A historiografia e a alimentação no Rio de Janeiro nos últimos anos da colonização: 1808-1821

Abstract

Considering that eating is also a social and cultural act and that eating habits and behaviors emerge and change as a result of cultural exchanges between groups, this study sought to verify the impacts caused by the arrival of the Portuguese Court in Rio de Janeiro (1808- 1821) on the eating habits and behaviors of that society. Based on the reading of the existing bibliography, an analysis was made of the emergence of Western behaviors and habits at the table; then, an attempt was made to understand the process of formation of Brazilian eating habits based on indigenous, African and Portuguese cultures, and subsequently to verify the eating habits and behaviors of the different social groups in Rio de Janeiro. Finally, the findings were presented regarding the impacts caused by the transfer of the Court, among them, the refinement of manners by the elites, the Europeanization of habits and behaviors, as a result of the civilizing process, the importation of foreign elements and the formation of two types of sociability.