Episcopado e poder: a construção dos Impérios Ibéricos na Ásia da época moderna (1558-1668)

This dissertation analyses the role of bishops of eight dioceses created in Asia (Goa, Malacca, Macao and Funai and Manila, Cebu, Neuva Cáceres and Nueva Segovia) for the consolidation of the Royal Power of the Iberian crowns between 1558 and 1668. To deal with this issue, this thesis looks at the creation of bishoprics as part of the territorialisation strategies of the Iberian monarchies. It understands the episcopal appointments in the context of the so-called “economia de mercês” (i.e. a system based on the principle that kings used royal appointment to promote loyalty between them and their subjects). And it analysis the transfer of legal frameworks and ecclesiastical institutions, particularly the cathedrals and the parishes, from Europe to Asia. The chronological period includes two important milestones that had a major impact on the dimensions just mentioned. The first is related to the Iberian Union, when the Iberian crowns became subject to the same monarchs. The second is related to the foundation of Propaganda Fide in 1622, which corresponds to the affirmation of Rome's direct intervention in missionary areas, which was visible from very early on in the Estado da Índia. Using mostly documents from Portuguese, Spanish and Vatican archives, while taking advantage of the comparative perspective methods, I’ll argue that despite various limits, the episcopate was a central pillar in the consolidation of power of the Iberian monarchies, which were particularly dependent on the bishops in these regions, given the absence of many other structures that guaranteed the preservation of royal authority. It is in the tension between the project of consolidating authority and political dominance and the resistance and limits it faced that this thesis is developed.