ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to explain how Jesuit priests viewed land ownership, and lease revenues from land, during the almost two hundred years they inhabited Portuguese America. We postulate that the Jesuits brought to the tropics their European "land ownership mindset" but that, as a result of new experiences, they made certain choices and modulated their "land possession practices" in accordance to their land ownership rights, and the ownership rights of others. Our object is their long-term land leases. Given the existence of an extensive bibliography on Jesuits, it is possible to draw on the sources cited therein, which consist, essentially, of material from the Fondo Gesuítico in the Vatican's Jesuit archives, and from the Cartório Jesuítico, in the archives of the Tombo Tower in Lisbon, Portugal.
Keywords:
Jesuits; Portuguese America; property rights; long-term leases of land.