The Real Patronato of Indias and the Company of Jesus during the Philipino period (1580-1640). An initial analysis.

Abstract

The eclesiastical Patronato or Padroado Real was the cornerstone upon which the Castillian and Portuguese crowns built their power and government procedures in the Indies. In practice this left the Church under the strict control of its political power. However we can take notice how both monarchies interpreted this practice differently, mostly with regards to the role given to the Society of Jesus in Brazil and Peru. While the Society of Jesus reached Brazil quite early on, —in 1549— with the full and enthusiastic support of D. João III, in the Spanish case they barely arrived to the Viceroyalty of Peru in the year 1567, after overcoming strong opposition in the Castilian court with the profound mistrust of the monarch himself. It is not surprising to fi nd a strong contrast between the exuberant development that the Society of Jesus achieved in Brazil from the very moment of their arrival, and the fi rst very humble steps the Jesuits had in Peru. By the year 1580 Philip II becomes the monarch of Portugal and its colonies in a Philippine Kingdom that would last until 1640. In this paper we first analyze how this distinct exercise of the Real Patronato conditioned the Peruvian and Brazilian Jesuits to develop different roles in the period previous to the union between the two crowns and secondly how this event affected the Jesuits stationed in Brazil from this new period starting in the year 1580.