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Spatial Tactics and the Society of Jesus in Brazil and Ethiopia, C.1549-1640

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Spatial Tactics and the Society of Jesus in Brazil and Ethiopia, C.1549-1640 Spatial Tactics and the Society of Jesus in Brazil and Ethiopia, c.1549-1640 Emma Newman Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy Queen Mary University of London, Department of History February 2021 1 Statement of Originality I, Emma Newman, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Emma Newman Date: 26/06/20 2 Abstract This thesis employs theoretical principles of the ‘spatial turn’ to examine how Jesuits negotiated indigenous spaces, and created and managed their own, in Brazil and Ethiopia (c.1549-1640). It also seeks to understand the implications of the Jesuits’ spatial tactics for their approach towards Brazilian and Ethiopian alterity. This thesis engages with these two very different case studies in order to demonstrate firstly how considerations of ‘space’ – in its various iterations – were fundamental to the global outreach of the Society of Jesus, and secondly how explicitly the Society’s institutional ethos spatially informed their ‘ways of proceeding’ in both the Old World and the New. This thesis informs a deeper theoretical understanding of the Jesuits’ perception and use of space, and finds that spatial tactics were a conscious and essential missionary strategy in both Brazil and Ethiopia. The Jesuits had an abiding aversion to spaces they perceived as liminal or ambiguous, such as Brazil’s sertão or the contested and porous borders of Ethiopia’s ‘empire.’ This led to both pragmatic developments of ‘strongly-framed’ spaces whereby priests could exert greater control, and rhetorical renditions of native territory based upon a binary understanding of exclusive and inclusive space. Alongside practicality, the Jesuits’ use of spatial tactics was determined by a firm belief that hierarchical authority was key to achieving their desired evangelical aims. Their renditions of space were also rooted in concepts of institutional identity, namely, efforts to ‘edify’ the Society and contribute to the worldwide ‘union of souls.’ The Jesuits’ engagement with space did not allow them unfettered dominance over their relations with indigenous catechumens, however. Jesuits were often subject to processes beyond their sphere of influence and were forced to compromise in the face of unavoidable local conditions, a theme which this thesis also addresses. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 6 Maps and Illustrations ........................................................................................ 7 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 8 Problems and Issues: Comparison ................................................................................... 11 Spirituality and Conversion in Early-Modern Brazil and Ethiopia .................................. 14 A Note on Archival and Printed Sources ......................................................................... 18 Early Colonial Brazil: A Select Literature Review .......................................................... 20 The Jesuit Mission in Ethiopia, c.1555-1632: A Select Literature Review ....................... 32 A Note on Terminology ................................................................................................... 40 Chapter I: Methodology: A Spatial Theory Framework for the Jesuit Missions to Brazil and Ethiopia ...................................................................................... 45 In Defence of Space ......................................................................................................... 46 The Problem of Terminology .......................................................................................... 52 The Contribution of Spatial Theory to Studies of Alterity in Early-Modern Ethiopia and Brazil .............................................................................................................................. 56 Problematisation and the Practical Application of Theory .............................................. 59 Chapter II: Early Jesuit Conceptions and Renditions of the Brazilian Sertão, 1549-1558 ........................................................................................................ 62 The Texts in Context ........................................................................................................ 63 Issues with the Texts ........................................................................................................ 67 Fear and Desire: Colonial Ambitions and the Sertão as Liminal Space ........................... 69 Ministry in the Unknown: 1553-1558 ............................................................................... 79 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 91 4 Chapter III: The Aldeia System: Discipline, Meaningful Boundaries, and the Regulation of Indigenous Bodies in Brazil, c. 1549-1570 ................................ 93 The Desire for Discipline ................................................................................................. 94 Imprisonment and Detention? The Brazilian aldeia as Disciplinary Compound ............109 The Extent of the Jesuits’ Control ..................................................................................131 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................134 Chapter IV: Contesting Ethiopia’s ‘Empire’ in the Seventeenth Century ....... 137 A Note on the Authors and their Texts ............................................................................140 The Jesuit Concept of Ethiopian Political Territorialisation as ‘Empire’ ......................144 Prester John and the Jesuits .........................................................................................155 Identity, Alterity, and Spatialisation ..............................................................................160 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................177 Chapter V: Foundations of Faith: Alterity and the Spatiality of Religious Confessionalism in Ethiopia, 1603-1633 ........................................................ 180 The Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Täwaḥədo Orthodox Church ...............................183 Power, Authority, and Legitimacy ..................................................................................188 Cultural Memory and Making History ..........................................................................205 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................221 General Conclusions ...................................................................................... 224 Bibliography .................................................................................................. 232 Appendix ....................................................................................................... 249 Dramatis Personae ................................................................................................................ 249 5 Acknowledgements I am indebted to many people without whom the completion of this thesis would not have been possible. I would particularly like to thank my supervisors, Professor Kate Lowe and Dr Simon Layton, for providing me with guidance and advice throughout the research, writing, and revision process. Thanks must also go to Professor Giuseppe Marcocci, who generously invited me to Oxford to discuss my initial ideas on spatiality and otherness, and provided inspiration and clarity. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Miri Rubin, who took the time to look in when things got tough, and to Professor Kim Wagner and Dr Reuben Loffman, who provided invaluable suggestions during the final revision stages. I was honoured to be the first recipient of the Lisa Jardine Doctoral Award at Queen Mary University of London, which allowed me the financial freedom to pursue my long-held dream of completing a doctorate in Early Modern History. Generous funding from QMUL’s Postgraduate Research Fund also enabled my research trip to Rome, and a QMUL Language Bursary facilitated a much-needed intensive Portuguese language course in Lisbon. Thanks go to all those
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