Subsistência e poder: a política do abastecimento alimentar nas Minas setecentistas

Abstract

Belo Horizonte: Ed. UFMG, 2008. 293p. Subsistência e poder: a política do abastecimento alimentar nas Minassetecentistas, written by Flávio Marcus da Silva, makes a significant contribution to the field of historiography related to colonial Minas Gerais, to the extent that it analyzes the dynamics of food supply in the region in the eighteenth century from a political perspective. His proposal is to pay attention to the different strategies used by the Portuguese Crown to guarantee the population access to essential foodstuffs and prevent public disorder. However, we believe that this is not the only importance of his work, since the study deals with various aspects of Minas society, seeking to decipher it and to rethink it not only under the general auspices of politics and the economy, but also in relation to daily life, through the study of eating. Let us see why.The problem of the instability of the food market, in relation to the regular supply of the population, was frequent in various regions in Portuguese America. Even more so in Minas, where at this time society was primordial and lacking the structure to receive the amount of people migrating there, coming from various other parts, including the metropole, in search of gold and precious stones. Problems referring to scarcity, bad quality, and the absence of foodstuffs were not rare; all of which afflicted the population of this region during the first half of the eighteenth century and caused conflicts with local authorities. These conflicts created an environment propitious to rebellion, actually verified a number of times during the period. The book, therefore, analyzes the question of food supply, whose role was fundamental to guarantee the success of the administration of the region and also to calm the population.To enter into the depths of metropolitan political culture, the historian revisits works by authors such as