DOCSLIB.ORG

The Catholic Church Regarding African Slavery in Brazil During the Emancipation Period from 1850 to 1888

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Catholic Church Regarding African Slavery in Brazil During the Emancipation Period from 1850 to 1888 Bondage and Freedom The role of the Catholic Church regarding African slavery in Brazil during the emancipation period from 1850 to 1888 Matheus Elias da Silva Supervisor Associate Professor Roar G. Fotland This Master's Thesis is carried out as a part of the education at MF Norwegian School of Theology and is therefore approved as a part of this education. MF Norwegian School of Theology, [2014, Spring] AVH5010: Master's Thesis [60 ECTS] Master in Theology [34.658 words] 1 Table of Contents Chapter I – Introduction ..................................................................................................................5 1.1 - Personal Concern ....................................................................................................................5 1.2 - Background..............................................................................................................................5 1.3 - The Research........................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 - Methodology............................................................................................................................6 1.5 - Sources.................................................................................................................................... 9 1.6 - Research History .................................................................................................................... 9 1.7 - Terminology...........................................................................................................................10 1.8 - Outline................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter II – Historical Background...............................................................................................12 2.1 - The History of Brazil.............................................................................................................12 2.1.1 - The Discovery................................................................................................................12 2.1.2 - The Encounter with the Natives ....................................................................................13 2.1.3 - The Colonization Process.............................................................................................. 14 2.1.4 - A New Society Emerges ............................................................................................... 15 2.1.5 - The Independence ......................................................................................................... 16 2.2 - The Slave Trade.....................................................................................................................17 2.2.1 - The Origins of the Portuguese Slave Trade................................................................... 18 2.2.3 - The Journey ...................................................................................................................20 2.2.4 - Reasons to Justify the Slave Trade................................................................................ 21 2.3 - The Catholic Church .............................................................................................................21 2.3.1 - The Arrival in Brazil ..................................................................................................... 22 2.3.2 - Church and State ...........................................................................................................22 2.3.3 - The Jesuits......................................................................................................................23 2.3.4 - Church, State and Slavery..............................................................................................25 Chapter III - Exposition of Documents......................................................................................... 27 3.1 - Papal bulls which discuss the issue prior nineteenth century................................................28 3.1.1 - Pope Eugene IV, in Sicut Dudum, January 13th, 1435..................................................28 3.1.2 - Pope Nicholas V, in Romanus Pontifex, January 8th, 1455 ..........................................30 3.1.3 - Pope Paul III, in the decree Motu Proprio, November 9, 1548*...................................33 3.1.4 - Sermon preached by father Antonio Vieira in the seventeenth century ........................34 3.2 - Papal bulls which discuss the enslavement of Africans during the nineteenth century........36 2 3.2.1 - Pope Gregory XVI, In Supremo Apostolatus of December 3, 1839.............................36 3.2.2 - Pope Leo XIII, In Plurimis of May 5th, 1888................................................................38 3.2.3 - Pope Leo XIII, In Catholicae Ecclesiae, 20th November, 1890....................................39 3.2.4 - Sermon about Slavery, November 13th, 1887............................................................... 40 3.3 - Articles in the Catholic newspaper from the nineteenth century...........................................42 3.3.1- In O Apóstolo, number 41. Sunday, 8th of October, 1871..............................................43 3.3.2 - In O Apóstolo, number 52. Sunday, 24th of December, 1871....................................... 44 3.3.3 - In O Apóstolo, number 127. Friday, 11th of November, 1881......................................45 3.3.4 - In O Apóstolo, number 36. Sunday, 30th of March, 1884.............................................46 3.3.5 - In O Apóstolo, number 51. Sunday, 8th of May, 1887.................................................. 47 3.3.6 - In O Apóstolo, number 97. Sunday, 28th of August, 1887............................................47 3.3.7 - In O Apóstolo, number 102. Sunday, 11th of September, 1887....................................48 3.3.8 - In O Apóstolo, number 115. Wednesday, 12th of October, 1887..................................49 3.4 – Books written by Roman Catholics Bishops ....................................................................... 50 3.4.1 - Archbishop D. Sebastião Vide, 1707............................................................................. 50 3.4.2 - Bishop of Pará, A Questão Religiosa no Brasil, 1886..................................................51 Chapter IV – Documents Outside the RCC .................................................................................. 