A idade de ouro da Bahia: Circuito econômico e formação social nas vilas auríferas do Sertão Baiano (1710-1735)

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate the formation of the gold circuit in the captaincy of Bahia in the first half of the 18th century. The opening of the gold mines through a royal order in 1720 was an inevitable process, because the gold mining activities were already accelerating in the districts of Jacobina and Rio de Contas. These circumstances transformed the economy and political structure of the Bahian sertões, increased the tax collection and created new possibilities of service to the Crown. The economic circuit of gold increased mercantile exchange through the circulation of settlers and the establishment of new residents in the towns. All these factors contributed to the political and jurisdictional integration of the sertões of the State of Brazil to the Portuguese overseas Empire.