Abstract:
The judiciary constituted an important element in the structure of the Portuguese empire, especially from a political point of view, because in addition to positions in the judicial structure, magistrates occupied various positions in councils and other administrative institutions. After the installation of the Joanine court in Rio de Janeiro, the number of magistracy posts in Portuguese America grew exponentially. Considering that magistrates were important actors in the processes that characterized the Old Regime crisis in Iberian America and during the independence process in Brazil, the objective of this article is to analyze some of the practices and speeches put up for debate by ombudsmen and judges who passed through Pernambuco between 1817 and 1822. We will discuss the role and importance attributed to magistrates in the events of that period and how they projected the importance of the function for the constitutional political structure that was opening.
Keywords:
Magistrates; Pernambuco (1817-1822); Independence of Brazil