Papers in circulation in the captaincy of São Paulo (18th Century): preliminary appointment

Abstract

The watermarks identified in documents produced in the captaincy of São Paulo during the 18th Century showed that papers of different origins circulated in America and became privileged supports of information for communication between various parts of the Portuguese Empire. Despite its recognized importance, the paper artifact, as a product of human labor and a vector for social relations, has received little attention from Brazilian historiography. In search of contributing to the debate, this article identifies some commercial and administrative paper circuits among paper producing centers, Portugal and its domains, involving different social actors, and seeks to capture changes in their uses and functions in these trajectories. Focusing on the materiality of the documents, the text intends to highlight its centrality to the functioning of the Empire, whose success depended, to a large extent, on the written production that was developed in the overseas territories.