Farms, shares of land, chácaras and plots: a comparative study of the land lexicon in the Parish Land Records of the Parish of Caconde and the municipality of Campinas, in the province of São Paulo (1854-1857)

ABSTRACT In the Brazilian historiography on the Empire, the Parish Land Records have gained prominence due to its potential as a primary source for studies on the processes of territory occupation and urbanization. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Parish Land Records of the parish of Caconde and those of the municipality of Campinas, produced between 1854 and 1857, as a direct result of Land Law No. 601 of September 18th, 1850, regulated by Decree No. 1,318 of January 30, 1854. Data from two document series were transcribed, summarized and compared, followed by cross-referencing with other sources from the same period. The article highlights the importance of this primary documental series, revealing land specificities of the two territories and relating the lexicon used in the declarations to urbanization processes unique to each locality.