53 4.1 - Culture and Opulence of Brazil, 1711................................................................................... 53 4.2 - A Journey in Brazil, 1868...................................................................................................... 54 4.3 - Historical Studies, 1876.........................................................................................................55 4.4 - The Abolitionism, 1883......................................................................................................... 56 4.5 - Speech in the Abolitionist Society of Ceará, 1884...............................................................57 4.6 - The Christian Religion and its Relationship to Slavery, 1886...............................................58 4.7 - Slavery, the Clergy and the Abolitionism, 1887....................................................................58 Chapter V - Discussion.....................................................................................................................61 5.1 - Slave Status According to the Law and Practices in Brazil ..................................................62 5.2 - The RCC Theology Concerning Slavery...............................................................................63 5.3 - The RCC and Slavery Prior Nineteenth Century.................................................................. 65 5.3.1 - The Popes and Slavery...................................................................................................65 5.3.2 - The Brazilian clergy and Slavery...................................................................................67 5.4 - The RCC and Slavery During the Emancipation Period....................................................... 68 5.4.1 - The Popes and Slavery ..................................................................................................69 5.4.2 - The Brazilian Clergy and Slavery..................................................................................74 5.4.3 - The Outsiders ................................................................................................................78 3 5.4.4 - The Abolitionist Movement and the Church .................................................................81 Chapter VI – Conclusion................................................................................................................. 84 Bibliography......................................................................................................................................87 Websources ................................................................................................................................... 91 4 Chapter I – Introduction 1.1 - Personal Concern The African slavery in Brazil is somehow a forgotten history. During my years in the public high school History was my favorite subject, and throughout my twelve years of elementary and high school I never had a single class that dealt
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Arrival of European Christians in India During the 16Th Century
    The arrival of European Christians in India during the 16th century Alan Guenther The arrival of European Christians in India in the 16th century was part of the Portuguese political and economic expansion. In competition with the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragón and with the Italian city states such as Genoa and Venice, Portugal sought to establish itself as a maritime power in the latter half of the 15th century. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into the Balkans and its capture of Constantinople in 1453 had resulted in the Ottoman dominance of trade routes east of the Mediterranean Sea. That expansion, coupled with the continuing monopoly of other trade in the Mediterranean region by the Genoese and the Venetians, prompted Portuguese searches for alternative routes from Europe to Asia. The successful navigation around the Cape of Good Hope and eventual arrival in India by the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, in 1498 was one such effort. The 16th century ended with a series of Jesuit missions to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar in northern India. The Portuguese explorers who traversed the Indian Ocean in 1498, how- ever, encountered a milieu not yet controlled by the three major Muslim empires of the Mughals, Safavids and Ottomans that rose to dominance in the Muslim regions in south and western Asia. In 1498, Akbar’s grand- father, Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, had not yet begun his advance into the Indian subcontinent; his capture of Kabul, from where he launched his military campaigns into the Punjab, did not take place until 1504.
    [Show full text]
  • The “Doctrine of Discovery” and Terra Nullius: a Catholic Response
    1 The “Doctrine of Discovery” and Terra Nullius: A Catholic Response The following text considers and repudiates illegitimate concepts and principles used by Europeans to justify the seizure of land previously held by Indigenous Peoples and often identified by the terms Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius. An appendix provides an historical overview of the development of these concepts vis-a-vis Catholic teaching and of their repudiation. The presuppositions behind these concepts also undergirded the deeply regrettable policy of the removal of Indigenous children from their families and cultures in order to place them in residential schools. The text includes commitments which are recommended as a better way of walking together with Indigenous Peoples. Preamble The Truth and Reconciliation process of recent years has helped us to recognize anew the historical abuses perpetrated against Indigenous peoples in our land. We have also listened to and been humbled by courageous testimonies detailing abuse, inhuman treatment, and cultural denigration committed through the residential school system. In this brief note, which is an expression of our determination to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and Métis in moving forward, and also in part a response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we would like to reflect in particular on how land was often seized from its Indigenous inhabitants without their consent or any legal justification. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council and other Catholic organizations have been reflecting on the concepts of the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius for some time (a more detailed historical analysis is included in the attached Appendix).
