A MISERICÓRDIA DE MACAU : CARIDADE, PODER E MERCADO NUPCIAL澳門的慈善機構：賑濟，權力與婚姻市場
The article analyzes the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Macau as a key institution in the articulation between charity, power, and the dynamics of the “nuptial market” in a colonial and mercantile context. Building on the historical function of the Misericórdias in the reconfiguration of assistance s...
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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/40014/3803 |
| Summary: | The article analyzes the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Macau as a key institution in the articulation between charity, power, and the dynamics of the “nuptial market” in a colonial and mercantile context. Building on the historical function of the Misericórdias in the reconfiguration of assistance since the late 15th century, the author argues that, in Macau and other Portuguese Asian enclaves, the local specialization of charitable practice was not limited to responding to relief needs; rather, it contributed to managing social hierarchies and reproducing distinctions, especially by framing Christianized groups and urban marginalities through assistance, disciplinary, and organizational mechanisms.
Methodologically, the text articulates a historical-institutional reading and documentary analysis based on the records and commitments of the Misericórdia itself, situating them within the broader trajectory of the imperial network of Misericórdias and the regime of negotiated sovereignty that characterized the Portuguese presence in Asia. As a result, it is demonstrated that the Misericórdia, by organizing resources, reputations, and opportunities, operated as a social infrastructure that conditioned matrimonial alliances, strengthened patronages, and integrated relevant sectors into the colonial moral economy. Thus, the institution emerges less as a merely philanthropic body and more as a mediator between inclusion/exclusion, authority, and social reproduction in societies marked by the expansion of trade and the weakening of traditional forms of solidarity. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |