Coffee and Transformation in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Coffee and Transformation in Sao Paulo, Brazil advances a distinctive interpretation of the dynamism of the Sao Paulo region since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Large and entrepreneurial coffee landlords opened the frontier to the west of the state capital, playing a key role in making the state and Brazil the world's largest coffee producer for international markets. However, many of the immigrant settlers from Italy, Japan, Spain, and other countries emerged as major actors in the last phase of frontier expansion in western Sao Paulo. A substantial number of them found ways to become independent agriculturalists or enact new careers in commerce, industry, and services in the network of towns emerging in this region. This volume pays close attention to the political and economic implications of this region's process of segmentation and transformation, including their links to regionalism, political conflict, and the Revolution of 1930.

ISBN 0739147501   Pages 394 ISBN13 9780739147504 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 767 Publisher Lexington Books   Published in Lanham, MD Imprint Lexington Books   Height (mm) 239 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 163 Publication date 16 Jul 2010   Spine width (mm) 31 DEWEY 338.17373098161   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC22

		Tables
		Figures
		Abbreviations and Acronyms
		Preface
1		Introduction		1
		Part I Export Sector Organization, Contention, and Structural Change
2		Planters and Independent Agriculture		11
3		Elite Mobilization and Policy-Making		35
4		Coffee and Industrialization		89
		Part II Politics: The Quest for Hegemony
5		A Changing Polity		125
6		From Export Sector Segmentation to Power Struggle		153
7		Coffee and the Revolution of 1930		199
8		From Contention to Revolution		227
9		Demise of an Old Regime		267
10		Conclusion: A Great Transformation in S¥o Paulo		279
		Appendix A: Notes on Agrarian and Structural Change		295
		Appendix B: Background Notes on Political Change		311
		Bibliography and Comment		333
		Index		361
		About the Author		377

The contours of modern Brazil can be traced to the great social and political transformations that rocked Sao Paulo prior to 1930. Combining theoretical rigor and a graceful style, Mauricio Font's superb volume shines a bright light on the historical forces that did so much to shape the destiny of one of the most fascinating societies in the world today. -- Thomas J. Trebat, Columbia University This revised version of Coffee and Transformation in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by Professor Mauricio Font, makes an important contribution to better understanding the interaction of social, political, and economic forces in Brazil's most developed state during the 1890-1930 period, when Sao Paulo's economy was transformed from an agricultural base into an industrial powerhouse. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in Brazil's development in the twentieth century. -- David Fleischer, University of Brasilia An earlier entire generation of scholars accepted the equation that during the Old Republic (1889-1930), the increasingly wealthy coffee planters of Sao Paulo dominated its political activities in lockstep with their financial ascendance. In his 1990 study, however, Mauricio Font (Coffee, Contention, and Change in the Making of Modern Brazil, CH, May'91, 28-5265) questioned this widely taught premise, and he demonstrated unequivocally that politics in Sao Paulo were decidedly not unilateral. He did so by singling out the roles of other interests, including those of factory owners and immigrants, which had consistently challenged the domination of the so-called "coffee elite." In this updated reissue of his 1990 volume, Font (sociology, Queens College, CUNY) has reprised his pioneering research while substantially adding to his database and incorporating theories of social involvement and development...Several appendixes and a new online database that present material on the shift from oligarchic to diverse political structures enhance Font's valuable thesis. Summing Up: Highly recommended. CHOICE

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