    [Show full text]
  • From Papal Bull to Racial Rule: Indians of the Americas, Race, and the Foundations of International Law
    Vera: From Papal Bull to Racial Rule: Indians of the Americas, Race, an FROM PAPAL BULL TO RACIAL RULE: INDIANS OF THE AMERICAS, RACE, AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW KIM BENITA VERA* The "discovery" and conquest of the "New World" marked the inauguration of international law,' and constituted a watershed moment in the emergence of race in European thought.2 What might the coterminous rise of formative. moments in race thinking and international law suggest? In my provisional reflections on this question that follow, I trace juridical and religio-racial conceptions of indigenous peoples of the Americas as a central thread in the evolution of international law. I will begin with a discussion of the fifteenth-century papal bulls issued in regard to the Portugal-Spain disputes over lands in Africa and the Americas. I will then proceed to follow some strands of racial and juridical thought in the accounts of Francisco de Vitoria and Hugo Grotius, two founding figures in international law. I suggest that Vitoria's treatise, On the Indians Lately Discovered,3 evinces the beginnings of the shift Carl Schmitt identifies from the papal authority of the respublica Christiana to modern international law.4 Vitoria's account, moreover, is both proto-secular and proto-racial. * Assistant Professor, Legal Studies Department, University of Illinois at Springfield, J.D./Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2006. 1. See, e.g., CARL ScHMrT, THE NOMOS OF THE EARTH IN THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE Jus PUBLICUM EUROPAEUM 49 (G. L. Ulmen trans., 2003). 2. DAVID THEO GOLDBERG, RACIST CULTURE: PHILOSOPHY AND THE POLITICS OF MEANING 62 (1993).
    [Show full text]
  • The Pre-History of Subsidiarity in Leo XIII
    Journal of Catholic Legal Studies Volume 56 Number 1 Article 5 The Pre-History of Subsidiarity in Leo XIII Michael P. Moreland Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/jcls This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Catholic Legal Studies by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FINAL_MORELAND 8/14/2018 9:10 PM THE PRE-HISTORY OF SUBSIDIARITY IN LEO XIII MICHAEL P. MORELAND† Christian Legal Thought is a much-anticipated contribution from Patrick Brennan and William Brewbaker that brings the resources of the Christian intellectual tradition to bear on law and legal education. Among its many strengths, the book deftly combines Catholic and Protestant contributions and scholarly material with more widely accessible sources such as sermons and newspaper columns. But no project aiming at a crisp and manageably-sized presentation of Christianity’s contribution to law could hope to offer a comprehensive treatment of particular themes. And so, in this brief essay, I seek to elaborate upon the treatment of the principle of subsidiarity in Catholic social thought. Subsidiarity is mentioned a handful of times in Christian Legal Thought, most squarely with a lengthy quotation from Pius XI’s articulation of the principle in Quadragesimo Anno.1 In this proposed elaboration of subsidiarity, I wish to broaden the discussion of subsidiarity historically (back a few decades from Quadragesimo Anno to the pontificate of Leo XIII) and philosophically (most especially its relation to Leo XIII’s revival of Thomism).2 Statements of the principle have historically been terse and straightforward even if the application of subsidiarity to particular legal questions has not.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and the Abolition of Slavery: a Comparative Approach
    Religions and the abolition of slavery - a comparative approach William G. Clarence-Smith Economic historians tend to see religion as justifying servitude, or perhaps as ameliorating the conditions of slaves and serving to make abolition acceptable, but rarely as a causative factor in the evolution of the ‘peculiar institution.’ In the hallowed traditions, slavery emerges from scarcity of labour and abundance of land. This may be a mistake. If culture is to humans what water is to fish, the relationship between slavery and religion might be stood on its head. It takes a culture that sees certain human beings as chattels, or livestock, for labour to be structured in particular ways. If religions profoundly affected labour opportunities in societies, it becomes all the more important to understand how perceptions of slavery differed and changed. It is customary to draw a distinction between Christian sensitivity to slavery, and the ingrained conservatism of other faiths, but all world religions have wrestled with the problem of slavery. Moreover, all have hesitated between sanctioning and condemning the 'embarrassing institution.' Acceptance of slavery lasted for centuries, and yet went hand in hand with doubts, criticisms, and occasional outright condemnations. Hinduism The roots of slavery stretch back to the earliest Hindu texts, and belief in reincarnation led to the interpretation of slavery as retribution for evil deeds in an earlier life. Servile status originated chiefly from capture in war, birth to a bondwoman, sale of self and children, debt, or judicial procedures. Caste and slavery overlapped considerably, but were far from being identical. Brahmins tried to have themselves exempted from servitude, and more generally to ensure that no slave should belong to 1 someone from a lower caste.
    [Show full text]
  • Christopher White Table of Contents
    Christopher White Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Peter the “rock”? ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Churches change over time ...................................................................................................................... 6 The Church and her earthly pilgrimage .................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1 The Apostle Peter (d. 64?) : First Bishop and Pope of Rome? .................................................. 11 Peter in Rome ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Yes and No .............................................................................................................................................. 13 The death of Peter .................................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 2 Pope Sylvester (314-335): Constantine’s Pope ......................................................................... 16 Constantine and his imprint .................................................................................................................... 17 “Remembering” Sylvester ......................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Doctrine of Discovery: Questions and Answers
    Doctrine of Discovery: Questions and Answers Q. What is the Doctrine of Discovery? The Doctrine of Discovery is a principle of international law dating from the late 15th century. It has its roots in a papal decree issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1452 that specifically sanctioned and promoted the conquest, colonization, and exploitation of non-Christian territories and peoples. Hundreds of years of decisions and laws continuing right up to our own time can ultimately be traced back to the Doctrine of Discovery—laws that invalidate or ignore the rights, sovereignty, and humanity of indigenous peoples in the United States and around the world. Q. Why does the Doctrine of Discovery still matter when it is over 500 years old? It is still in effect and is written into settled US law since 1823 about a land dispute between two individuals (Under Chief Justice John Marshall). It forms the basis for “Manifest Destiny,” the expansion into Indian lands. It is used to justify legal and forcible takeover of indigenous lands, without just compensation. The Discovery Doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, most notably Johnson v. McIntosh in 1823. In this Supreme Court case, Chief Justice John Marshall's opinion in the unanimous decision held "that the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands." In essence, American Indians had only a right of occupancy, which could be abolished.” (Source: www.redlakenationnews.com/story/2017/06/15/news/doctrine- of-discovery-repudiated/61672.html) It is used to interpret Indian Treaties in a way that has undermined treaty rights.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See IN PLURIMIS ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY To the Bishops of Brazil. Amid the many and great demonstrations of affection which from almost all the peoples of the earth have come to Us, and are still coming to Us, in congratulation upon the happy attainment of the fiftieth anniversary of Our priesthood, there is one which moves Us in a quite special way. We mean one which comes from Brazil, where, upon the occasion of this happy event, large numbers of those who in that vast empire groan beneath the yoke of slavery, have been legally set free. And this work, so full of the spirit of Christian mercy, has been offered up in cooperation with the clergy, by charitable members of the laity of both sexes, to God, the Author and Giver of all good things, in testimony of their gratitude for the favor of the health and the years which have been granted to Us. But this was specially acceptable and sweet to Us because it lent confirmation to the belief, which is so welcome to Us, that the great majority of the people of Brazil desire to see the cruelty of slavery ended, and rooted out from the land. This popular feeling has been strongly seconded by the emperor and his august daughter, and also by the ministers, by means of various laws which, with this end in view, have been introduced and sanctioned. We told the Brazilian ambassador last January what a consolation these things were to Us, and We also assured him that We would address letters to the bishops of Brazil in behalf of these unhappy slaves.
    [Show full text]
  • Unsettling Truths: the Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of The
    ivpress.com Taken from Unsettling Truths by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com CHAPTER ONE The Doctrine of Discovery and Why It Matters “You cannot discover lands already inhabited.” I (Mark) said this almost under my breath, as I walked past a line of men dressed as Spanish sailors from the 1490s. I was in front of Union Station in Washington, DC, near the massive statue of Christopher Columbus overlooking the United States Capitol. Every Columbus Day, there is an official ceremony in this plaza hon- oring Columbus as the discoverer of America. I had stumbled upon this ceremony by accident the year prior. There were a few non- natives holding signs and protesting the ceremony but nothing very dis- ruptive. I came back the following year primarily out of curiosity. I was not intending to protest, nor did I want to make a scene. As I walked up behind the statue and approached the group of men dressed as Spanish sailors, the words just came out of my mouth: “You cannot discover lands already inhabited.” As I walked farther down the line, I said it again, this time a little louder. “You cannot discover lands already inhabited.” As I continued walking, I came to the front 326441SVP_UNSETTLING_CS6_PC.indd 13 10/08/2019 11:09:22 14 Unsettling Truths of the line, where a group of men dressed in suits were standing. I repeated myself, making sure they could hear me.
