The presence of the martyrs: Jesuit martyrdom and the Christianisation of Portuguese America

Abstract

Since the beginning of Christianity, martyrdom has been one of the most important means of communion between the Church militant and the Church triumphant. The 16th century and the first half of the 17th constitute a period in which it was especially in evidence, both in narratives that recall and comment on the martyrs of the earliest centuries, and also in accounts of events in Christian daily life. The constellation of victims of the religious disputes in Europe, readily considered martyrs by their coreligionists, is relatively well known; this article focuses on a less well known group of martyrs, who died in different situations, in the context of the worldwide navigation and colonisation of vast territories in Africa, Asia, and America. Special attention is paid to the meanings given to martyrdom in the encounter between Christians and Indians in Portuguese America, and most especially between Jesuit missionaries and Tupi groups.