878. All of them, official documents seeking to notify Minas Gerais in it’s historical, geographical and demographical matters. Included in this process, the industrial magazines and almanacs from the middle of the 19th century, such as the Revista Industrial de Minas Gerais, and, the Almanak de Minas, also helped us to analyse the purpose of such documents in creating a geographical and historical repertoire of Minas Gerais. For it’s turn, a scientific and statistic magazine from 1895 – the Revista Geral dos trabalhos da Comissão Construtora da Nova Capital (CCNC) brought us a perspective of a magazine assumedly in charge of writing Belo Horizonte’s history, seemingly, an essential subject to the press of that city. Looking the pages of the journal Diario de Minas, in the year of 1899, we’ll understand an interesting base on this research to comprehend how the press by the end of the 19th century explore subjects such as geography, history, industry, trade, to specify its urban aspects. Finaly, judging the press and the city as results of social practices, the methods and analytical results from this research are intended to contribute to the communication studies.