Crédito no mundo colonial: religião, costume e economia nas capitanias de Minas Gerais e do Maranhão - Século XVIII

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss strategies and practices adopted by the inhabitants of Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, and São Luis, Maranhão, to obtain credit. Throughout the 18% century the inhabitants of the mining region and of the cotton area used a common judicial strategy to stimulate trade and services, and to fulfill daily consumption needs: to give their word — in a written or oral form — under oath, through the “juramento d“alma”, which means, to swear upon one's soul.This practice foreseen the Portuguese customary law, was endorsed by the Ordenações Filipinas (Laws of King Phillip, 1603) and reaffirmed by the Constituições Primeiras do Arcebispado da Bahia (Constitution of the Archbishopric of Bahia, 1707). Even when challenged by contemporaries, this judicial practice became an important informal channel of access to credit for several levels of the population, demonstrating the close connections between economic relations, customs, and Christian religious morality in different regions of the Portuguese Empire during the 18º century. Key words: Strategies and practices, credit, 18! century, action of soul.