Processos de Habilitação de Genere et Moribus
Item
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Country
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BR
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Name of institution (English)
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São Paulo Metropolitan Archive
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Language of name of institution
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por
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Contact information: postal address
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Av. Nazaré 993, Ipiranga, São Paulo, SP 04262-100
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Contact information: phone number
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0055 (11) 2272 3644
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Contact information: email
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arquivo.curia.sp@terra.com.br
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Reference number
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Processos de Habilitação de Genere et Moribus
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Type of reference number
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Call number
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Title (English)
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Genere et Moribus Qualification Processes
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Title (official language of the state)
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Processos de Habilitação de Genere et Moribus
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Language of title
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lat
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por
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Creator / accumulator
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Diocese of São Paulo
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Date(s)
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1644/1938
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Language(s)
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lat
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por
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Extent
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2,366 documents
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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This collection comprises "inquirições de genere", which were mandatory inquiries that were made to prove the "purity of blood" (i.e. no Jewish ancestors) of someone who wanted access to certain offices and positions, including the priesthood. Different authorities were responsible for appointing judges who used to travel to a particular person's birthplace and then question witnesses about the person's family and public behaviour. Therefore, some of these inquiries refer to New Christians and show how some could hide their ancestry and overcome prohibitions due to their social connections and closeness to local elites. Some examples are the following:
Est. 1, gt. 1, no. 11: Inquiry "de genere" of Garcia Rodrigues, intended to allow him access to the priesthood. These inquiries began in São Paulo in 1662, where all witnesses declared that he had no Jewish ancestry. However, other documents show that Garcia Rodrigues was indeed a New Christian.
Est. 1, gt. 1, no. 83: Inquiry "de genere" of António Fernandes Soares in 1715. One of the witnesses told about a rumour that he had Jewish ancestry. The Fernandes family was an important family based in São Paulo, whose members managed to conceal their New Christian background.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Diocese of São Paulo was erected in 1745 from territories that were previously part of the bishopric of Rio de Janeiro.
The territories placed under the jurisdiction of São Paulo included the area that stretched as far as the present-day states of Rio Grande do Sul and southern Minas Gerais.
After 1745, the diocesan map of Brazil continued to be reformed, and new divisions gradually reduced the jurisdiction of the diocese of São Paulo.
On July 7, 1908, Pope Pius X (1835-1914) constituted the Ecclesiastical Province of São Paulo, with Botucatu, Campinas, Ribeirão Prêto, São Carlos do Pinhal, Taubaté, and Curitiba as suffragan bishoprics.
New changes took place in the 20th century, while the reform of the ecclesiastic organisation continued in Brazil. In fact, from 1908 to 1958, many dioceses were founded, which successfully changed the area of the bishopric of São Paulo and its ecclesiastic province.
A few relevant changes occurred in 1958, with the foundation of new Ecclesiastical Provinces. This process disconnected from São Paulo some of the dioceses that were part of its province.
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(source: Rodrigues, Maria Regina da Cunha. 1966. “As fontes primárias existentes no Arquivo da Cúria Metropolitana de São Paulo (Capital).” Revista de História 32 (66): 437–93. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9141.rh.1966.124428.)
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System of arrangement
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The archive is organised according to document type. Series are arranged chronologically.
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2023
