Inquisition and Protestantism in the colony: the case of José Antônio das Mercês, a heretic in Pombaline Brazil (1753-1762)
Inquisition, Protestantism, Catholicism, Colony Brazil
The work deals with the saga of a German who, arrived in Brazil in the middle of the 18th century, is compelled to hide his Protestant religious belonging. His movements with a view to getting involved with the Catholic world of the then Portuguese colony did not release him from the trial by the Tribunal of the Holy Office in Lisbon, to which he was submitted not before having been arrested and interrogated in two instances right here in Brazil. Based on the inquisitorial records, the author sets out to recover the steps of this character, revealing significant facets of society and the culture that he had to live and weave.