Traçando caminhos e ligando espaços: as estradas do Rio Grande do Norte e o automóvel (1914-1934)

Abstract

This research has focused on studying the highways and the automobile in Rio Grande do Norte during the years 1914-1934. This is a time when certain state spaces began to be linked by paths adapted to the traffic of motor vehicles, with a view to the interests of certain political groups at the time, sought to exercise their hegemony in the north of Rio Grande territory to claim the progress of roads to the spaces that they used to named defenders: on the coast, the interests of Albuquerque Maranhão family’s subjects and in the hinterland, the interests of Seridó’s individuals. Moreover, the process of the highways construction in Rio Grande do Norte was a significant step forward in linking economic production spaces from the 1920s with the Federal Works Inspectorate Against Drought (IFOCS) work in the state, showing a conflict of interest of that institution’s engineer in relation to the developed planning in tracing these pathways and the reality found at the work field. This way, the central issue of this research seeks to understand to wich extent the roads and the automobile responded to these interests, trying to think what the effects of such means of transport over North Rio Grande territory’ configuration. Based on news and journal reports of The Republic periodical analysis, governors of the state messages and the Federal Works Inspectorate Against Drought (IFOCS) reports we were able to identify in this process the pace and progress of the works, as well as the interests and conflicts involved in these ways construction process.