Constructing and contesting Portuguese difference in Colonial Spanish America, 1500-1650

Abstract

This article examines three overlapping yet distinct sites of accusation and contestation – apostasy, foreignness, and treason – in which the nature and degree of Portuguese difference was vigorously debated by Spaniards and Portuguese alike. In response to these diverse attacks, the Portuguese in Spanish America sought to establish their nativeness, loyalty, and orthodoxy though repeated public actions in service to the Crown, the Church, and their local community. By behaving as a native, a faithful vassal, and a pious Catholic, individual Portuguese were typically judged as such by their Spanish neighbors, despite the circulation of anti-Portuguese stereotypes throughout the Atlantic world.