O Estado de Minas Gerais e a Pobreza (1898–1920)
The State of Minas Gerais and Poverty (1898-1920)

Summary/Abstract: This article raises the question of the assistance to the poor delivered both in public and in private contexts in Minas Gerais, during the years 1898–1920. The phenomena of this period have been addressed by the authors of a documentary series produced by the Secretary of the Interior of the State of Minas Gerais, who present valuable information about the public assistance from the proclamation of abolition until the first decades of the 20th century. More specifically, the series deals with the alternatives the state and society sought and found to tackle the problems arising from the so-called ‘social question’ in Minas Gerais, and it places an emphasis on social policies implemented by the government. The sources upon which the documentary is based are the official Reports of the Presidents of the Province of Minas Gerais, and especially the repository of the Secretary of the Interior, held in the Minas Public Archives - APM in Belo Horizonte, MG. In series 10 of the documentary, titled ‘Health and Public Assistance’, one finds information related to subventions granted to hospitals, asylums and charity shelters, as well as data concering their maintenance reports. Most church-based organizations running nursing homes, orphanages and hospitals, would be granted assistance upon presentation of the number of the sick, asylees, or orphans in their care. Such data allows one to trace and reconstruct the profile of public and private assistance in Minas Gerais.

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