The article analyzes some of the institutional arrangements that the Portuguese royal family used to keep the loyalty of vassals who lived on the borders of the empire, specifically in the captaincy of Mato Grosso, in the second half of the eighteenth century. It emphasizes the importance of mercês (awards) for services to the Crown, which in that region concerned the defense of borders with Spanish dominions; explotation of river routes; implementation of an Indian policy by attracting Indians who lived between the two empires; and the consolidation of provinces at strategic points The hypothesis is that if the services and requests for Mercês served to press the central government, it was under the condition of introjection of wider objectives of the colonization by local sectors. Therefore, the royal family not only transferred to the settlers part of the costs with military defense of borders, but also controlled closely the individual initiatives of settlers who wished to explore the wildernesses, contact Indians and achieve social prestige.
honors and awards; military recruitment; colonial Mato Grosso; Portuguese colonial administration