O Poder da Caridade: os provedores da Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro (1640-1780)

Abstract

The Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia emerged in 1498, in Lisbon, and quickly expanded throughout the overseas domains. Whether through royal sponsorship or the globalization project envisioned by the Iberian monarchies, the presence of Misericórdia in the territories reached by the Portuguese Crown was undeniable. It didn't take long for the overseas domains, through the Portuguese subjects who settled in the multiple and discontinuous territories, to found new Misericórdias. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, a privileged space throughout this dissertation, the Brotherhood was created around 1582, becoming one of the institutions favored by local elites to incorporate elements of social differentiation into their trajectories. It was not just the individuals who held positions within the Brotherhood who reinforced the importance of the institution in the locations where it was present. It is important to remember that charity was one of the basic elements for building society in the Modern Period. The services performed by Misericórdia, such as hospital administration and funerals, reinforced the Institution's presence in the imagination of the social segments that made up societies at the time. Although we are aware of the importance of the services provided, based on the fourteen works of Mercy, we will privilege, over the next few pages, an analysis based on the providers of Mercy, that is, we will observe who were the men who managed the confraternity, which was present from east to west and from north to south, in the places that witnessed the territorial occupation on behalf of the Portuguese Crown. Being charitable, in addition to status, legitimized individuals capable of bequeathing, in a society in which what represented for the other was more important than being. Therefore, this work reflects on the role of the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia in the Portuguese colonial world, choosing Rio de Janeiro as a privileged space for our analysis. This research has as one of its main objectives to understand the multiple facets of the men who made up the power games in the Guanabara Recôncavo.