This article grew out of a paper that was originally presented at a conference at Yale in November 2002 in honor of the late Charles Boxer. I would like to thank all of the conference participants who offered suggestions and feedback, especially Stuart Schwartz, Dauril Alden, Kenneth Maxwell, Joaquim Romero Magalhaes, and George Bryan Souza. In addition, I would like to thank the two anonymous scholars who reviewed this manuscript as well as my father Edwin Myrup and my wife Cheryl Myrup for their keen editorial insights and conceptual suggestions.

1. The story of these two municipal councils and their proposals for colonial administration in Amazonia can also be found in Myrup, Erik Lars, “Governar a distancia: O Brasil na composiçào do Conselho Ultramarino, 1642–1833,” in O Brasil no imperio marítimo portugués, ed. Schwartz, Stuart B. and Myrup, Erik Lars (Bauru, Sao Paulo: EDUSC, 2009), pp. 263–298,Google Scholar which also includes some of the subsequent statistical discussions included in this article.

2. “Copia da proposta que offeresi nas Reaes maos de S. Magestade em 9 de Fevereyro de 1724,” Biblioteca Pública e Arquivo Distrital de Évora, Évora, Portugal (hereafter abbreviated ΒΡΕ), cxv/2-13, fT. 169r-170v; and “Extratto dos Pontos, que Conthem as Providensias, que os Povos do Maranhào e Para em suas Propostas Requeren) a S.Μ.,” ΒΡΕ, cxv/2-13, ff. 183r-191v. Unless indicated otherwise, the translations included in this article are my own.

3. Biographical details on the life of Paulo da Silva Nuncs and his crusade against the Jesuits are compiled in various sources, including Boxer, C.R., The Golden Age of Brazil, 1695-1750 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1962), pp. 287–289 Google Scholar (which contains the quotation by Silva Nunes on Brazil’s indigenous inhabitants); Alden, Dauril, The Making of an Enterprise: The Society of Jesus in Portugal, its Empire, and Beyond, 1540–1750 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), pp. 495–505;Google Scholar and Azevedo, J. Lucio de, Os jesuítas no Grào-Parâ, 2nd cd. (Coimbra: Imprcnsa da Universİdade, 1930), pp. 192–226.Google Scholar Silva Nuncs’ denunciation of the Overseas Council is found in a manuscript in Évora: “Traslado das duas Propostas das Cámaras das Cidades de S. Luiz do Maranhào, e Santa Maria de Belem do Grào Parà, BPE, cxv/2-13, f. 156r.

4. More than three decades ago, Stuart Schwartz discussed the council’s role in Portugal’s larger bureaucracy, highlighting the fact that its history has largely been neglected, an observation that was also made in the early work of Dauril Alden. See Schwartz, Stuart B. Sovereignty and Society in Colonial Brazil: the High Court of Bahia and its Judges, 1609–1751 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), pp. 240–241;Google Scholar and Alden, Dauril, Royal Government in Colonial Brazil (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968), p. 10, n. 24.Google Scholar Recent scholarship has attempted to correct this problem. To date, the most comprehensive introduction to the council’s history can be found in Myrup, Erik Lars, “To Rule from Afar: The Overseas Council and the Making of the Brazilian West, 1642–1807” (Ph.D. thesis, Yale University, 2006).Google Scholar Other recent scholarship which focuses specifically on the council includes Barros, Edval de Souza, Negocios de tanta importancia: O Conseibo Ultramarino e a disputa pela conduçào da guerra no Atlántico e no Indico (1643–1661) (Lisboa: CHAM, 2008),Google Scholar which treats the first two decades of the council’s existence; Brites Moita, Susana da Nóbrega, “O Con-selho Ultramarino e o Brasil (1750-1777)” (M.A. thesis, Universidade de Lisboa, 2002);Google Scholar and Monteiro, Ana Rita Amaro, Legislaçâo e actos de posse do Conselho Ultramarino, 1642–1830 (Porto: Universidade Portucalcnsc, 1997).Google Scholar Article-length treatments of the tribunal’s surviving archives can be found in Matos Reis, Gilson Sergio, “Conselho Ultramarino,” in Documentos manuscritos avttlsos da Capitanía de Sào Paulo (1644–1830), 2 vols., edited by Andrade Arruda, Jose Jobson de, Bellotto, Heloisa Libcralli, and Matos Reis, Gilson Sergio (Bauru and Sào Paulo: EDUSC, FAPESP, IMESP, 2000), pp. 293–300;Google Scholar Matos Reis, Gilson Sergio, “O contexto de produçào das informaçôes de serviço: uma contribuiçào à diplomática colonial luso-brasileira,” in Catálogo de documentos manuscritos avulsos da Secretaria do Conselho Ultramarino, 1642–1833, ed. Matos Reis, Gilson Sérgio (Rio de Janeiro and Lisboa: Nòrdica, Real Gabinete Portugués de Lcitura, and Fundaçào Calouste Gulbenkìan, 2003), pp. 287–296;Google Scholar and Stntra Martinheira, José Joaquim, Catálogo dos códices do fundo do Conseibo Ultramarino relativos ao Brasil existentes no Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Rio de Janeiro and Lisboa: Real Gabinete Portugués de Leitura and Fundaçào Calouste Gulbenkian, 2001), pp. 27–38.Google Scholar In large part, these recent works build upon a short pamphlet that Marcelo Caetano published in 1943 to celebrate the tercentenary of the Overseas Council. Containing a number of early documents and preliminary lists of council members, Caetano’s pamphlet served as a brief introduction to the tribunal’s early history and was subsequently replaced by an expanded pamphlet a generation later. See Caetano, Marcelo, Do Conselho Ultramarino ao Conselho do Imperio (Lisboa: Agencia Geral das Colónias, 1943), pp. 23–38;Google Scholar and Caetano, Marcelo, O Conselho Ultramarino: esboço da sua historia (Lisboa: Agencia Geral do Ultramar, 1967).Google Scholar Caetano’s original pamphlet served as the major source for C.R. Boxer’s brief treatment of the council’s early history in Salvador de Sá and the Struggle for Brazil and Angola, 1602–1686 (London: Athlone Press, 1952), pp. 160–163, 214–222, until recendy, the only major treatment of the tribunal’s history available in English.

