A trampoline between captaincies: the founding of Lages as a military defense to the South

Abstract

The restoration of the Captaincy of São Paulo in 1765 was accompanied by new government guidelines that corresponded to the territorial consolidation needs of Portuguese America. This article aims to observe how the founding of Lages on the southern plateau fits into this situation, given that during this period a large part of the territories currently in Santa Catarina belong to the jurisdiction of São Paulo. To this end, the administrative correspondence of Morgado de Mateus between the years 1765 and 1775 was analyzed. It was possible to conclude that the creation of Lages served multiple objectives, especially in terms of defense against possible Spanish invasions.