Pará troops in the capture of Cayenne (1809): between the French enemies and the internal wars in the former Grão-Pará at the beginning of the 19th century.

Abstract

During the 19th century, the exchanges between Portuguese authorities and those of the former territory of Grão-Pará (today the Brazilian Amazon) tell the story of this territory in which the population lived in constant tension. The region now occupied by the states of Pará, Amapá and the border area of ​​Amazonas and Roraima was the scene of several conflicts against the French and other internal forces, especially in Belém, which involved the mobilization of troops and resistance. During this process, French Guiana was occupied by Portuguese-Anglo-Brazilian troops between 1809 and 1817. This was a gigantic process, both in terms of the number of troops and the policy of supplying them. This moment generated memories of this action and they were relived by the subjects of this campaign throughout the various political and social crises in which Grão-Pará was immersed in the period immediately following. The indigenous, black and mixed-race peoples who took up arms or supplied the troops mobilized for the Caiena occupation campaign remained active even after 1817. They helped form military battalions, but went further, acting in the 1820s and 1830s during the period of independence and the Cabanagem. To this end, internal defense mechanisms were created for the towns and the city of Belém. A 1st Line or police regiment was created there, which was formed in 1818 by order of the then governor of Pará, the Count of Vila Flor, and which left an indelible mark on the organization of the fight against violence and crime during this turbulent period in the history of the Amazon.