5. Russcll-Wood, A.J.R., “Centers and Peripheries in the Luso-Brazilian World, 1500–1808,” in Negotiated Empires: Centers and Peripheries in the Americas, 1500–1820, ed. Daniels, Christine and Kennedy, Michael V. (New York and London: Routledge, 2002), pp. 105–142.Google Scholar Antonio Manuel Hcspanha makes a similar point in his work on the inter-relationship between the center and periphery of Portugal’s overseas empire, arguing that the institutional structure of Portuguese bureaucracy was neither rigid, nor homogenous, nor centralized. See Hespanha, Antonio Manuel, “A consti-tuiçào do Imperio portugués. Revisào de alguns enviesamentos correntes,” in O Amigo Regime nos trópicos: a dinàmica imperial portuguesa (séculos XVl-XVHl), ed. Fragoso, Joào, Baptista Bicalho, Maria Fernanda, and Fatima Silva, Maria de (Rio de Janeiro: Civilizaçâo Brasileira, 2001), pp. 163–188.Google Scholar For a recent treatment of this subject in the case of Spanish America, see Rosenmüller, Christoph, Patrons, Partisans, and Palace Intrigues: The Court Society of Colonial Mexico, 1702–1710 (Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 2008), 53–78.Google Scholar

6. Transcriptions of the statutes creating both the Indies Council and the Overseas Council are included in Caetano, Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 113-123. In response to a December 1643 query on how the Overseas Council and the Council of Treasury should share official correspondence, Dom Joào IV counters with a question of his own: “Does the council know what took place in the old Indies Council in this regard?” Similarly, in February 1645 the Overseas Council requested permission to consult the archives of the Indies Council in order to resolve a jurisdictional dispute. See Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei, Lisboa, 19 December 1643, Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, Lisbon, Portugal (hereafter abbreviated AHU), Fundo Conselho Ultramarino, Série Conselho Ultramarino (hereafter abbreviated Fundo CU, Scric CU), Cx. 1, Doc. 4; and Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei, Lisboa, 6 February 1645, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 13, respectively.

7. Araújo’s father, Afonso Coutinho, was named porter of the Indies Council in 1604. He was replaced by his son (the petitioner) who served until the council’s demise in May 1614, as contained in Requerimento do porteiro da cámara, Alvaro de Araújo, ao rei, 4 December 1643, Lisboa, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 3.

8. As the highest court in the land, the Desembargo do Paço was responsible for the administration of royal justice across the Luso-Brazilian world, including the appointment of overseas judges and magistrates. In like manner, the Council of Treasury oversaw overseas financial matters, and the Board of Conscience and Orders—an ecclesiastical body that was supposed to act as the king’s conscience—oversaw overseas ecclesiastical affairs.

9. The most comprehensive work on the Indies Council is Francisco Paulo Mendes da Luz, O Conselho da Ìndia (Lisboa: Agencia Gérai do Ultramar, 1952). Additionally, its history is briefly treated in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 31–35,Google Scholar and Hespanha, António Manuel, Historia de Portugal moderno: político e institucional (Lisboa: Universidade Aberra, 1992), pp. 240–243.Google Scholar

10. A discussion of the significance of the Overseas Council’s name is found in Caetano, Conselho Ultramarino, p. 41. The growing importance of Brazil in Portugal’s larger imperial priorities during both the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has been treated in a variety of works, including Russe 11-Wood, “Centers and Peripheries,” pp. 105–109; and Timothy Coates, “Viewpoints on the Timing of Brazil’s Primacy in the Early Modern Portuguese World,” Portuguese Studies Review 7:2 (Spring/Summer 2000), pp. 54–68. It is intriguing to note that the members of the Overseas Council were very much aware of Brazil’s growing importance in both strategic and practical ways. As the eminent his-torian Charles Boxer once noted, profits from the Brazil trade not only sustained Portugal in its lengdiy war for independence against Spain İn the mid-seventeenth century, but also funded the council’s everyday needs: “Even the ink and the green baize table-cloth used by the Conselho Ultramarino … at its routine meetings were paid for, like its porter’s salary, from revenue earmarked in Brazil.” See Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, p. 8.Google Scholar

11. Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 42–43;Google Scholar and Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, pp. 160–163.Google Scholar

12. This practice is briefly described in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 45, 119;Google Scholar and Boxer, Salvador de Sá, pp. 160–163.Google Scholar Nearly thirty years after the council’s initial creation, a royal decree amended the tribunal’s original statutes, specifying that the council’s presidency should be completely independent of the Treasury’s Repartiçâo da India, as contained in “Copia do Decreto por q S. Mag.de mandou declarar ao Cons.o Ultramarino q se haviào por derogados alguns capitolos do Regim.to do d.to Cons.o,” Lisboa, 29 January 1671, Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra (hereafter abbreviated BGUC), MS 442, iT. 114r-I I5r.

