Mecanismos de vigilância e controle social no bispado do Maranhão setecentista

Abstract

The dissertation analyzes, from the wanton of episcopal visits, the mechanisms of surveillance and social control in spatialities corresponding to the Bishopric of Maranhão in the 18th century. Through denunciations, crimes, defendants and witnesses, we demonstrate the rules used to prove this official inspection instrument that took place in the region. The research - of a theoretical and documental nature - aims to reveal some social and ethnic profiles of the time through the analysis of the wanton visits. Therefore, this research sought to contextualize the norms for conducting visits in colonial Maranhão, to present disciplinary sentences to those denounced during the visit and to discuss the records contained in the guilt terms of the visits. The results showed that the episcopal visits were a mechanism of surveillance, discipline and control, which exerted an imposing influence on customers who, in turn, reproduced these norms.