Boundaries in the geography and history of the americas: villages and areas of northern Mexico and the great “pantanal brasileiro”

Abstract

The comparative theme borders on the geography and history of the Americas opened the need to read the historiography, the text and the maps with a focus on physical and cultural spaces that distinguished the border areas of the subcontinent. The transformation processes of border areas are noticed when we look at the physical geography and social networks that generated the cultural landscape while usufruct established territories, settle, and seasonal movement. In today’s presentation I intend to put to it a comparative perspective between two large and distinct regions: the Septentrion of New Spain, comprising northern Mexico and southwestern U.S., the great swamp and the Paraguay River basin, the border area between Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The comments presented here represent large portions of both regions. The question that guides our thinking is: How do we understand the borders, which are distinguished from other socially produced spaces?