THE POLITICAL TRAJECTORY OF JOAQUIM AUGUSTO DE MOURA AND THE LEGITIMATION OF THE TITLE OF BARON OF VILA VELHA: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON PIERRE BOURDIEU’S SYMBOLIC POWER

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the legitimation of the noble title granted to Joaquim Augusto de Moura—an influential landowner and owner of enslaved people in the Alto Sertão of Bahia who moved between the province of Bahia and the Imperial Court, and was awarded the title of Baron of Vila Velha in 1873. The analysis seeks to understand the prerogatives and strategies of social distinction required to attain the barony during the Second Reign, considering the relationships between power, recognition, and symbolic organization. To this end, a qualitative literature review was conducted, linked to an analysis of the forms of legitimation and the construction of symbolic power within the studied context.