Natie van Portugal
Item
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Country
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BE
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Name of institution (English)
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FelixArchief (Antwerp City Archives)
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Oudeleeuwenrui 29, 2000 Antwerp
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Contact information: phone number
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0032 33389411
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Contact information: email
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stadsarchief@antwerpen.be
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Reference number
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BE SA 175011
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Portuguese nation
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Title (official language of the state)
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Natie van Portugal
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Language of title
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dut
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Creator / accumulator
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Schepenenbank
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Date(s)
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1411/1751
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Language(s)
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dut
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fra
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spa
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Extent
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8 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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The Natie van Portugal collection is part of the Stadsbestuur (City Council) fonds. It comprises rich documentation on matters related to the inhabitants of Antwerp of Portuguese origin. This community included many New Christian merchants, and the collection comprises extensive information on their networks and properties in the city.
This collection includes seven censuses of the Portuguese population living in Antwerp from the 1570s to the 1660s, which were published by I. S. Révah (1963). It is the case of the lists of Portuguese people living in Antwerp in 1571 (book, fols. 103-103v) and 1591 (book 2, fols. 132-132v). The 1571 list refers to 85 Portuguese families and 17 individuals living in the city in 1571. Although there was a decrease in the number of Portuguese New Christians living in Antwerp since the end of the 16th century and early 17th century, a list of the Portuguese convened for the yearly election of the consuls in 1611 mentioned 75 names, mainly New Christians (book 2, fols. 184-185), such as members of the Ximenes, Veiga, Rodrigues de Paiva, and Andrada families. Another list from 1666 composed by the secretary of the Portuguese nation, Francisco Henriques, counted 38 men and 27 women (Révah, 1963, 145-147).
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Archival history
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In the 13th century, the city of Antwerp kept its documents in the Town Hal, in a chest about two meters long, named "privilegiekom". The chest had 13 locks, whose keys were distributed among the city officials, and it could only be opened with the 13 keys. The development of the city and the growing complexity of its administration resulted in an increase in the number of documents. Therefore, the "privilegiekom" became too small to store all records.
Prior to the French Revolution, the various city institutions headquartered in the Town Hall had the responsibility of keeping their own documents. However, in 1796, a city archivist was appointed to preserve and manage the archives. The city archive remained in the Town Hall until the first half of the 20th century. After that, the archive was moved to several different locations. During World War II, the most valuable documents were secured in a castle near Rochefort. In 1953, the archive was temporarily accommodated at Meirbrug. At last, on December 15, 1956, a new place in Venusstraat was inaugurated, and the city archives remained there for about 50 years. In 2006, the archive moved to the Sint-Felixpakhuis. Since then, it has been called the FelixArchief.
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(source: Felix-Archief website)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Schepenbank (Court of the Aldermen) was a court usually composed of seven members appointed by the "heer" (lord), under the chairmanship of the "schout" (sheriff), "drossaard" (landdrost) or "meier" (mayor), as the lord's representative. In some cities, as Antwerp, there were "dubbelheerlijkheden" (double lordships), whereby the lordship was divided between two lords, who often jointly appointed the members of the Schepenbank.
The presence of all "schepenen" (aldermen) was only required when pronouncing sentences in criminal cases. For other court hearings, the presence of five or two "schepenen" was sufficient.
That was the case of the Vrijwillige Rechtspraak (Voluntary Justice), which only demanded the presence of two "schepenen". It consisted of matters such as the registration of transfers of ownership, interest transactions, inheritances, etc. The "schepenen" also acted as guardians of orphans, and of mentally disabled or incapacitated people, and acted as protectors of their heritage and interests. They were also responsible for collecting the "belasting" (tax). For this specific task, they were assisted by "bedezetters" (tax officials) and "burgemeesters" (burgomasters).
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(source: Houtman, Erik. 2006. Overzicht van de Archieven En Verzamelingen van Het Rijksarchief Te Antwerpen. Vol. I (Overheidsarchieven). Brussels: Algemeen Rijksarchief.)
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Access points: persons, families
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Mendes Henriques, João
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Nunes de Beja, Álvaro
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Nunes de Évora, Manuel
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Pires, Diogo
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Pires Brandão, Jorge
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Nunes Ximenes, Rui
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Ximenes, Duarte
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Ximenes, Fernão
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Ximenes, Gonçalo
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Ximenes, Manuel
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Ximenes, Miguel
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Ximenes, Rodrigo
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System of arrangement
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The records are arranged chronologically.
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2022
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Bibliography
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Answaarden, Robert Van. 1991. Les portugais devant le Grand Conseil des Pays-Bas, 1460-1580. Paris: Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian. Centre Culturel Portugais.
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Frade, Florbela Veiga. 2006. “As Relações Económicas e Sociais Das Comunidades Sefarditas Portuguesas. O Trato e a Família: 1532-1632.” PhD dissertation, Lisbon: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa.
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Génard, Pierre. 1870. “Personen te Antwerpen in de XVIe eeuw, voor het «feit van religie» gerechtelijk vervolgt: lijst en ambtelijke bijhoorige stukken.” Antwerpsch Archievenblad / Bulletin des Archives d’Anvers 7.
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Goris, Jan Albert. Étude sur les colonies marchandes méridionales: (portugais, espagnols, italiens) à Anvers de 1488 à 1567. Louvain: Librairie Universitaire, 1925.
