POLITICAL-PARTICIPATION IN 19TH-CENTURY B RAZIL - THE VOTERS OF SAO-PAULO IN 1880

This study is one of the first attempts to measure participation by th e Brazilian population in the elections during the country's Imperial Period. Based on 1880 voter registration lists from the city of Sao Pa ulo, the author calculates both the proportion of voters vis-a-vis tot al population and their socio-economic characteristics, including age, income, occupation, literacy, and place of residence. This model stud y makes a comparison between Sao Paulo's more wealthy urban parishes a nd the poorer rural ones and identifies significant differences in the respective voting populations. Recalling earlier work done on late 19 th-century voter and National Guard lists from the States of Minas Ger ais and Parana, the author shows that Sao Paulo had comparable rates o f voter activity, all of which suggests significant participation by p oor working class males in the electoral process.