Moral Concerns About Fish Consumption in Brazil (16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries)

In letters, chronicles, and treatises written about Portuguese America between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, fauna and flora became recurring subjects, and in general, this territory came to be admired for the diversity of its natural world. Among the authors responsible for the narratives in Portuguese, there were a large number of Catholics who, amidst information about evangelizing missions and the construction of convents and churches, dedicated themselves to discussing the plants and animals sighted in the tropics. In this study, we will turn to the impressions of Catholic scholars about Brazilian fish. In addition to contemplating the descriptions and attempts of the Portuguese to understand native species, we will explore the moral concerns of priests, friars, and laymen about the consumption of certain fish during the periods of abstinence suggested by the Catholic Church. Thus, our aim is to address the recommendations, warnings and scruples of Catholic men that were attributed to manatees, turtles, tortoises and other species during the first centuries of Portuguese colonization.

KEYWORDS:
Portuguese America; Catholic Church; nature