13. Descended from the early privy councils of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Council of State had a very old pedigree (though it did not, in fact, formally come into existence until sometime around 1562). Next to the crown itself, the Council of State held precedence over the rest of Portugal’s conciliar bureaucracy and was responsible for approving important recommendations, decisions, and appointments made by the crown’s other tribunals.

14. Between 1642 and 1833, 146 individuals actively served on the Overseas Council, including 84 letrados (lawyers), 48 councilors of capa e espada (aristocrats), and 15 presidents (including an aristocrat who served on the tribunal twice: first as a councilor and second as a president). This and subsequent demographic discussions on the makeup and careers of the members of the Overseas Council is based on an analysis of more than 3000 archival references to the individuals who served on this body. I have particularly drawn on biographical material contained in the Chancelarias Regias (Doaçöes) and Resisto Geral de Mercés İn the Instituto dos Arquivos Nacionais/Torre do Tombo (1AN/TT) in Lisbon, Portugal, with additional source material coming from other manuscript collections in Portugal, Brazil, and Macau, S.A.R., China. In Portugal, these included the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (BNP), the Biblioteca da Ajuda (ΒΑ), the Biblioteca Pública e Arquivo Distrital de Évora (ΒΡΕ), the Biblioteca Municipal do Porto (BMP), the Biblioteca Gcral da Universidade de Coimbra (BGUC); in Brazil, the Biblioteca Nacional do Rio de Janeiro (BNRJ), the Arquivo Nacional in Rio de Janeiro (ANRJ), the Arquivo do Estado de Sao Paulo (AESP), the Arquivo Histórico Estadual de Goiás (AHEG), and the Arquivo Público de Mato Grosso (APMT); and in Macau, the Arquivo Histórico de Macau (AHM). Other relevant material was also found in printed primary and secondary sources.

15. Biographical and genealogical information on the 1st Duke of Cadaval and his children can be found in Memorias históricas e genealógicas dos grandes de Portugal, 4th ed. (Lisboa: Arquivo Histórico de Portugal, 1933), pp. 23-24. The reference to his familial relationship to the crown is contained in Carta Regia to Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira de Melo, Lisboa, 8 August 1645, LAN/Γ Γ, Chan. Dom Joào ÎV, DoaçÖes, li v. 3, ff. 223r-223v, though, as noted above, the actual relationship(s) were far more complex.

16. Stuart Schwartz discusses the practice of bringing together letrados and aristocrats to serve on governing councils in his early work on the High Court of Bahia. See Schwartz, , Sovereignty and Society, pp. 69–70.Google Scholar

17. In his work on the Conselho da Ìndia, Mendes da Luz discusses ecclesiastical influences on early councils. See Luz, Mendcs da, Conselho da Ìndia, pp. 13–17.Google Scholar The reference to Saint Paul is taken from 1 Corinthians 12: 14, 21 (KJV).

18. Cited in Schwartz, , Sovereignty and Society, p. 69.Google Scholar

19. The military career of the councilor in question, Dom Filipe de Moura, is recounted in Carta Règia to Dom Filipe de Moura, Madrid, 28 February 1638, 1AN/TT, Chan. Dom Filipe III, Doaçöes, liv. 36, f. 25r. Additional biographical details on his life can be found in Dutra, Francis A. “Sodomy and the Portuguese Nobility: The Case of Dom Filipe de Moura and His Circle,” in Pelo Vaso Traseiro: Sodomy and Sodomites in Luso-Brazilian History, ed. Johnson, Harold and Dutra, Francis A. (Tucson: Fenestra Books, 2006), pp. 168–170.Google Scholar In addition to Moura, other councilors with particular military experience during this period included Dom Jorge de Mascarenhas who had served in military capacities İn northern Africa and Brazil; Jorge de Albuquerque, Jorge de Castilho, Francisco de Vasconcelos da Cünha, and José Pinto Pereira, who had all been soldiers or sea captains in India and Asia; and Salvador Correia de Sá e Benavides who had been an Indian fighter in southern Brazil and Paraguay and subsequently led various military campaigns against the Dutch in Brazil and Africa. The military backgrounds of early councilors arc recounted in various sources. Recent works on Dom Jorge de Mascarenhas include White, Lorraine “Agents of Empire and Family: The Mascarenhas Family and the Estado da India in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries,” in O Estado da Ìndia e os desafios europeus. Actas do XII Seminàrio Internacional de Historia Indo-Portuguesa, ed. Costa, Joào Paulo Oliveira e and Gaspar Rodrigues, Vítor Luís (Lisboa: CHAM, 2010), pp. 235–244;Google Scholar and White, Lorraine, “The Marqués de Montalvào (1579?-1652) and Changing Traditions of Service in Portugal and the Portuguese Empire,” Portuguese Studies Review 12:2 (2004–2005), pp. 63–68.Google Scholar A short biographical treatment of José Pinto Pereira ’s overseas career can be found in Boxer, C.R, “José Pinto Pereira, Vedor da Fazcnda Geral da Ìndia e Conselheiro Ultramarino del Rei Dom Joào IV,” Anais da Academia Portuguesa de Historia 7 (1942), pp. 75–118;Google Scholar and the important strategic and military role played by Salvador Correia de Sá in the Portuguese Atlantic is recounted in Boxer, Salvador de Sá, pp. 177-214, 249-268. Additionally, the military service by other relevant councilors is recounted in various archival sources, including Alvará to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 10 March 1644, I AN/IT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 7, f. 13r; Alvará to Jorge de Castilho, Lisboa, 16 September 1634, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Filippe III, Doaçöes, liv. 32, f. 217r; and Alvará to Francisco de Vasconcelos da Cünha, Lisboa, 25 February 1651, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 20, f. 82r; among others.

20. Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 119–124.Google Scholar

21. The increasing prestige associated with the High Court of Bahia is discussed in Schwartz, , Sovereignty and Society, p. 294.Google Scholar The practice of naming the chancellors of the High Courts of Rio de Janeiro and Goa to serve as members of the council is mentioned in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, p. 50 Google Scholar (though Caetano incorrectly asserts that the practice did not begin until the mid-eighteenth century and also neglects to mention the High Court of Bahia in this regard). See note 14.

22. Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 119–124.Google Scholar

23. Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Alonso VI, Lisboa, 28 February 1662, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 38.

24. See the transcription of the council’s original statutes in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, p. 119.Google Scholar

25. As can be seen, the career patterns of letrados who served on the Overseas Council closely mirror those observed by Stuart Schwartz in his study of the magistrates who served on the High Court of Bahia. See Schwartz, , Sovereignty and Society, pp. 15, 294, 299, 300, 308.Google Scholar

26. Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, pp. 163, 217–218.Google Scholar

27. The council’s petition for bonuses (propinas) for its porters is found in a consulta from December 1644. Before attending the Overseas Council, the two porters were formerly employed by the Council of Treasury's Repartiçào da India—where they presumably had become accustomed to the requested bonuses described here. See Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa 14 December 1644, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 11. The petition to pay the councilors their bonuses (propinas) in kind is found in Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei [Dom Afonso VI], Lisboa, 20 December 1659, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 32. Finally, the council’s request for processional candles (dated May 4, 1648) occurs shortly after the birth of Dom Pedro II (April 26, 1648). The request is found in a series of consultas that concern the council’s privileges and expenses. Accompanying this request are similar consultas (dated August 11, 1648, and June 18,1649, respectively) in which the council writes that İt urgently needs to raise income in order to endow its offices with the same benefits (propinas) enjoyed by the councilors of the Treasury. Among other recommendations, the overseas councilors suggest that they be allowed to collect income abroad for this purpose İn the same manner that the Treasury collected income at home: sequestering the goods and properties of convicted criminals. All of these latter references (with separate dates) are found İn the Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 18 June 1649, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 20.

28. An excellent introduction to Portugal’s larger bureaucracy during this period can be found in Cardini, Pedro, “A Casa Real e os órgàos centrais de governo no Portugal da segunda metade de seiscentos,” Tempo: Revista do Departamento de Historia da UFF 7 (Julho 2002), pp. 13–57.Google Scholar For a discussion of the interrelationships between these different bodies, see Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, pp. 155–165.Google Scholar Additionally, a more detailed treatment of the subject can be found in Salgado, Graça, ed., Fiscais e meirinhos: A administraçào no Brasil Colonial (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Nova Fronteira, 1985).Google Scholar

29. The instructions reserving the presidency of the Overseas Council for the treasury councilor who presided over the Repartiçào da Ìndia are found in the council’s original statutes. See Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, p. 119.Google Scholar In spite of these instructions, the practice of combining the two offices was only followed in the case of the council’s first two presidents: Dom Jorge de Mascarenhas (1st Marquis of Montalvâo) and Francisco de Faro e Noronha (7th Count of Odemira). See note 12.

30. Regimentó (còpia do capítulo 9°) do Conselho Ultramarino, Lisboa, [14 July 1642], AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 1. This is also mentioned by both Caetano and Boxer in their work on the Overseas Council. See Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, p. 45;Google Scholar and Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, p. 160.Google Scholar

31. The case of the Treasury’s pages can help to illustrate this practice. In 1643, the Treasury employed eight pages who ran errands and assisted its councilors in lesser assignments. Four were assigned to exercise their offices in the body’s Repartiçào do Reino, the section of the Treasury responsible for Portugal proper, and the other four, in the Treasury’s Repartiçào da Ìndia. Since nearly all of the responsibilities of the latter body had been transferred to the Overseas Council in 1643, the new council requested that two of the pages from the Repartiçào da Ìndia be reassigned the following year. The crown granted the request. See Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao reí Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 25 January 1644, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 7. In spite of this change, it is apparent that the office of page itself continued to pertain to the Council of Treasury. This can be illustrated by the case of Paulo Fernandes who was nominated to serve as page on more than forty different occasions between 1731 and 1752 (each time as a temporary six-month substitute for the office’s titular, who could not serve due to his precarious state of health). The documentation shows that each time Paulo Fernandes was named to serve as page on the Overseas Council, he first had to be nominated by the porter of the Repartiçào da ìndia. The nomination would then be made official by the Treasury itself (generally through the relevant comptroller of the Treasury) who would indicate that the nominee needed to pay a certain fee (direitos) and take an oath of office. Paulo Fernandes would then pay the required fee and take his oath—both at the Repartiçào da Ìndia and later in the offices of the Overseas Council. See various provimentos dating from 1731-1752 on file in AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 7.

32. Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 25 January 1644, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 7.

33. Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 9 May 1645, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 14.

34. The labor-sharing arrangement between the Overseas Council and the Council of Treasury was ended in March 1754 as part of a series of administrative reforms instituted during this period by the Marquis of Pombal. See “Copia do SS.ao duidecimo do Cap.o primeiro do Alvará da Regulaçào do Concelho Ultr.o,” Lisboa, 23 March 1754, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 7.

35. Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira de Melo (1st Duke of Cadaval), for example, served on the Council of State and the Council of War before being named president of the Overseas Council in 1670. After he finished his tenure on the Overseas Council, moreover, he subsequently served as president of the Desembargo do Paço. See note 14.

36. Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 20 October 1654, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 25.

37. The rise of a ministerial system in Portugal during the early eighteenth century can be traced in the first instance to the creation of a single office of Secretary of State (Secretaria de Estado) more than two hundred years before. Originally, the individual who held this office was a nonvoting member of the Council of State, responsible for insuring that the crown received recommendations and other papers generated by this tribunal. In time, the position would expand to involve the crown’s other tribunals, but the purpose of the office would remain largely unchanged. Over the course of the seventeenth century the Secretary of State acted as a go-between connecting the crown and the other members of the conciliar system. As a conduit to the crown, the office would become increasingly powerful with the passage of time. In this regard, its holders were initially able to influence royal policies by controlling the flow of information within the traditional conciliar system. Over the course of the eighteenth century, the office would be expanded and divided into multiple partitions (repartiçöes). See Cardim, , “A Casa Real,” pp. 13–57.Google Scholar

38. For references to early conflicts between Pombal and the Overseas Council see Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 51–52; Alden, Dauril, Royal Government in Colonial Brazil (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968), p. 10;Google Scholar and Azevedo, J. Lucio de, O Marques de Pombal e a sua época, 2nd ed. (Lisboa: Classica Editora, 1990), pp. 81–82.Google Scholar

39. Diogo de Mendonça Corte Real to Alvaro José Botelho, Belém (Lisboa), 19 February 1756, AHEG, Liv. 0007, f. 93r.

40. Diogo de Mendonça Corte Real to Dom Antonio Rolim de Moura Tavares, Belém (Lisboa), 2 June 1756, APMT, Lata: Dom Antonio Rolim de Moura Tavares, 1750–1758.

41. Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, for example, was named to a place on the Overseas Council in 1743, then subsequently promoted to the office of Secretary for the Navy and Overseas Territories in 1756. Relevant documentation on Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real's life and administrative career can be found in Carta Règia to Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, Lisboa, 23 September 1743, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joño V, liv. 17, f. 201v; Carta Regia to Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, Lisboa, 25 October 1743, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joâo V, liv. 34, f. 256r; Carta Regia to Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, Lisboa, 21 April 1758, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom José, liv. 6, f. 403r; Carta Regia to Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, Lisboa, 6 May 1758, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom José, liv. 6, f. 403r; and Carta Règia to Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real, Lisboa, 26 January 1759, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom José, liv. 13, f. 41 Ir. Relevant sources documenting the institutional relationships between the Overseas Council and the Secretary for the Navy and Overseas Territories include Alvará, Belém (Lisboa), 10 January 1757, APMT, Lata: Dom Antonio Rolim de Moura Tavares, 1750–1758; Carta Regia to [Dom Antonio Rolim de Moura Tavares], Belém (Lisboa), 15 January 1757, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, 1750–1758; Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real to Alvaro José Botclho, Belém (Lisboa), 21 January 1757, AHEG, Cod. Liv. 0007, f. 135r; Carta Règia to Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, Lisboa, 4 March 1757, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares; 1750–1758; Carta Règia to Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, Lisboa, 5 March 1757, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, 1750–1758; Carta Règia to the Provedor da Fazenda de Minas Gérais, 1757, Lisboa, 15 July 1757, BNRJ, 1–31,28,66; Tomé Joaquim da Costa Corte Real to Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, Belém (Lisboa), 15 July 1757, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares: 1750–1758; Alvará, Belém (Lisboa), 27 February 1758, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares: 1750–1758; Alvará, Belém (Lisboa), 8 October 1758, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares: 1750–1758; and Carta Règia to Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, Lisboa, 18 October 1758, APMT, Lata: Dom António Rolim de Moura Tavares, 1750–1758.

42. Carta Règia to António de Castro de Sande, Lisboa, 11 March 1699, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Pedro II, liv. 2, f. 452r.

43. Of the 17 letrados who served on the Overseas Council during the seventeenth century, 11 (64.7 percent) were drawn directly from the ranks of the Casa da Suplicaçào. See note 14.

44. Boxer briefly describes this practice in Salvador de Sá, pp. 157–158.

45. “Reposta [sic], q de ordem de S. Mag.c fes Fran.co Barrcto a huma consulta do Con.o VI tramarino em q se consultou ser convenient Revogar S. Mg.e a Lei do S.r Rey D. Ro o 2.o seu pai, q prohibe todo o genero de comercio aos Governadores,” Lisboa, 28 July 1711, ΒΑ, 51-IX-32, ff. 419r-425v, 427v.

