From the church to the State: the private property’s institutionalization and the urban soil treatment in Spanish and Brazilian cities

Abstract

In the 19th century, the foundation and institutionalization of the Modern State are constituted which, in turn, justify the lawmaking and other official determinations, leading a system of uniform rights and general laws to arise all across the national territory. Based on the writings of Jacques Le Goff, George Duby, Edward Thompson, among others, Brazilian and Spanish 19th-century national legislations are used as analysis instruments. Among these documents, those regarding land as private property and properties of the Church and the State were chosen. Such documents made it possible for the modifications of the Church-State relation to be understood and the modifications and their progress in the land treatment and city’s edifications to be learned as well. Thus, the purpose herein is to reveal the major determinative legislations for the institution of the private property in Brazilian and Spanish cities.