Childhood, Exploitation, and Regulation: Child Labour as a Field of Dispute in the First Brazilian Republic (Rio de Janeiro, 1890–1917)

O trabalho infantil como campo de disputa na Primeira República (1890–1917)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-6644.20260029

Abstract

This article analyzes the situation of child labor in the early years of the First Brazilian Republic, focusing on Rio de Janeiro between 1890 and 1917, as well as the process of constructing legislation aimed at its regulation. It seeks to examine the forms of violence experienced by these minors and the impacts of early labor on their lives, in addition to understanding the principles that guided the formulation of such laws. The legislation is shown to have been shaped by philanthropic, humanitarian, and moralizing conceptions, while also resulting from the demands, mobilizations, and pressures of the working class for effective regulation and enforcement.

Author Biography

  • Mariana Rezende (UFF), Fluminense Federal University

    Mariana holds a degree in History from the Federal Fluminense University (2019). She completed her Master’s degree in History at the same institution in 2022, with a dissertation on legislation concerning child labor in Rio de Janeiro between 1890 and 1917. In 2023, she began her Ph.D., developing the project The Idle Street Boys of Rio de Janeiro: Minors and the Repression of Vagrancy in Rio de Janeiro (1890–1927). Her research interests include Labor History, the post-abolition period, and the History of Childhood.

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Published

2026-06-26

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026): História das infâncias e juventudes na América Latina: experiências, discursos e políticas sociais

Section

Dossiê | Special Issue | Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 TEL Tempo, Espaço e Linguagem

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Childhood, Exploitation, and Regulation: Child Labour as a Field of Dispute in the First Brazilian Republic (Rio de Janeiro, 1890–1917): O trabalho infantil como campo de disputa na Primeira República (1890–1917). (2026). TEL Tempo, Espaço E Linguagem, 17(1), 547-576. https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-6644.20260029