Between donations and prayers: The “principal ones of the land” and the Benedictine monastery of Rio de Janeiro in the 16th through the 18th century
Abstract
The paper presents the main donors of the Saint Benedict Monastery of Rio de Janeiro and analyzes the relations between the members of this elite and the institution. Founded at the end of the 16th century, the monastery became one of the biggest owners of real estate and slaves of the city. A significant part of these goods came to the monastery from donations made by the called so-called “benefactors”. The paper demonstrates that the assembling of the monastery’s assets went beyond a simple exchange, involving the guarantee of a “good death” for the donors. Cases such as Esméria Pereyra de Lemos, who donated to the monastery “lands in São Gonçalo with houses, boats, blacks and improvements” in 1746, are examples of that. The main documents analyzed are the registers of donations, which contain well defined conditions related to the benefactors’ burials.
Key words: Saint Benedict Monastery, Rio de Janeiro, elites.Downloads
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