ABSTRACT

During the 1950s, the topic of the development and exploitation of Amazonia received renewed attention and emphasis in Brazil. The stage of Santa Terezinha's history conforms to Foweraker's second stage of frontier expansion, which he labels as the precapitalist stage. It is characterized by an intensification of extractive activities, increased immigration, and the buying and selling of institutionalized private property. The new programs and policies of the federal government and regional development agencies spurred on land speculation and investments in Amazonia by national and multinational companies. Unknown to the Indians and farmers of the middle Araguaia, much of the land they considered their own was being sold by the state of Mato Grosso to real-estate companies, which then sold it again to various companies and individuals. Fiscal incentives to encourage corporate investment in Amazonia, introduced in 1963, were continued and expanded.