HONOR AND DISHONOR: the election of the almotacé judges and the social ascension in the Portuguese Ancien Régime

Abstract

Abstract: The almotaçaria was one of the most traditional and lasting positions of the Portuguese “Câmaras Municipais”, regulating markets, buildings and urban sanitary issues during the Ancien Régime. Originally reserved for the highest elite, named by the King, in the sixteenth century the occupation became elective, gradually devalued and began to be rejected. However, it remained valued by those who sought to acquire honor and distinction, playing the part of one of the main entry doors into the “local nobility”. This article analyzes the curious dialectic of this office which can be verified throughout almost the whole empire.

Keywords: Social rise. Almotaçaria. Portuguese city councils. Ancien Régime.