Pão, disciplina e trabalho: discursos do jesuíta Jorge Benci e as justificativas do cativeiro africano (segunda metade do século XVII)

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a brief history of the religious order known as the e Society of Jesus, and its members known as Jesuits or Ignatians, and their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and the ideological justifications on the legitimization of African captivity. The Jesuits played a significant role in various stages of the slave trade, from their involvement in slave trading to the spiritual guidance of slave and slave owners. The Company of Jesus was founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola and quickly became one of the most influential religious orders in the world, particularly in the Portuguese colonial empire. And analyzes the speeches of Father Jorge Benci, a Jesuit who wrote about the morality of slavery. Benci argued that slavery was a consequence of sin and that the desire for power and control over others was at the root of the practice. And he warned slave owners against excessive cruelty and argued that punishment should be applied with justice and proportionality in his work Christian Economics of Lords in the Government of Slaves.