Environmental History of the Agreste of Pernambuco

Human actions on the natural environment in accordance with the indigenous memories and the academic studies (XIX - XX centuries)

Abstract

The population density inside the old captaincy of Pernambuco became more pronounced in the second half of the seventeenth century. The Portuguese metropolis encouraged the colonization of the "Sertões" by donating land grants for farmers and other agents from the coast to install farms at the region, culminating with a lot of conflicts and extermination of indigenous peoples. The article discusses the changes in the natural environment of the current "Agreste" of Pernambuco, as a consequence of human activities in the region, especially between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to meet the ideals of the nation's progress. To the elaboration of the article we analysed the memories of the Xukuru indians in dialogue with a variety of academic