A Correspondência Jesuítica na construção de um novo mundo: evangelizar, classificar, informar (1553-1596)

• Ano de defesa: 2010
• Autor(a) principal: LIMA, Elda Cassia de
• Orientador(a): FREDRIGO, Fabiana de Souza
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Goiás
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Mestrado em História
• Departamento: Ciências Humanas
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Jesuítas; Evangelização; Correspondência; Alteridade
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Jesuits; Evangelization; correspondence; otherness
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS HUMANAS::HISTORIA
• Link de acesso: http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/tede/handle/tde/2308

The priests of the Society of Jesus arrived in Portuguese America in 1549. Arrived imbued with the idea of to convert souls who inhabited this region to Christianity. For the fulfill this mission, a long way would have to be traversed: the "sins", assimilated the customs of the autochthonous would have to be extinct and evil (identified in the figure of the devil who had migrated to the continent "newly discovered") excised. For analysis and critique of this process we will use of the epistolary José de Anchieta, pointing that, besides engaging in missionary work, the priests could not neglect the maintenance of the correspondence that took the information about the new world to Europe. The letters contained more than news regarding the situation of the Company in the Portuguese colony, were detailed accounts of the peculiarities and "oddities" of this new world and its beings, thus serving as a parameter to classify the Amerindian otherness and construction of the images would be outlined about this strange world to the Europeans and thus considered inferior. In this sense, the Jesuits classifiers can be considered agents of otherness, to the extent, they were pioneers in describing these beings stressing its negative aspects. The epistolary Anchietano is full of prejudices and the priest did not inhibit in pointing out what he regards as "defects" of the Americas: cannibalism, drinking, singing, parties, polygamy, nudity costumes are listed as heinous sins. Thus the legitimizing discourse of overseas enterprise is reinforced by the writings of the Jesuits who considered the urgent removal of these evils through preaching the message of the cross.