Land expropriation, litigation, and reinterpretation of space in the genesis of the zoobotanical park of Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 1895-1941

This article analyzes the construction of the zoological and botanical gardens for Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in Belém, northern Brazil. Opened in 1895 on a single property, the museum’s grounds were expanded over almost fifty years until they occupied the entire block – where it remains to this day. The research investigates the compulsory acquisition, with state and federal government support, of the neighboring properties, focusing on the political discourse formulated to justify the museum’s expansion and the way the affected parties resisted the acquisitions. As a result, the museum’s zoobotanical park is presented as a space in constant transformation, permeated by different meanings attributed by different social groups.