During the early modern period, the brotherhoods of Misericórdia were established not only in the overseas territories ruled by the Portuguese, but also beyond their empire, reaching as far as the Philippines and Japan. The twelve chapters of this book examine this expansion by discussing different dimensions of the Misericórdias, such as administration, politics, charitable practices, finances, and forms of discrimination related to social status, gender, and race. Filling a critical gap in anglophone scholarship on the Portuguese Misericórdias, this work's previous absence has been criticized by scholars who believe the Misericórdias are crucial to understanding the past and present of Portuguese communities, both at home and abroad. Contributors are: Inês Amorim, José Pedro Paiva, Lisbeth Rodrigues, Sara Pinto, Juan O. Mesquida, Rômulo Ehalt, Joana Balsa de Pinho, Andreia Durães, Maria Antónia Lopes, Luciana Gandelman, Isabel dos Guimarães Sá, and Renato Franco.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Benito Perez Galdos is often called the Spanish Charles Dickens or the Spanish Balzac, and is one of the great European nineteenth-century novelists. Misericordia (1897) is set among the Madrid poor, and to give his novel authenticity Galdos spent many months studying the lives of the destitute and of professional beggars. The theme of the novel is the problem of goodness, embodied in the servant Benina, whose entire life is a struggle to keep the middle-class family she works for from sliding into poverty. Crushed by poverty or the weight of their pretensions, the high and low life of 19th century Madrid provides the cast for this enjoyably bleak portrait of a family's decline, fall and recovery. The widow Dona Francisca, reduced from salon to slum, is protected by her servant Benita, who begs and barters in a daily battle with starvation and her mistress's pride. When a sudden inheritance enriches the old crow, Benita is cast aside. Galdos's Spain teems with saints and sinners, corrupted as much by poverty as by wealth. -- The Sunday Times

Portuguese Colonial Cities in the Early Modern World is a collection of essays on the cities of the Portuguese empire written by the leading scholars in the field. The volume, like the empire it analyzes, has a global scope and a chronological span of three centuries. The contributions focus on the social, political, and economic aspects of city life in settlements as far apart as Rio de Janeiro, Mozambique Island, and Nagasaki. As well as sparking further comparisons between cities found within the Portuguese empire, this collection also raises important issues that will be of interest to historians of other European empires, as well as urban historians generally.

Some vols. include Report of the Society.

"Transcripts, Latin, including records of Romsley court written on Hales rolls, 1279-1307"--Texts and calendars / by E.L.C. Mullins.