Between Order and Fear: The use of the National Guard in the policing of the eighteenth century in Rio de Janeiro (1831-1835)
National Guard, citizenship, daily, violence.
The present research aims to analyze the National Guard's role in maintaining order, that is, its character as a repressive agency in the daily life of the city of Rio de Janeiro, between the years 1831 to 1835. Period comprised of the disruption and dissatisfaction with the politics of the first reign and instability of the political confrontations of the initial phase of the Regency of the Empire of Brazil. This new institution reveals an important trait of political leadership that rises in the (liberal moderate) period when designating for the defense of the nation, citizens interested in preserving patrimony and public order.
We will thus discuss the institutional setting of the institution, the normative action that organized it, that is, its legislation, in addition to the criteria established for the appointments of its highest positions. It is also interesting to understand the dynamics of the police action of these first years of Regency, especially from the functioning of the National Guard, its interaction with other repressive agencies and society in general. I try to problematize the practice of daily coercion in a society marked by social differences.