An Institutional History of the 1872 Brazilian Census and Adoption of the Metric System

FAIN: FT-254891-17

Anne G. Hanley
Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL 60115-2828)

An article-length study about the economic history of Brazil focusing on the introduction of the metric system and the conduct of the first national census in the 1870s.

My research looks at two major events that took place in Brazil in 1872: the first national census and the adoption of the metric system of weights and measures. These events are important to Brazil's history because of their potential to integrate the domestic economy. Prior to the adoption of the metric system Brazilians used regional weights and measures of differing values, making long-distance exchange difficult. Prior to the national census, Brazilian planners lacked much beyond a general understanding of the demographics of the internal market. Both innovations brought Brazilians into closer contact with state officials whose policies had powerful effects on their livelihoods This project opens an investigation into the history of Brazil's domestic economy, where most Brazilians lived and worked and where government initiatives had the greatest potential to affect their quality of life and standard of living.

Associated Products

Standardizing the Brazilian Nation in the Nineteenth Century (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Standardizing the Brazilian Nation in the Nineteenth Century
Author: Anne G. Hanley
Abstract: Abstract: This paper uses two major events that took place in a single year in Brazil’s history—the 1872 implementation of the first national census and adoption of the metric system of weights and measures—to investigate the expanding reach of the Brazilian state in the nineteenth century. A continental-sized nation with poor infrastructure, Brazilian government agencies sought to improve their knowledge of and management of the vast country through systematic and extensive data collection and reporting. This interest in data collection was part of an international movement spearheaded by statistical societies and spread through international congresses that viewed statistical data as a means to improve exchange. The paper investigates the institutional history of the census and adoption of the metric system in 1872, focusing on the politics and policies behind their conception and design and the logistics of their implementation. It analyzes these innovations to tell the story of how Brazilian political leaders came to see them as valuable endeavors and how they envisioned the utility of both.
Date: 01/06/2018
Conference Name: American Historical Association and Conference on Latin American History

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