A expressão de elementos geográficos na formação e evolução do município de Santa Maria/RS: das práticas geopolíticas ibéricas no século XVII à qualificação de capital regional no século XXI

Abstract

The occupation of the central region of Rio Grande do Sul by the Portuguese and Spanish caused disputes over land ownership and brought the Iberian nations closer to the native people in the 17th century. The first contact between Iberians and natives occurred in 1626. Spanish Jesuit were come to catechize the natives and indoctrinate them to work. During that period, they built eighteen reductions in the state. In the region of Santa Maria missionaries built the settlement of São Cosme e Damião in 1632. The Portuguese Bandeirantes destroyed the Reductions of the first Jesuit cycle and expelled the missionaries in 1637. The Spanish priests left the introduction of cattle in the state as a legacy. The herd multiplied naturally over 45 years and boosted a new economic activity in the Iberian colonies. In 1680 the Portuguese sailed to the “La Plata” estuary and built the Colônia do Sacramento. In 1682, the Spanish crown ordered the return of the Jesuits to the northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul and the construction of the Sete Povos das Missões. The conflict between the Iberian crowns intensified the movement of troops and cargo in the center of the state, one of the main routes between the colonial centers. The Boca do Monte path, formed by the convergence of the Coxilha Grande with the edge of the plateau, was the only route in the region to cross the unevenness between the Central Depression and the Southern Plateau. Portugal and Spain signed the Treaties of Madrid (1750) and of Santo Ildefonso (1777) in the 18th century to ease disputes and lead to the demarcation of colonial borders. The Treaty of Madrid failed after the opposition of the Indigenous villagers. The Treaty of Santo Ildefonso had its activities interrupted in 1797 due to divergences in the demarcations. The Portuguese subcommittee abandoned the demarcation and camped in Rincão de Santa Maria. In the early 19th century, the Portuguese conquered the Missions and advanced the border to the left bank of the Uruguay River. The increase in security of the central region attracted new residents to Rincão. In seven decades, the site ceased to be a chapel and became a city. At the end of the 19th century, the railroads transformed Santa Maria into the largest railroad complex in Rio Grande do Sul. In the middle of the 20th century, rail transport declined and was gradually replaced by road transport. From 1950 the municipality received Institutional Organizations in the areas of education, health, and defense. Santa Maria attracted new residents and the city became a regional center and a reference in the provision of services. The methodology followed the descriptive process of temporal ordering of the geographic space and combined historical cartography and geoprocessing. The research analyzed the expression of geography in the formation and urbanization of Santa Maria since the Iberian geopolitical actions in the 17th century until the consolidation as a regional capital in the 21st century. The investigation identified that the structure of the relief and hydrography were decisive for the occupation of the central region of the State in the 17th century and catalyzed the formation and evolution of the Santa Maria County.