Resumo: Trata-se da resenha crítica da obra de Carlos Eduardo Valencia Villa sobre história econômica comparada de negros livres nas cidades de Richmond e Rio de Janeiro no século XIX.

Abstract: This is a critical review of Carlos Eduardo Valencia Villa’s book that deals with a comparative economic history of free black people in Richmond (VA, USA) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in the 19th century.

Em fins do século XIX e princípios do século XX os fluxos migratórios atingiram proporções significativas em Minas Gerais, especialmente graças à construção de Belo Horizonte e à expansão da lavoura cafeeira na região sul e na Zona da Mata. A partir dos registros da Hospedaria Horta Barbosa, em Juiz de Fora, no ano de 1896, apresentam-se algumas características desses contingentes: sua composição etária e sua origem, bem como a composição dos grupos familiares que migravam. A julgar pelo perfil encontrado nesse ano, os imigrantes que estavam se dirigindo para Minas Gerais ajustavam-se ao padrão da imigração subsidiada, com predomínio dos grupos familiares. O perfil etário e o de sexo diferenciam-se do perfil clássico dos migrantes, no qual predominam os homens jovens.

At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, the migratory flows to Minas Gerais assumed massive proportions, especially as a result of the construction of Belo Horizonte and of the expansion of the coffee industry in the South region of the state and Zona da Mata. The Registers of the Horta Barbosa Inn, in Juiz de Fora in 1896, reveal some characteristics of this contingent: age composition, origin, and characteristics of migrating family groups. Judging from the profile found in 1896, the immigrants coming to Minas Gerais were mostly of the subsidized immigration type, therefore formed mostly by family groups. Age and sex profiles have been found to differ from the classic profile of the migrant, a contingent formed mainly by young men.

Among nineteenth-century authors, sociologist Frédéric Le Play (1806-1882) stands out for the research methodology he developed to study European workers. In the perspective of the history of sociology, and in a dialogue with some of his twentieth-century readers, I analyze Le Play’s concept of family and its intimate connection with his findings. The so-called family monograph method, as the name indicates, intended to learn the living conditions of workers in different European countries by monitoring the life of some of their families. I intend to show how the construction of concepts, methods and survey and data-analyses techniques enabled the systematic reproduction of his observations, both by Le Play himself and his uncountable followers. In his methodology, the family is the core concern, and will enable future generations of both social scientists and historians to revisit them in their studies.

Le sociologue Frédéric Le Play (1806-1882) se distingue parmi les auteurs du XIXème siècle grâce au développement d’une méthodologie de recherche à propos des travailleurs européens. Dans cet article, on examine la position de Le Play dans l’histoire de la sociologie, sa conception de la famille ainsi que sa profonde connivence avec les résultats de ses recherches, sous la forme d’un dialogue avec quelques-uns de ses lecteurs du XXème siècle. La méthode des monographies des familles voudrait, comme le suggère son nom, connaître les conditions de vie des travailleurs dans différents pays d’Europe prenant comme point de départ l’accompagnement de la vie quotidienne de quelques familles. On cherche ici à montrer comment la construction de concepts, méthodes et techniques d’inventaire et d’analyse des données a permis la reproduction systématique de ses observations, effectuées soit par lui-même soit par ses tenants. Pour sa méthodologie, la famille occupe le centre des attentions, aspect déterminant pour des générations de chercheurs en sciences sociales et en histoire qui reviennent à ses études.

As revisões sobre os estudos clássicos de família no Brasil convergem na crítica ao patriarcalismo como modelo genérico e fixo de descrição dessa instituição, propondo que a família brasileira era uma pluralidade dispersa de experiências. Sugerimos que já nas narrativas ensaísticas sobre a identidade nacional existem modelos plurais de família brasileira, diversificados em termos da compreensão dos arranjos locais de relações familiares. Com esse objetivo, relemos, sob o eixo família-nação-região, dois conjuntos de ensaístas significativos para a construção de identidades regionais particulares (primeiro, Alfredo Ellis Jr. e Cassiano Ricardo; segundo, Alceu Amoroso Lima e Sylvio de Vasconcellos), pensadores/produtores de visões de São Paulo e de Minas Gerais, respectivamente, enquanto culturas e sociedades em grande parte caracterizadas por suas experiências de organização familiar própria.

Revisions of classical studies of the family in Brazil agree in criticizing patriarchalism as a general and fixed model describing this institution, arguing that the Brazilian family was a plurality of dispersed experiences. We suggest that in the essay narratives of national identity there are already plural models of the Brazilian family, which are diversified according to local arrangements of family relations. Considering the themes family-nation-region, we review the work of two groups of important essayists on the construction of particular regional identities: Alfredo Ellis Jr. e Cassiano Ricardo; Alceu Amoroso Lima e Sylvio de Vasconcellos. We argue that these essayists articulated visions of São Paulo and Minas Gerais as cultures and societies characterized in a significant way by experiences of a proper family organization.