46. The decree is transcribed in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramanno, pp. 125–126.Google Scholar See also Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, p. 162.Google Scholar

47. Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino ao rei Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 22 June 1654, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 24.

48. See note 14.

49. Ibid. The reference to the nickname of Frcitas Serrâo, José de, “rabo de vaca” (literally “cow’s tail”), is found in Schwartz, , Sovereignty and Society, pp. 323–325.Google Scholar Note that these (and subsequent) statistics reflect that the council drew upon individuals who frequently had overseas experience in multiple regions of the Portuguese world (e.g., Brazil and western Africa, Brazil and the Estado da Ìndia, etc.). In the case of the 23 councilors with overseas experience referred to here, five (21.7 percent) had previously served in multiple regions.

50. I have not included Alexandre de Gusmào İn these numbers. Although he was born İn Santos, Gusmào left Brazil while still very young, and I can find no indication that he ever returned there İn any sort of administrative capacity. In this regard, I am following the reasoning in Cortesào, Jaime, Alexandre de Gusmào e o Tratado de Madrid (1750), 5 vols. (Rio de Janeiro: Ministerio das Relaçöes Exteriores, Instituto Rio Branco, 1950–63), 11:1, pp. 325–326.Google Scholar

51. See note 14.

52. Ibid. The council’s growth during this period is all the more remarkable given Pombal’s rapid rise to power. See also note 38.

53. See note 25.

54. Between 1643 and 1700, for example, 34.8 percent of the46 overseas councilors called during this period had previously served in justice-related positions. Between 1701 and 1750, this percentage nearly doubles (to 65.5 percent) as the proportion of letrados on the council also doubles. See note 14.

55. Ibid.

56. Ibid. Note that these (and subsequent) statistics reflect that the council drew upon individuals who frequently had overseas experience in multiple capacities and locations across Brazil.

57. Examples of the multi-faceted nature of magisterial service are exemplified in the early careers of numerous overseas councilors. Particularly relevant examples, including those mentioned in the text above, can be found in Carta Règia to Miguel Nunes de Mesquita, [Lisboa], 5 September 1703, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Pedro II, liv. 11, f. 278r; Carta Règia to Joào Baptista Bavoni, Lisboa, 11 April 1725, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 16, f. 332r; Carta Règia to Tomé Gomes Moreira, Lisboa, 4 May 1735, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 7, f. 166v; Carta Règia to José Carvalho de Andrade, “Copia da Carta Regia para ser Governador interino como ser Coronel,” Ajuda, 15 April 1761, BGUC, MS 567, f. 253r; Carta Règia to Manuel Fonseca Brandao, Ajuda, 24 October 1761, AHEG, Cod. Liv. 0007, f. 201r; and Carta Règia to Manuel Fonseca Brandào, Ajuda, 25 October 1761, AHEG, Cod. Liv. 0007, ff. 203r–203v.

58. Moreira’s early academic career and subsequent exploits in India are recounted in Carta Règia to Tomé Gomes Morcira, Lisboa, 12 March 1715, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 7, f. 166r; Carta Règia to Tomé Gomes Moreira, Lisboa, 9 September 1728, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 7, f. 166r; and Carta Règia to Tomé Gomes Moreira, Lisboa, 4 May 1735, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 7, f. I66v (which includes the quotations above, and also refers to his temporary service on the Council of Treasury). Moreira’s subsequent appointment to the Overseas Council is found in Carta Règia to Tomé Gomes Moreira, Lisboa, 18 March 1738, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Joào V, liv. 7, f. 178v.

59. See note 14.

60. The responsibilities of governors and viceroys in colonial Brazil are treated at length in Alden, , Royal Government, pp. 421–494.Google Scholar

61. See note 14.

62. Joào Manuel de Melo to Dom Joào Pedro da Cámara, Vila Boa (Goiás), 30 June 1765, APMT, Lata: Joào Pedro da Cámara, 1765–1768.

63. Carta Regia to Dom Joào Pedro da Cámara, Lisboa, 7 January 1796, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dona Maria I, liv. 19, f. 339v.

64. Joào Manuel de Melo to Dom Joào Pedro da Cámara, Vila Boa (Goiás), 9 July 1768, APMT, Lata: Joào Pedro da Cámara, 1765–1768.

65. Dom Joâo Pedro da Câmara’s sister, Dona Leonor Josefa Caetana de Cámara, had married Dom António Alves da Cunha ( 1st Count of Cunha) who served as viceroy in Rio de Janeiro from 1763 to 1768 and thereafter as president of the Overseas Council for an extensive period (until his death in 1791 ). Similarly, Câmara’s uncle, Dom Antonio Rolim de Moura Tavares (1st Count of Azambuja) was simultaneously serving as governor of Bahia prior to his own appointment as viceroy of Brazil and then president of the Council of Treasury.

66. News of Melo’s death is recounted in various manuscript sources, including António José Cabrai de Almeida to Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, Vila Boa (Goiás), 19 August 1770, APMT, Lata: Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, 1770; and António Carlos Furtado de Mendonça to Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, Vila Boa (Goiás), 19 August 1770, APMT, Lata: Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho: 1770.

