“[...] Who of police have nothing but the title, consisting only of poor children”: The (re)organization of the police after the Paraguayan War

Authors

  • Caiuá Cardoso Al-Alam Universidade Federal do Pampa

Abstract

In this paper I study the changes in the Police Corps of the Province of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, after the Paraguayan War, in the period before the formation of the Police Force. The Police Force, which was created in 1873, had as its main feature the establishment of police stations throughout the hinterland, unlike the Police Corps, which was centralized in the capital of the province. Thus, on the basis of reports of the provincial presidents and official letters of local chief police officers to the police heads, as well as national documents, such as reports of the ministers of Justice, I describe the dynamics of these changes in the understanding of the police organization and certain characteristics of the police activities in this period in the city of Pelotas, located in the south of Rio Grande do Sul.

Key words: police, Paraguay War, Rio Grande do Sul, Pelotas.

Author Biography

Caiuá Cardoso Al-Alam, Universidade Federal do Pampa

Professor da Universidade Federal do Pampa, campus Jaguarão, é licenciado em História pela Universidade Federal de Pelotas e mestre em História pela Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. Atualmente cursa o doutorado da mesma área na Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Por muitos anos trabalhou com a temática da Memória atuando em Museus. Como pesquisador destaca-se pelo trabalho em periferias urbanas, envolvido com diversos projetos sociais. É especialista nos estudos sobre a História do Brasil Imperial na região sul do Rio Grande do Sul. Atuando principalmente na área da História Social, dedica-se à pesquisa das instituições normativas, como as de policiamento e prisão. Também estuda as experiências e trajetórias de africanos e descendentes no extremo sul do Brasil.

Downloads

Published

2012-09-03

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2012): September/December

Section

Dossiê: Militares, milicianos e policiais: instituições, representações e práticas

License

I grant the journal História Unisinos the first publication of my article, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license (which allows sharing of work, recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal).

I confirm that my article is not being submitted to another publication and has not been published in its entirely on another journal. I take full responsibility for its originality and I will also claim responsibility for charges from claims by third parties concerning the authorship of the article.

I also agree that the manuscript will be submitted according to the journal’s publication rules described above.