Religion, godparenting, and social hierarchy: facets of the Ancien Régime Portuguese monarchy in Goiás, Portuguese America (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries)

ABSTRACT

This article, which discusses the Vila Boa de Goiás during the mid-eighteenth century, argues that attacks on hostile Indians had a decisive effect on the relationships and godparenting networks among enslaved people of African origin and slave owners. The paper is based on the idea that hierarchy, self-government, slavery, and Catholic discipline constituted the foundations of the multi-continental Portuguese monarchy in America, whose echoes reverberated during the early years of the Brazilian Empire. We contend that the combination of political instability and conflict engendered a unique configuration with regards to slavery in Vila Boa de Goiás. The research for this study is based on cross-referencing baptismal records and administrative sources.

Keywords:
hierarchies; Catholic discipline; Indians; slaves; society