Sob um olhar estrangeiro: Nuances da Trajetória Histórica das Mulheres Amazônicas a partir da perspectiva de Elizabeth Agassiz

Abstract

During the 19th century, small towns and, later, the city of Manaus received visits from countless travelers, the majority of whom were scientists eager to discover the local fauna and flora. One of these trips brought the couple Louis and Elizabeth Agassiz, who during the Tayer expedition traveled from Rio de Janeiro to Amazonas. With the support of Emperor Dom Pedro II and the help of several local inhabitants, the couple spent about a year in Brazil, even though the main objective was species of plants and animals, the report also talks about the culture, values and customs present in the country. The region that received the most attention was the Amazon, in which Elizabeth Agassiz describes places, people and animals in her own way. With a feminine touch, Journey to Brazil is one of the essential works to get a glimpse, even if it is of part of the Amazon in the 19th century. To develop this work, we had as the main source the author's travel report book, the methodology used was bibliographical research elaborated from materials available for research, in addition to the indicative method used by the Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg, in which it is possible to interpret reality using clues that allow it to be deciphered and understood. We conclude that, in the representations created by Elizabeth Agassiz, there is an expressive ideological burden, marked by ethnocentrism, evolutionism and racism, theories in vogue in the 19th century, in addition to observing that women were present in Amazonian society, the problem would be the lack of representation related to them. .