A CIVILIZAÇÃO DO AMAZONAS NO PENSAMENTO DE TORQUATO TAPAJÓS (1853-1897)

Abstract

This article seeks to interpret the work from the amazon intellectual Torquato Tapajós (1853-1897), giving special emphasis to the resources he used to understand the nature, society and politics of the province of Amazonas. In its first part, an overview of the Amazon is sought during Torquato´s youth, until its move to Rio de Janeiro, where he finished his studies and joined the Brazilian Historical and Geographic Institute. The article realized how, in Torquato's fundamentally geopolitical work, the exaltation of the nature and settlement of Amazonas is evident, as well as economic promises inherent in the occupation of the "northern star". These ideas are available in a central search for the reach of civilization. amazonense, da qual proveitosa e abundantemente produzira no futuro Companhia do Império, uma Companhia inglesa, sob a responsabilidade do engenheiro Revy, contratada para realizar a rede de esgotos e saneamento da metrópole. O Dr. Torquato Tapajós examinou minuciosamente o plano da rede em apreço. Munido de lápis e cadernetas, diariamente, estava ele a colher subsídios para o combate àquele plano, que considerava errado e, como tal, incapaz de resolver o problema de esgoto da cidade 26 .