Everyday life in female religious communities in Évora and the presence of slaves: the boundary between the in-house and outdoor service in modern period

Abstract

Despite the existence of previous studies, both national and regional, studies that demonstrate a strong presence of slaves in Évora in the 15th and 16th centuries, locating them in documents from the city’s female religious communities and understanding their living conditions in those communities is not an easy task. Many of the references to their existence are indirect and related to a dowry or donation (being mentioned as assets with an assigned value), which could be associated with a will, a partition or a sentence. It is also difficult to ascertain the tasks they performed in the everyday life of cloistered communities, particularly the female ones, subject to the post-Tridentine requirements. Only by presenting a series of cases, other than the ones that are already known, will we be able to suggest considerations on this matter.