Domus regis: a Casa Real portuguesa no Rio de Janeiro (1808-1821)

Abstract

Lusitanian monarchy's fundamental institution, the portuguese Royal Household covered in it's space hundreds of servants, men and women from different social backgrounds. After the transfer of the portuguese court to Rio de Janeiro, prince regent d. João restructured his domestic universe, setting here, the same way as in Portugal, all the required departments for the correct execution of everyday tasks of his House: stable, kitchen, pantry service, câmara, purchase of food articles, etc. This thesis intends to analyze the conformation of the portuguese Royal Household in Rio de Janeiro, between the years of 1808 and 1821. Will be analyzed here the Royal Household's organizacional structure; the disputes among the recent immigrants domestic servants and the Rio de Janeiro's inhabitants; the peculiar paying mechanisms of the royal domestic world; the forms of access to the Royal Household; and the financial structure of the portuguese Royal Household. Within a broader framework, we tried to relate the King's House to the others established powers on the court of Rio de Janeiro, in order to demonstrate that the monarchy's domestic space was also a relevant institution on the assembling of the royal administration in America and, consequently, on the transformation of an historically colonial area in the center of the portuguese empire.