Fronteira e instituição de capelas nas Minas, América portuguesa

Abstract

The economical and political opportunities promoted by capelanias in the border of Minas Gerais were disputed by landlords, as one can see by the troubled history of the creation of the parish of São Bento do Tamanduá. A group of friends and relatives from Minas Gerais created the chapel with economic interests in the west hinterland, route to Goiás. Gaspar Gondim was its appointed priest. He became an ally of the parties interested in the business of the route and actively defended the power of his parish. Gondim’s party strongly resisted any loss of power supported by the chapel administration. An institution in colonial Minas that shaped servile and civil behavior, the chapel also served as the first level of confrontation of the powerful.