Pernambuco wants to be european: representations of french culture in recife during the nineteenth century and its applications

Abstract

The current text aims to expose the process of assimilation of various aspects from the European culture, notably the French’s, by the nineteenth-century society in Recife, as well as the social representations created by it and the practical application resulting from this process. This phenomenon is evident from the first decade of this century, more specifically in 1808, catalyzed by the establishment of the portuguese court in Brazil and the subsequent diplomatic and commercial policies of the portuguese government. As a port city, Recife achieved direct and prolonged contact with foreign cultures, in which the nascent urban bourgeoisie was inspired, in its search for status that led through the imitation of the customs of Europe. During the imperial period, in the provincial government of the Conde da Boa Vista, frenchizationis incorporated into public institutions and law, in a clear attempt to shape civil behavior inside that urban environment that was intended to be modernized. Subsequently, the positivist philosophy of the First Republic, by associating French culture, science and technology with the evolutionary process of humanity, used them to promote a civilizing project, which in the capital of Pernambuco was evidenced not only in the intensification of french customs, but also in the literal reconstruction of significant parts of the city-as shown by the reform project to the Port of Recife.