Paper short abstract:

This paper will address the question of the circulation of judicial agents between the different spaces of the Portuguese Empire during the 17th and 18th centuries. It will analyze and question the existence of an Atlantic network as well as describe how it developed throughout the period.

Paper long abstract:

The circulation of its agents is probably one of the distinctive characteristics of the Portuguese imperial experience. Justice officials, namely the magistrates, are part of this dynamic body of administration. In this paper we will try to develop some research lines that we have pursued in recent years, on the analysis of judicial careers and the way they weave a transatlantic network of circulation. As far as these agents are concerned, the specificity of the judicial field translates into a different geography of the Portuguese imperial spaces, with the creation of two different zones that hardly communicate: the Atlantic and the Indian worlds. By using methods of prosopography and network analysis, combined with cartography, we will propose a way of mapping this circulation, paying a special attention to the question of network evolution. In a reality that is extremely dynamic - with and extremely active creation of new judicial posts in colonial spaces - the chronological dimension plays a crucial role in achieving an accurate perception of how the system worked. The paper will, therefore, aim at identify both communicating and non-communicating points; define regularities and trends in the circulation; establish its chronology; and understanding the functioning of this administrative system.