O Sangue, a palavra e a lei: Ilegitimidade e transmissão da herança no Mundo Atlântico Português no século XVIII

Abstract

This article proposes to analyze the inclusion or exclusion illegitimate children were subjected to in the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Sabará, in Brazil and the parish of São João do Souto in Braga, Portugal.Particular emphasis will be given to the main factor framing social issues relative to illegitimacy, that is, the distinction between natural and spurious children—the latter being those born of adulterous, sacrilegious, or incestuous unions. In the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Sabará, the documentation reveals that the majority of illegitimate children, who were socially andlegally declared and recognized as such, did not have their inheritance rights contested even when legitimate children were present. Conversely, in the parish of São João do Souto the recognition of legitimate children occurred, in the majority of the cases, only when legitimate children were absent. The goal of this article, therefore, is to present and understand the different ways illegitimate children were treated in the Portuguese Atlantic World despite a common subjection to the same civic andcanon laws.

Keywords

• Portugal
• Brazil
• Family
• Inheritance practices
• Illegitimacy