Material Culture in the Souht of Minas: pattern of construction and consumption among elites – Baependi, 1800-1850
Material Culture; slaveholding elite; South of Minas; 19th century
This work aims to analyse the material culture of the slaveholding elite of the term of Baependi in the first half of the 19th century, based on the description of the goods contained in the inventories collected during that period. Material culture is still a field of study that can be further explored by historiography. Although the material aspects of society have had space in national and international history publications, the problematization and discussion about the meaning of material culture is often left out of the questions raised by the authors. Therefore, new contributions to the area of research are necessary in order to encourage debate and the conceptualization of the term. The chosen period will allow us to understand how the socio-political and economic transformations of the first five decades of the 19th century were able to promote changes in the habits and customs of the colonial elites, demonstrated through new forms of consumption, such as luxurious objects and ostentation, described in the inventories. For this, require a thorough analysis of the inventories through qualitative methodology methods, typical of micro-history, highlighting the social, economic and cultural aspects of the society being researched.