Upward social mobility and professional career of the 18th century of Bahia judges

Abstract

The judicial sector became a strategic path taken by the colonial elites to distinguish and legitimize themselves within the social hierarchy of the Portuguese Empire. Belonging to a court was among the most coveted distinctions. The main objective of this article is to reflect on this process of upward social mobility based on the identification and analysis of the actions of the members of the eighteenth century Bahia elites in their search for access to the Portuguese magistrates' universe. The hierarchical distinction criteria used as a strategy for social ascension reached those born in the colony through the various possibilities allowed by an economy of mercy and materialized by the access to institutions such as the Holy Office or to a Military Order, but also by belonging to the Republic of Letters.

Keywords:
colonial Bahia; magistrature; economy of favors.