A ADMINISTRAÇÃO DA JUSTIÇA NORTE-RIO-GRANDENSE FRENTE AO FLAGELO DAS SECAS (1830-1880)

Abstract

Throughout the nineteenth century, the revenue of the province of Rio Grande do Norte was heavily supported by the collection of tithes of cattle vacuum and cavalar. Located, however, this administrative space in an area frequently punished by droughts and their disastrous consequences, the reality of Rio Grande do Norte was marked by administrative instability to the extent that it was not possible to calculate such an accurate financial budget in the face of the unpredictability of this inclement weather. Taking into account this conjuncture, the present work intends to analyze, during the period between the 1830s and 1880s, the relationship between the process of institutionalization of justice in Rio Grande do Norte and the climatic phenomenon of droughts. Paying attention to the discussions present in the presidential reports about not only the administration of justice and finances, but also the broader dynamics linked to the provincial infrastructure, such as the equipping of the police corps and the construction and cleanliness of prisons, we aim to investigate how and to what extent the effects of the drought were related to the process of consolidation of the judicial apparatus in this province.