Os membros da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco de Assis de Vila Rica : prestígio e poder nas Minas(século XVIII)

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyze the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi of Vila Rica, as an instrument of power and social prestige in Minas Setecentistas. We look at the documentation in order to characterize the occupants of the main positions in this association, and outline the dynamics of the Third Order and its main functions. Through researches in many documentary sources, we intend to cross the in formation about the members of the various director's boarders of the fraternal organization with several important positions in Vila, to detect the involvement of the brothers of the Order of St. Francis Third in key roles in the exercise of local politics.