Water and Social Space: Using georeferenced maps and geocoded images to enrich the history of Rio de Janeiro's fountains

Water infrastructure is essential to any city, but especially so in the history of Rio de Janeiro. Historically, Rio de Janeiro lacked easy access to fresh water. Not only was it not situated along a river but it was impractical to dig wells over much of the original city because of marshes and a high water table. A single aqueduct completed in the eighteenth century supplied the city with water until the nineteenth century when additional aqueducts began to be built. By necessity, public fountains were vital for the city. The public spaces around fountains were frequented by many residents, the majority of whom were slaves responsible for the delivery of water. Using a geospatial database with georeferenced historical maps and geocoded historical images, this article explores the waterworks of the city of Rio de Janeiro in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, paying particular attention to the functional, monumental, and social aspects of fountain

Who Cares Who Made the Map? La Carta del Cantino and its anonymous maker

This paper explores the authorship of the anonymous La Carta del Cantino through an analysis of design signatures. Using high resolution digital copies of charts in ArcGIS, La Carta del Cantino is compared to contemporaneous charts. The long-held assumption that La Carta del Cantino was a surreptitious copy of the Portuguese king’s royal pattern chart is rejected in favor of a more simple explanation: Alberto Cantino commissioned the world chart from a chartmaker in Lisbon, and that chartmaker was Pedro Reinel

Mapping the Traveled Space: Hans Staden�s Maps in Warhaftige Historia

By examining the map and map-like illustrations published in Hans Staden�s Warhaftige Historia (1557), this article argues that the maps underscore the truthfulness of the narrator by reinforcing his role as an eyewitness observer. Beyond bolstering the narrator�s authority, Staden�s map projects a distinctly different image of Brazil. The mapping tradition of mariners seems to have been a major influence, and the map accords ownership of the mainland to indigenous groups, making his a unique representation of sixteenth-century Brazil.Com base nas ilustrações publicadas por Hans Staden na obra Warhaftige Historia de 1557, argumenta-se neste artigo que os mapas conferem ênfase à visão do narrador, uma vez que reforçam o seu papel enquanto testemunha da realidade observada. Para além de reforçar a autoridade do narrador, o mapa de Hans Staden projecta uma imagem diferente do Brasil. A tradição de mapeamento dos marinheiros parece ter exercido uma grande influência, uma vez que o mapa atribui a posse do território a grupos indígenas, tornando esta representação cartográfica do Brasil no século XVI especialmente significativa

A família e a sociedade rural paulista: Santana de Parnaíba, 1750-1850

This article contrasts the family strategies of the slaveholding and peasant classes in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Sao Paulo, Brazil. While the family strategies of slaveholders sought to preserve family property by countering the equal division of property, by encouraging the migration ofsons into the frontier, and by favoring a daughter and son-in-law with the bulk of the family estate, the family strategies of the peasantry sought simple survival in a rapidly changing rural economy. As a traditional subsistence economy gave way to a cash-crop orientation, peasant households became smaller, households headed by women increased, and nuclear families declined in importance. Adaptations and changes in family life left their mark on the social structure of the community studied as well as on the developing frontier.Este artigo compara as estratégias familiares observadas pelas camadas proprietárias de escravos e camponeses em Santana de Parnaíba nos fins do século XVIII e início do século XIX. Os proprietárlos de terras e de escravos orientavam suas estratégias de família no sentido de preserver a integridade de sua riqueza por meio da divisão desigual debens partilháveis, incentivando o deslocamento de filhos para as frentes de expansão e favorecendo as filhas e os genros com a maior parte da riqueza da família. Em contraste, as estratégias dos camponeses visavam, sobretudo, asobrevivência dentro do contexto de uma economia rural em rápida transformação. A medida que a economia desubsistência cedia lugar a uma produção de gêneros de abastecimento, os domicílios camponeses diminuíram em tamanho, os domicílios chefiados por mulheres aumentaram em número e a família nuclear passou a ter menor importância. Os ajustamentos e mudanças da vida familiar deixaram suas marcas na estrutura social da comunidade estudada, bem como nas frentes de expansão

Vida familiar dos escravos em São Paulo no século dezoito: o caso de Santana de Parnaíba

In this paper, two models of slave survival strategies are studied. To Genovese, the slaves were parts of the patriarchal family of their Lords, depending on their will; to Gutman, the slave family was a fundamental Institution and the relationship among slaves were important for their survival. The slave's demographic analysis in Santana, de Parnaiba, between 1720/1820, indicates that the two models are not mutually exclusive. On the other hand, the slave family can also be seen, as pointed out by Higman, within the economic structure, since the instability of the slave family life was related to the farms economics changesDiscutem-se dois modelos de estratégias adotadas pelos escravos para sobreviverem à escravidão. Para Genovese, os escravos formavam parte da família patriarcal de seus senhores, dependendo da benevolência destes; para Gutman, a família escrava era uma instituição fundamental, e foram os laços entre escravos que deram a eles determinação para sobreviver. A análise da demografia escrava de Santana de Parnaíba, entre 1720/1820, indica que os dois modelos não são excludentes. No entanto, a família escrava deve ser vista também, como quer Higman, dentro do contexto econômico, que a instabilidade da vida familiar dos cativos estava ligada às transformações na economia das fazendas

Mapping an atlantic world, circa 1500

Recognizing early modern cartographers as significant agents in the intellectual history of the Atlantic, Mapping an Atlantic World, circa 1500 includes around 50 beautiful and illuminating historical maps

Mapping the Traveled Space: Hans Staden's Maps in Warhaftige Historia

By examining the map and map-like illustrations published in Hans Staden's Warhaftige Historia (1557), this article argues that the maps underscore the truthfulness of the narrator by reinforcing his role as an eyewitness observer. Beyond bolstering the narrator?s authority, Staden's map projects a distinctly different image of Brazil. The mapping tradition of mariners seems to have been a major influence, and the map accords ownership of the mainland to indigenous groups, making his a unique representation of sixteenth-century Brazil