The appointment of clerics for the dioceses of the Portuguese Empire and the Royal Patronage (1514-1777). A synoptical and comparative approach

Abstract

This article provides an insight into how ecclesiastical benefits have been appointed, both in the cathedral chapters and churches in Portuguese dioceses outside Europe. The analysis covers the period between the definitive establishment of the royal patronage (1514) and the end of the reign of King Joseph I (1777), so it will have a diachronic and synthetic bias. It assumes a comparative perspective, since it is not feasible to understand the dynamics of the system created based on logics internal to each diocese and framed only by phenomena of a local nature. We will use a set of sources, which include those relating to various bodies of the central administration of the Crown, those produced by the prelates and the cathedral chapters, letters exchanged between different agents involved in this process. The argument that will be sought is that the royal patronage was used by the Crown as a tool to grace servants with bounties (mercedes), without annulling the authority of the bishops and their ability to choose canons and other diocesan clerics.