The Lumber Company's operations in Planalto Norte Catarinense and its impact on regional development

Abstract

Among the chapters already told in the history of the Contestado, the role of the Colonization and Wood Company of Southern Brazil is central and recurring, in determining the paths and life of this distinct region. Initially, as a large colonizing company through logging and railway installation, it is responsible for implementing and enabling the social, technological and financial development of the place. However, throughout history, from the moment it settled in that territory, until its vexing end, it was a major cause of injustices, which were reflected in the habitants, state market and with a significant portion of the national economy, leaving remnants incorrigible in relation to the violation of rights and economic stagnation. This article aims to contribute to the already vast field of research on the Contestado, through theoretical and methodological suggestions inserted by the perspectives of English Social History, in the light of the notions suggested by Thompson, thus valuing the effects of historical events on the great masses, truly powerless in the face of the power of capital and the decisions imposed by the state. The facts that justify the present work are based on political decisions, which often benefited specific interests, concessions and favors that, since the installation of the Lumber Company in 1910, have had a negative impact on regional development, leaving a legacy evidenced by the devastation, for the violation. rights, the paralysis of important economic sectors and the abandonment of collective perspectives for the maintenance of power and personal enrichment.

Keywords: Contested. Politics. “Lumber Company”.