67. The statutes of the Overseas Council provides an ornate description of the tribunal’s chambers. See Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, p. 119.Google Scholar Intriguingly, descriptions by the councilors themselves were somewhat different. Writing to the crown in September 1666, the council’s six active members threatened that they would no longer use their quarters in the royal palace unless the crown provided funds for a major renovation. See Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 22 September 1666, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 50.

68. Over the course of the seventeenth century, the Overseas Council unsuccessfully petitioned the crown on many occasions to either lighten its workload or else provide additional functionaries to help carry on the tribunal’s responsibilities. See Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 9 May 1645, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 14; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 21 February 1657, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 30; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 26 January 1658, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc, 31; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 27 May 1661, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 36; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 17 September 1664, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 46; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 10 December 1664, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 47; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Pedro II, Lisboa, 14 December 1669, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 56; and Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Pedro II, Lisboa, 8 January 1676, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 62.

69. Carta Regia to António Carneiro Barbosa, Lisboa, 9 October 1704, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Pedro II, liv. 16, f. 117r.

70. Carta Règia to Luís Borges de Carvaiho, [Lisboa], 10 September 1749, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom JoàoV, liv. 31, f.513r.

71. Other councilors who temporarily returned to active overseas service following appointments to the Overseas Council include Salvador de Sá e Benavides, who served as governor of Rio dc Janeiro on two separate occasions after taking up a seat on the council in November 1644; Gregorio Pereira Fidalgo da Silva, a former magistrate on the High Court of Goa who left the council in March 1707 to investigate corruption in the High Court of Bahia; and Francisco Xavier de Assis Pacheco e Sampaio, a former ouvidor in Beja who was sent to Macau to serve as an ambassador to China shortly after joining the Overseas Council in October 1752. See also Boxer, , Salvador de Sá, p. 216.Google Scholar

72. The story of António Pais dc Sande’s exploits in Lisbon, Goa, and Rio de Janeiro is recounted in António Paes de Sandc e Castro, António Paes de Sande, “O grande governador” ([Lisboa]: Dİvisâo de Publicaçôcs e Biblioteca Agencia do Ultramar, 1951), as well as in various manuscript sources, including Carta Regia to António Pais de Sande, Lisboa, η.d., IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Afonso VI, Doaçöes, liv. 22, f. 93r; Carta Regia to Bernardini Freiré de Andrada, Lisboa, 16 January 1694, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Pedro II, Doaçöes, liv. 38, f. 364v; Carta Règia to António Pais de Sande, Lisboa, 2 April 1671, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Afonso VI, liv. 14, f. 50r; Carta Règia to António Pais de Sande, Lisboa, η.d., IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Afonso VI, Doaçöes, liv. 38, f. 256r; Carta Règia to Miguel Nunes de Mesquita, Lisboa, 20 March 1683, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Afonso VI, Doaçöes, liv. 51, f. 78r; Carta Règia to António Pais dc Sande, Lisboa, η.d., IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Pedro II, Doaçöes, liv. 50, f. 103v; António Luís Gonçalvcs da Cámara Coutinho to António Pais de Sande, ȌCarta para Antonio Paes dc Sandc cm q se lhe da a parabem do Gov.o do Rio de Janr.o,” Bahia, 1 July 1692, ΒΑ, Cod. 51-V-42, f. 12r; Carta Règia to Bernardini Freiré de Andrada, Lisboa, 16 January 1694, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Pedro II, Doaçöes, liv. 38, f. 364v; and Carta Règia to Manuel Ferreira Rebelo, [Lisboa], 18 January 1697, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Pedro II, liv. 1, f. 379r.

73. Charles Boxer briefly discusses the salary and prestige associated with governing councils in Salvador de Sá, pp. 216–217. Through the first hundred years of the council’s existence its presidents and councilors received an annual salary of400S000 and 3005000 réis, respectively—all paid in quarterly installments drawn from the accounts of the customs house (alfândega) in Lisbon. Members and functionaries of the Overseas Council also received various other monetary perks during special holidays and other important events, as described in Caetano, Conselho Ultramarino, p. 122; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 13 February 1661, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx.1, Doc. 35; Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, [Lisboa], [bef. 24 January 1663], AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 42; Dom Afonso VI to Conselho Ultramarino, Lisboa, July-October 1664, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 45; Conselho Ultramarino toDom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 27 September 1666, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 51;and Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Pedro II, Lisboa, 3 June 1670, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 57.

74. In this reference the council was writing to the crown to recommend one of its members for a vacancy in one of Portugal’s bishoprics. See Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Pedro II, Lisboa, 11 January 1672, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 60.

75. Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 7 June 1645, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 15.

76. The cartas issued to Jorge de Albuquerque were all created under the supervision of Afonso de Barros Cam-inha, the secretary of the Overseas Council. See Alvará to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 10 March 1644, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 7, f. 13r; Carta Règia to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 10 March 1644, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 7, f. 12v; Alvará to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 20 February 1645, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 13, f. 162r; Alvará to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 7 August 1645, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 13, f. 185v; Carta Règia to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 27 December 1645, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Torre do Tombo, liv. 9, f. 41 lr; and Carta Règia to Jorge de Albuquerque, Lisboa, 1 March 1646, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Joào IV, Doaçöes, liv. 19, f. 102. Some of the procedures that governed the receipt and processing of overseas petitions are briefly treated in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 48–49.Google Scholar

77. The importance of justice and justice-related matters in early modern Portugal are treated at length in Schwartz, Sovereignty and Society, pp. 3-8.

