BECERRA, ALVARO. Memorial dado a sua Magdad. a respeito do governo, epressiminencias da Santa Inquisicaõ, por Alvaro Beserra de Geral. Inquisicaõ

(INQUISITION)

circa

(Lisbon?)

1750

Manuscript in Portuguese. Brown ink on paper

In 1750, José I (1714-77) ascended to the throne of Portugal whereupon he came under the sway of his enlightened Prime Minister Pombal, who sought to convince the King to suppress the Office of the Inquisition and wrest the country from the control of the Jesuits and so bring Portugal in step with the rest of Europe and the Enlightenment. However the present manuscript memorandum to the King, tracing the history of the "Holy Inquisition" from its earliest inception, was evidently intended to tug at the religious sensibilities of the Catholic monarch and thus counteract the persuasion of Pombal