Abstract
Frei Antônio de Guadalupe, D. Frei João da Cruz and D. Frei Antônio do Desterro administered the diocese of Rio de Janeiro between 1725 and 1773. They were bishops linked to the Jacobeia, a rigorist movement of reform of religious life that attained great importance in the Portuguese world, especially in the first half of the 18th century. This article intends to understand how these prelates, adherents to an austere morality, dealt with the cultural and social diversity of Portuguese America and put into practice their policies of control of religious life. The aim is to describe the presence of the Jacobean bishops in Portuguese America and, in greater detail, to deal with the life trajectories of the prelates of Rio de Janeiro. The text seeks to show how these bishops behave in the diocese’s government and how they perceived society, with particular attention to their perceptions of pardos and blacks and, finally, to their measures regarding the enslaved population.
Keywords:
bishops; Jacobeia; control of religious life