    [Show full text]
  • Papal Annual Medals, 1605–1700
    religions Article Pressing Metal, Pressing Politics: Papal Annual Medals, 1605–1700 Matthew Knox Averett Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA; [email protected]; Tel.: +1-402-280-1455; Fax: +1-402-280-2320 Academic Editor: Ted G. Jelen Received: 18 February 2016; Accepted: 11 May 2016; Published: 20 May 2016 Abstract: This article surveys images depicted on the reverses of papal annual medals in the seventeenth century, beginning in 1605 under Paul V (r. 1605–21) with the first confirmed annual medal, and ending in 1700 at the conclusion of the papacy of Innocent XII (r. 1691–1700), a reign that marked a distinct change in papal politics in advance of the eighteenth century. The article mines a wealth of numismatics images and places it within a narrative of seventeenth-century papal politics. In the ninety-six years under consideration, ten popes issued ninety-four annual medals (sede vacante produced generic annual medals in 1667 and 1691). Annual medals are a unique iteration of papal commemorative medals and they celebrate an important papal achievement from the preceding year. The production of annual medals was an exercise in identity creation, undertaken to advance the image of the pope as an aristocratic prince in three specific roles: as builder, warrior, and impresario. The timeliness of the medals makes them valuable sources to gauge the perceived success of the papacy on an annual basis and to chart the political course plotted by popes through the seventeenth century. Keywords: Rome; papacy; annual medals; numismatics 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Doctrine of Discovery: Verbatim
    Doctrine of Discovery: Verbatim The term “Doctrine of Discovery” refers to the legal and religious justifications used to seize Native lands. It first appears in 15th Century Papal Bulls (edicts) that gave early explorer the right to claim “discovered” lands and enslave and/ or convert the pagan inhabitants. Papal Bulls typically cited as part of the Doctrine of Discovery include Romanus Pontifex and Inter Caetera. The Church of England had its own version, the Royal Charter of 1496. Below are excerpts from English translations. Romanus Pontifex (1454) Pope Nicholas V to the King of Portugali Nicholas, bishop, servant of the servants of God. for a perpetual remembrance…. … [W]e bestow suitable favors and special graces on those Catholic kings and princes, who, like athletes and intrepid champions of the Christian faith … not only restrain the savage excesses of the Saracens and of other infidels, enemies of the Christian name, but also for the defense and increase of the faith vanquish them and their kingdoms and habitations, though situated in the remotest parts unknown to us … [We grant to King Alfonso the right] to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed … and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors [their] kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit … [W]e do by these [documents] forever give, grant, and appropriate to the aforesaid King Alfonso and his successors … the provinces, islands, harbors, places, and seas whatsoever, how many soever, and of what sort soever they shall be … Inter Caetera (1493): Pope Alexander VIii Portugal and Castile (Spain) had been vying for African colonies for a century prior to Columbus' voyage.
    [Show full text]
  • Evangelicals and the Synoptic Problem
    EVANGELICALS AND THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM by Michael Strickland A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion University of Birmingham January 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Dedication To Mary: Amor Fidelis. In Memoriam: Charles Irwin Strickland My father (1947-2006) Through many delays, occasioned by a variety of hindrances, the detail of which would be useless to the Reader, I have at length brought this part of my work to its conclusion; and now send it to the Public, not without a measure of anxiety; for though perfectly satisfied with the purity of my motives, and the simplicity of my intention, 1 am far from being pleased with the work itself. The wise and the learned will no doubt find many things defective, and perhaps some incorrect. Defects necessarily attach themselves to my plan: the perpetual endeavour to be as concise as possible, has, no doubt, in several cases produced obscurity. Whatever errors may be observed, must be attributed to my scantiness of knowledge, when compared with the learning and information necessary for the tolerable perfection of such a work.
    [Show full text]