A COMPANHIA MATE LARANJEIRA, 1891-1902: CONTRIBUIÇÃO À HISTÓRIA DA EMPRESA CONCESSIONÁRIA DOS ERVAIS DO ANTIGO SUL DE MATO GROSSO.

From the 1880s to the mid-twentieth century, in the important economic branch represented by the exploitation of native Paraguayan tea in the extreme south of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, stood out a single large capitalist enterprise. The present work, according to the historiography, acknowledges, as a general rule, the continuity of this undertaking, under different names, throughout the period mentioned; nevertheless, it considers necessary to question the limits and the actual outline of such continuity. As a contribution to that effort, the text examines the interregnum 1891-1902, marked by the presence of the corporation named Companhia Mate Laranjeira (CML). Based on documents issued both by this company and other related to it, the paper intends to indicate, within CML performance during this period, important elements of discontinuity, among which stands out the quest for vertical integration of its operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]