Assentamentos agrícolas e desenvolvimento econômico: um olhar sobre a experiência de Cruzeiro-SC (1917-1967)

Abstract

This dissertation aims to show that after the Contestado War and the establishment of the Interstate Boundary Agreement between Paraná and Santa Catarina, colonization modified the way the territory was occupied. The work proposes to understand the economic implications resulting from this process in the first fifty years of the city of Cruzeiro (1917-1967). The role of colonization companies in selling land to settlers was facilitated by public policies and proximity to the São Paulo-Rio Grande railway. The bias assumed triggered a development based on small family-run farms. The territories of agricultural settlements differed from the traditional agrarian structure of the country, historically dominated by large estates, and also influenced the regional economic organization in a particular way. Agricultural production, mainly marketed by rail, enabled capital accumulation. The evidence shows that its reinvestment boosted initiatives related to the agricultural machinery industry, the wheat and meatpacking industries, and the expansion of commerce. The Caetano Branco threshing and agricultural machinery factory, the Romano Massignam wheat mill, and the Pagnoncelli meatpacking plant are examples that legitimize the development and expansion of the industrial park in the city from the intersection of agriculture and the insertion of settlers in the mercantile process. From the History of Settlement and Agriculture, the speeches given by the Santa Catarina government, statistical data, and newspapers emerged as the main sources for the research. By examining the documents, we confirm that the strong presence of local capital invested in ventures energized the productive chain and projected the city regionally and nationally in its first fifty years. By establishing analytical relationships, the way the occupation process occurred and the economic transformations arising from investments in industry and commerce reverberate the importance of historical research.