Ìmpius fetus: The social mobility of illegitimates in the Arraial do Tejuco
Illegitimates. Catholic Ancien Regime. Social mobility. Arraial do Tejuco.
The purpose of this research is to analyze the strategies of sociability of children considered illegitimate, that is, coming from relationships not recognized by the Church, in the period 18th century. The Catholic societies of the old regime, shaped by the fear of God, had in the religious conduct something strongly relevant. In this sense, the context was governed by several canon laws that influenced the social dynamics of the peoples of Portuguese America. From then on, focusing on the Arraial do Tejuco, today Diamantina-MG, we will try to interpret how illegitimate children led their lives in this dogmatic space. The previous verification of a significant number of children with parents illegitimates, observed in baptismal records located in the Archdiocesan Curia of Diamantina, reveals that they were an expressive demographic group. Thus, one of the objectives of this work is to observe how illegitimates built reciprocal ties in their search for social insertion.