4. Brazilian Geography and the Study of Territorial Formation

The formation of Brazilian society is inextricably linked to the territorial formation of Brazil, recognising the logic of Iberian colonisation and its subordinate placement in the international division of labour which, since as far back as the sixteenth century, has resulted in systematic colonisation which expropriated the original populations, transferred and subjected African ethnic groups to slave labour and established itself as an exporter of agricultural and mineral products. The process of territorial formation has led to an expansion towards the interior, with immense destruction of forests, ethnocides and wars against the indigenous peoples. Brazilian Geography was established as an important aspect in supporting the processes of colonial domination by producing knowledge about the territory, the native populations and nature. This vast knowledge of the territory was achieved through scientific expeditions, geographical societies and military institutions between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries and, subsequently, by university institutions and research and planning institutes. This article seeks to unravel the role of geography as a body of knowledge and as a scientific discipline in the territorial and social formation of Brazil, setting out the contradictions in the process by proposing that the violence was not only material, but also symbolic and epistemological, expressed in a range of social conflicts as a result of the colonial logic of territorial appropriation. Finally, it seeks to elucidate the social conflicts in the formation of the territory and covered by geographical discourses and ideologies present in a range of types of literature, such as the school geography literature which treated Brazil as a peaceful, idyllic and paradisiacal country.