The spiritual conquest of the sertões: the annexation of the captaincy of Piauí to the bishopric of Maranhão in the 18th century

Abstract

This article examines the process of expansion of the Catholic Church through the eastern hinterlands of the bishopric of Maranhão, territory of the Portuguese Amazon, in the 18th century. The objective is to explain the connections between the spiritual conquest of the territory, the population expansion and the dynamization of the region. Emphasis will be given to the spiritual government of D. Manuel da Cruz who, with express orders from the Crown, carried out the consolidation of the annexation of the captaincy of Piauí to the bishopric of Maranhão. The expansion to the east of the bishopric was part of a complex process of control of the territory by the Portuguese crown and involved the "conquest of the Indians" by the royal agents and the "spiritual conquest" by the agents of the Church commanded by the bishop of Maranhão.