The black "quitandeiras" in Rio de Janeiro pre-Republican nineteenth century: urban modernization and conflict around the small street market.

Abstract

The modernization project of Rio de Janeiro city during the nineteenth century had, as one of its most striking features, the improvement of the control structure and regulation of the small street market. Especially affected by this process, the black community, slave or free, who practiced the sale on retail in the city streets, had become the target of the impositions of the modern city. Among these traders were the "quitandeiras", black women who sells foodstuffs by the streets and central areas of the city. Observing the relationship between modernity and conflict, this article looks at some disputes over the occupation of public space, and the participation of the "quitandeiras" in these disputes. We argue that the process of modernization occurred with various conflicts that directly involved the black population of the city.