78. Dom Joào IV to the Conselho da Fazenda, “Decreto sobre os ministros nâo votarem em parente scu dentro do 4.o grao, nem criado scu p.a officio,” Lisboa, 4 May 1643, BGUC, MS 442, f. 121.

79. António Pais de Sande, a former secretary and councilor to the viceroy in Goa, was awarded a place on the Overseas Council in April 1671. See also note 72. It is intriguing to note that four years after his father’s death, António de Castro de Sande was also awarded a place on the Overseas Council. See Carta Règia to Antonio de Castro de Sande, Lisboa, 11 March 1699, IAN/TT, Reg. Geral Mercés, Dom Pedro II, liv. 2, f. 452r. The dispute between António de Castro de Sande and his fáther-in-law, José Vaz Freiré, is detailed in various manuscripts, including Alvará; to António de Castro de Sande, Lisboa, 22 February 1681, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Afonso VI, Doaçöes, liv. 33, f. 242v; and Carta Règia to António de Castro de Sande, Lisboa, 8 February 1675, IAN/TT, Chan. Dom Afonso VI, Doaçöes, liv. 42, f. 150v. See also note 42.

80. The council–s schedule and working environment are discussed in Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 48, 119.Google Scholar

81. The story of Luís Mcndes de Elvas’s exit from the council’s chamber is recounted in Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Afonso VI, Lisboa, 16 June 1662, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 41. Elvas apparently felt that his newly-appointed colleague, Francisco de Miranda Henriques, was not entitled to enjoy the seniority associated with his own place on the council.

82. It is interesting to note that the first record we haveof councilors, who were otherwise prohibited from voting, being required to leave the council chambers during relevant deliberations dates to January 1714—and even then each of their colleagues’ votes would have still been a matter of record. See Dom Joào V to Conselho da Fazcnda, “Decreto cm q se mandou q nenhum Ministro do cons.o asista nelle qd.o se tratar de negocio de algum seu Parente,” Lisboa, 11 January 1714, BGUC, MS 442, f. 160r.

83. The dispute revolved around the stewardship of ecclesiastical properties as contested by the councilor José Pinto Pereira and his relationGonçalo Brİto da Silva. Although it is impossible to know the whole truth of the affair, İt is intriguing to note that the council’s ultimate recommendation—that the crown delay its decision in the matter—was not altogether different than what Pereira had accomplished by “misplacing” the documents in the first place. See Conselho Ultramarino to Dom Joào IV, Lisboa, 14 June 1653, AHU, Fundo CU, Série CU, Cx. 1, Doc. 23.

84. Proverbs 11: 25 (KJV).

85. “Traslado das duas Propostas das Cámaras das Cİdades de S. Luiz do Maranhâo, e Santa Maria de Belem do Grào Para, que foram appresentadas a S. M. pelo Procurador das mesmas Cámaras, Paulo da Silva Nunes,” ΒΡΕ, cxv/2-13, f. 156r. See also note 3.

86. José da Silva Terra to Dona Maria I, Vila Bela (Mato Grosso), [ca. 1792], APMT, Lata: Joào de Albuquerque e Cáceres, 1792A.

87. Conselho Ultramarino to Dona Maria I, Lisboa, 20 November 1793, AHU, Fundo CU, Série Brasil-Mato Grosso, Cx. 30, Doc. 1679.

88. José da Silva Terra to Dona Maria I, Vila Bela (Mato Grosso), n.d. (c. 1792), APMT, Lata: Joào de Albuquerque e Cáceres, 1792A.

89. St. Matthew 7: 9–10 (KJV).

90. Alexandre de Gusmào to Dom Joào V, “Calculo sobre a perda do dinheiro do Reyno ofTerecido a El Rey D. Joào 5.o no anno de 1748 por Alexandre de Gusmào,” [Lisboa], 1748, Biblioteca Municipal de Elvas, Elvas, Portugal, Cod. MS V/107, ff. 13r-17v.

91. Secretario de Estado da Marinha e Ultramar (Joào Rodrigues de Sá e Melo) to Cámara de Macau, Rio de Janeiro, 20 February 1809, AHM, AH/LS/384, Doc. 3; Dom Fernando José de Portugal (2nd Marquis of Aguiar) to Cámara de Macau, Rio de Janeiro, 20 July 1810, AHM, AH/LS/384, Doc. 26; Dom Fernando José de Portugal (2nd Marquis of Aguiar) to Miguel de Arriaga Brum da Silveìra, Rio de Janeiro, 29 February 1816, AHM, AH/LS/385, f. 18r.

92. Secretario de Estado da Marinha e Ultramar (Joào Rodrigues de Sá e Melo) to Cámara de Macau, Rio de Janeiro, 17 Aprii 1809, AHM, AH/LS/384, Doc. 2.

93. Martinheira, , Catálogo dos códices, pp. 27–31.Google Scholar

94. Charles Boxer quotes Rodrigues da Costa and also provides a short biographical summary of his life in the Golden Age of Brazil, pp. 325, 367–368.

95. In his work, Caetano briefly describes the council’s end and additionally provides a transcription of the decree dissolving this administrative body on August 30, 1833. See Caetano, , Conselho Ultramarino, pp. 55, 143.Google Scholar