The Capítulos of Gabriel Soares de Sousa: Court Politics, Jesuits, and the Exploration of Brazil

Gabriel Soares de Sousa is rightly famous for his Descriptive Treatise of Brazil, written in 1587, but few scholars have examined his lesser known work, the Capítulos de Gabriel Soares de Sousa Contra os Padres da Companhia de Jesus que Residem no Brasil. This study examines the contents of the Capítulos, and concludes that the traditional view of Soares as an angry and greedy man levying unfounded charges against the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is incorrect. Rather, the Capítulos were written, not on Soares's own initiative, but to please persons in the highest ranks of royal government. Soares wrote the Capítulos to play to the prejudices and agendas of the court of Phillip II so that Soares could earn the right to search the Brazilian hinterland for gold, silver, and precious stones. ************************ Matthew Racine is an independent scholar who received his Ph.D. in Portuguese History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the author of A Most Opulent Iliad: Expansion, Confrontation and Cooperation on the Southern Moroccan Frontier (1505-1542) .