Public Rituals in the Portuguese Empire, 1498–1822

Public Rituals charts the study of public rituals in the Portuguese Empire between 1498 and 1822 approximately, with a view to introducing both new and seasoned readers to the contexts, sources, problems and future opportunities of such a study.

Readers will gain a comprehensive understanding of how public rituals functioned within the polycentric Portuguese Empire through carefully curated case studies spanning multiple continents. Public Rituals in the Portuguese Empires responds to and considerably expands the scope and ambitions of the existing literature in the field. The book introduces both foundational contexts and cutting-edge scholarship, providing access to primary sources, methodological approaches, and critical problems in the field while identifying future research opportunities. By problematizing the expansive geographical reach of Portuguese imperial ceremonies, this edited collection expands significantly beyond existing literature to offer fresh perspectives on how rituals operated as instruments of governance, religious expression, and social cohesion across distant territories.

The book will appeal not only to scholars of the Portuguese empire or the Iberian world, but also to any reader interested in early modern public rituals or festival culture across several regions of the early modern world.