Dom Frei Joaquim de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré: Trajetória em conexões atlânticas (1820-1830)

Abstract

In the 19th century, a revolutionary wave swept through the Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, leading to independence. The relocation of the Portuguese Court to Rio de Janeiro in 1808 changed the colonial landscape, eventually leading to the separation of Brazil from Portugal. In 1820, the Liberal Revolution of Porto demanded the return of King João VI and his Court to Portugal, reflecting the conflict of interests between the metropolis and the colony. Brazil’s independence in 1822 marked a break in this relationship, although some provinces, such as Maranhão, resisted joining. Bishop Dom Frei Joaquim de Nossa de Nazaré, president of the Maranhão Governing Junta, refused to support independence and acted against the province’s adhesion. In the 1830s, in Portugal, where he was then Bishop of Coimbra, this same cleric became involved in the dispute for the Portuguese throne between Dom Pedro and his brother Miguel, siding with the latter and with the interests of the Catholic Church. This bishop’s political and religious trajectory became evident amid the liberal revolutions and counterrevolutions of the 1820s and 1830s, revealing his participation on both sides of the Atlantic. Thus, the aim is to align micro-historical approaches with the theoretical fields of Connected History and Global History to uncover the contexts, actions, stances, and influences of this Catholic bishop. In this sense, the research object is guided by Jacques Revel’s analytical approach of “variation of scales” to understand the Brazilian, Portuguese, and Maranhense context of the 19th century. The analysis of the bishop’s political-religious trajectory offers a perspective on resistance to change and the defense of the status quo during a period of intense political and social transformations.