AS MISERICÓRDIAS NA ÁSIA. DE MALACA ÀS MOLUCAS (SÉCULOS XVI E XVII)亞洲之慈善機構：從馬六甲到摩鹿加 (16 - 17世紀)
The article examines the role of the Misericórdias in the context of Portuguese enclaves in Southeast Asia between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, arguing that these confraternities were central to the production of Christian sociability and the stabilization of colonial hierarchies in terr...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2005
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40014/3808 |
| Summary: | The article examines the role of the Misericórdias in the context of Portuguese enclaves in Southeast Asia between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, arguing that these confraternities were central to the production of Christian sociability and the stabilization of colonial hierarchies in territories where Portuguese sovereignty was frequently negotiated. Starting from the conquest of Malacca (1511) and the subsequent framework of routes and transits between Goa, Hormuz, and the Spice Islands, the author shifts the focus from historiography centered on “discoveries” and military campaigns to the social and institutional history of colonial daily life. Methodologically, it articulates historical reconstruction with a comparative reading of local experiences (Malacca, Ternate, Tidore, Ambon, Solor, Larantuka, and other waypoints as far as Timor), linking the persistence of the Misericórdias to the absence of municipal institutions and the predominance of military and commercial power. The main conclusions emphasize that, despite limited resources and the reduced number of Portuguese, the Misericórdias helped formulate a “Portuguese identity” primarily subordinated to Christendom, operating through social discipline, discrimination, and assistance, and functioning simultaneously as a technology of conversion, a mechanism for framing elites, and an instrument of institutional continuity for the empire. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |