violence and adjustment in the tropics: notes on sérgio buarque e holanda and gilberto freyre interpretations

Abstract

The essay compares the interpretations made by Gilberto Freyre and Sérgio Buarque de Holanda about Portuguese colonization of Brazil, with special attention to the relation between men and tropical nature. A first aspect to be highlighted is the thematic correspondence around general conceptions concerning the Portuguese colonization, marking interpretive positions about the nature of the tropics, the characteristics of the colonizer element and its relationship with indigenous groups inhabitants of the land and with africans brought as slaves. A second aspect refers to the local treatment given by these authors in studies related to a more detailed understanding about the colonization adjustment to the tropics, resulting in a comparative description of socio-cultural spots with different values and practices of interaction with the environment: on one side, the sugar cane civilization of Northeast Brazil, as shown by Freyre in the book " Nordeste"; on the other side, São Paulo of the pioneers, as described by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda in the books "Caminhos e Fronteiras” and " Monções".