A escrita epistolar na memória paulista no contexto da guerra e pós-guerra contra o Paraguai (1864-1870)

Abstract

The present study analyzes the impacts of the War and Post-war against Paraguay (1864–1870) on the private lives of the Empire’s subjects in the province of São Paulo, through the lens of epistolary writing. The letters are treated as privileged sources for understanding both individual experiences and fragments of collective memory, allowing us to observe how the violence of war manifested far from the battlefronts. The research uses documents in dialogue with specialized scholarship, articulating historiographical theory and phenomenological methodology. Authors such as Clausewitz, Arendt (1994), and Ian Morris guide the reflection on war as a political, social, and destructive phenomenon. The study highlights practices of coercion, such as compulsory and unconstitutional recruitment, seen in emblematic cases like that of Luiza Maria da Conceição, who fought for the discharge of her husband, irregularly conscripted. The letters reveal not only the patriotic mobilization of the Voluntários da Pátria, but also the frustrations and demands of veterans faced with the Empire’s unfulfilled promises, as well as collective efforts to preserve the memory of those who fought in the conflict. The study concludes that epistolary writing functioned as a space for resistance and denunciation, revealing the depth of the war’s effects on São Paulo society and its persistence in memory.