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In Defence of the FaithJoaquim Marques de Araújo, a Comissário in the Age of Inquisitional Decline |
eBook Available
Recounting an insider's perspective of the turbulent historical currents of late eighteenth-century Brazil.
Joaquim Marques de Araújo ardently defended the Portuguese Inquisition for fifty years, only to find himself sidelined and forgotten. In Defence of the Faith offers an insightful examination of one man's career as a comissário of the Portuguese Inquisition in Pernambuco, Brazil, from 1770 to 1820.
James Wadsworth argues that as legal extensions of the inquisitors in Lisbon, the comissários played a role far superior to what their small numbers might suggest. They were not the psychopaths, fanatics, or secret network of spies so common in the popular imagination. Rather, they were the linchpins in the inquisitional system that policed the orthodoxy of the Catholic flock and qualified candidates for inquisitional office. Joaquim Marques's career demonstrates that comissários had considerable room to manoeuvre, though they remained distinctly vulnerable to social and political shifts in power. His story reveals an institution divided against itself, which proved unwilling or unable to support its men in the field. Consequently, Joaquim Marques's attempts to protect himself and the Inquisition from attack proved futile. He died a defeated man on the eve of the political, intellectual, and spiritual upheaval he had long predicted and resisted.
In Defence of the Faith is a study of the decline of the old regime and the rise of a new order in late-colonial Brazil as experienced by an unbending agent of a once powerful institution that slowly collapsed during his lifetime.
James Wadsworth argues that as legal extensions of the inquisitors in Lisbon, the comissários played a role far superior to what their small numbers might suggest. They were not the psychopaths, fanatics, or secret network of spies so common in the popular imagination. Rather, they were the linchpins in the inquisitional system that policed the orthodoxy of the Catholic flock and qualified candidates for inquisitional office. Joaquim Marques's career demonstrates that comissários had considerable room to manoeuvre, though they remained distinctly vulnerable to social and political shifts in power. His story reveals an institution divided against itself, which proved unwilling or unable to support its men in the field. Consequently, Joaquim Marques's attempts to protect himself and the Inquisition from attack proved futile. He died a defeated man on the eve of the political, intellectual, and spiritual upheaval he had long predicted and resisted.
In Defence of the Faith is a study of the decline of the old regime and the rise of a new order in late-colonial Brazil as experienced by an unbending agent of a once powerful institution that slowly collapsed during his lifetime.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion Series (number 2.61 in series)
216 Pages, 6 x 9
10 b&w photos, 14 diagrams, 2 tables, 1 map
ISBN 9780773541177
April 2013
Formats: Cloth, eBook
"This is a wonderfully crafted and impeccably researched study of one individual's struggle in defence of the ancient regime in late colonial Brazil." Stuart Schwartz, Yale University
James E. Wadsworth is associate professor of history at Stonehill College.
Figures and Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
A Note on Portuguese Orthography, Currency, and the Inquisition xix
Abbreviations xxi
1 Setting the Stage for an Experiential Microhistory 3
2 In the Name of the Holy Office: Comissários in Pernambuco 16
3 A Life and Career in Focus 30
4 A Plague of Bigamy 51
5 Of Libertines and Diabolical Doctrines 72
6 Suspended in the Agony of Decay 94
7 The Zeal of the Pharisee 111
8 The End of an Era - The End of a Career 129
Appendix:
Comissários from the Bishopric of Pernambuco, 1692-1821 141
Notes 155
Works Cited 175
Index 193
Acknowledgments xiii
A Note on Portuguese Orthography, Currency, and the Inquisition xix
Abbreviations xxi
1 Setting the Stage for an Experiential Microhistory 3
2 In the Name of the Holy Office: Comissários in Pernambuco 16
3 A Life and Career in Focus 30
4 A Plague of Bigamy 51
5 Of Libertines and Diabolical Doctrines 72
6 Suspended in the Agony of Decay 94
7 The Zeal of the Pharisee 111
8 The End of an Era - The End of a Career 129
Appendix:
Comissários from the Bishopric of Pernambuco, 1692-1821 141
Notes 155
Works Cited 175
Index 193
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