ABSTRACT
The position of Pai dos Cristãos (Father of Christians) was created to help in the conversion of people who lived in the Portuguese Empire in Asia, to prevent religious practices considered idolatrous, to teach the Catholic doctrine, and to support the catechumens. Among the native populations, the enslaved received special attention from the ‘Father of Christians’ who, besides ensuring the slaves conversion to Catholicism, would examine whether the captivity to which they were being subjected was legitimate, according to Portuguese Law. In this article we will examine the royal and ecclesiastical instructions related to the activity of the ‘Father of Christians’, as well as the historical sources that recorded his action upon the enslaved population of Goa, especially the “Letters of Manumission”.
Keywords
Portuguese Empire in Asia; enslaved people; Catholicism; Jesuits