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Thesis Chapters by František Kalenda
Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source ... more Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source for Portuguese struggle to maintain the possession of Brazil in the 16th and early 17th century. This thesis, however, uses the chronicle to describe and analyze means of construction of the “Indians”, indigenous stereotypes and therefore particular Portuguese identity as understood by a Franciscan author. In its core lies question of the designed and imagined contrasts between the white, Portuguese religious friar and a dark-skinned, pagan and barbarous heathen as formulated in the terms of a concrete 17th century perspective but provided with comparative context. Understood in the terms of historical anthropology research, História do Brasil needs to be recognized as a principal Franciscan source that could potentially counter overall dependence on the Jesuit literature to study colonial Brazil.
Book Reviews by František Kalenda
Papers by František Kalenda
IBERO-AMERICANA PRAGENSIA, Dec 10, 2018
Urban People, 2021
This study examines the complex relationship between the Ultramontane Catholic Church and differe... more This study examines the complex relationship between the Ultramontane Catholic Church and different forms of modernity in the context of the Brazilian First Republic (1889-1930). While the adjective "modern" turned into a discursive weapon to label and reject all kinds of criticized phenomena in Brazilian society (from "modern" literature, arts, theatre, or dances to "modern"-meaning secular-education), the representatives of the Brazilian Ultramontanism fully embraced scientific arguments and the mantle of progress, even adapting to certain aspects of the ideology of modernity promoted by their liberal competitors.
IBERO-AMERICANA PRAGENSIA
Up to the present day, early Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil remain in the shadow of Soci... more Up to the present day, early Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil remain in the shadow of Society of Jesus – both because of small amount of relevant sources, and because of successful Jesuit propaganda. Same could be said about the relationship between missionaries and indigenous population, or „Indians“, as generally called by the Westerners. This article therefore seeks to give voice also to Franciscan perceptions and creation of image of the “other”, in this case being Brazilian indigenous peoples, based on early colonial chronicles of the order and in contrast with better studied Jesuit sources from the same period.
While Jesuit missions and missionary activities in early Colonial Brazil have been thoroughly stu... more While Jesuit missions and missionary activities in early Colonial Brazil have been thoroughly studied both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere, Franciscan missionaries hailing from the period leading up to the 1630 destruction of the Olinda Centre are often forgotten or left for the historians of the Franciscan Order to deal with. A striking lack of primary Franciscan period sources on the subject is partially responsible for this state; the vast majority of available Franciscan primary sources date from a much later period, to the 18th century. The completely preserved and not thoroughly studied História do Brasil by Vicente of Salvador, a Franciscan custodian and historiographer from 1630, is therefore a unique source of information on the Franciscan order in Brazil and its missionary activities in this Portuguese colony. Although missions and not even Vicente’s order itself are not in the epicentre of the chronicle, it contains both practical information on the Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil and, maybe even more importantly, a specific point of view on the meaning of missions to the indigenous population. Unlike his Jesuit contemporaries and Franciscan colleagues from a later period, Vicente of Salvador does not provide a particularly successful narrative of missionary activities, and remains rather sceptical about the potential of christianising “gentiles”. Instead, he sees indigenous Brazilians as widely incapable of becoming Christians, and favours force and even defends enslavement as an alternative to “peaceful” missions. These views, differing from the other contemporary Jesuit sources and the later Franciscan chroniclers, being much closer to the view of colonists, make his account even more fascinating and attention-worth.
Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source ... more Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source for Portuguese struggle to maintain the possession of Brazil in the 16th and early 17th century. This thesis, however, uses the chronicle to describe and analyze means of construction of the “Indians”, indigenous stereotypes and therefore particular Portuguese identity as understood by a Franciscan author. In its core lies question of the designed and imagined contrasts between the white, Portuguese religious friar and a dark-skinned, pagan and barbarous heathen as formulated in the terms of a concrete 17th century perspective but provided with comparative context. Understood in the terms of historical anthropology research, História do Brasil needs to be recognized as a principal Franciscan source that could potentially counter overall dependence on the Jesuit literature to study colonial Brazil.
Keywords: Brazil. Colonialism. Franciscans. Identity. Otherness.
Conference Presentations by František Kalenda
Small, international workshop on an important issue much discussed by the general public but not ... more Small, international workshop on an important issue much discussed by the general public but not so much by scholars. Organized in the hope of creating a network for further research and perhaps the foundation for a book.
Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source ... more Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source for Portuguese struggle to maintain the possession of Brazil in the 16th and early 17th century. This thesis, however, uses the chronicle to describe and analyze means of construction of the “Indians”, indigenous stereotypes and therefore particular Portuguese identity as understood by a Franciscan author. In its core lies question of the designed and imagined contrasts between the white, Portuguese religious friar and a dark-skinned, pagan and barbarous heathen as formulated in the terms of a concrete 17th century perspective but provided with comparative context. Understood in the terms of historical anthropology research, História do Brasil needs to be recognized as a principal Franciscan source that could potentially counter overall dependence on the Jesuit literature to study colonial Brazil.
IBERO-AMERICANA PRAGENSIA, Dec 10, 2018
Urban People, 2021
This study examines the complex relationship between the Ultramontane Catholic Church and differe... more This study examines the complex relationship between the Ultramontane Catholic Church and different forms of modernity in the context of the Brazilian First Republic (1889-1930). While the adjective "modern" turned into a discursive weapon to label and reject all kinds of criticized phenomena in Brazilian society (from "modern" literature, arts, theatre, or dances to "modern"-meaning secular-education), the representatives of the Brazilian Ultramontanism fully embraced scientific arguments and the mantle of progress, even adapting to certain aspects of the ideology of modernity promoted by their liberal competitors.
IBERO-AMERICANA PRAGENSIA
Up to the present day, early Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil remain in the shadow of Soci... more Up to the present day, early Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil remain in the shadow of Society of Jesus – both because of small amount of relevant sources, and because of successful Jesuit propaganda. Same could be said about the relationship between missionaries and indigenous population, or „Indians“, as generally called by the Westerners. This article therefore seeks to give voice also to Franciscan perceptions and creation of image of the “other”, in this case being Brazilian indigenous peoples, based on early colonial chronicles of the order and in contrast with better studied Jesuit sources from the same period.
While Jesuit missions and missionary activities in early Colonial Brazil have been thoroughly stu... more While Jesuit missions and missionary activities in early Colonial Brazil have been thoroughly studied both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere, Franciscan missionaries hailing from the period leading up to the 1630 destruction of the Olinda Centre are often forgotten or left for the historians of the Franciscan Order to deal with. A striking lack of primary Franciscan period sources on the subject is partially responsible for this state; the vast majority of available Franciscan primary sources date from a much later period, to the 18th century. The completely preserved and not thoroughly studied História do Brasil by Vicente of Salvador, a Franciscan custodian and historiographer from 1630, is therefore a unique source of information on the Franciscan order in Brazil and its missionary activities in this Portuguese colony. Although missions and not even Vicente’s order itself are not in the epicentre of the chronicle, it contains both practical information on the Franciscan activities on Brazilian soil and, maybe even more importantly, a specific point of view on the meaning of missions to the indigenous population. Unlike his Jesuit contemporaries and Franciscan colleagues from a later period, Vicente of Salvador does not provide a particularly successful narrative of missionary activities, and remains rather sceptical about the potential of christianising “gentiles”. Instead, he sees indigenous Brazilians as widely incapable of becoming Christians, and favours force and even defends enslavement as an alternative to “peaceful” missions. These views, differing from the other contemporary Jesuit sources and the later Franciscan chroniclers, being much closer to the view of colonists, make his account even more fascinating and attention-worth.
Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source ... more Vicente do Salvador’s well-known chronicle História do Brasil has often been studied as a source for Portuguese struggle to maintain the possession of Brazil in the 16th and early 17th century. This thesis, however, uses the chronicle to describe and analyze means of construction of the “Indians”, indigenous stereotypes and therefore particular Portuguese identity as understood by a Franciscan author. In its core lies question of the designed and imagined contrasts between the white, Portuguese religious friar and a dark-skinned, pagan and barbarous heathen as formulated in the terms of a concrete 17th century perspective but provided with comparative context. Understood in the terms of historical anthropology research, História do Brasil needs to be recognized as a principal Franciscan source that could potentially counter overall dependence on the Jesuit literature to study colonial Brazil.
Keywords: Brazil. Colonialism. Franciscans. Identity. Otherness.
Small, international workshop on an important issue much discussed by the general public but not ... more Small, international workshop on an important issue much discussed by the general public but not so much by scholars. Organized in the hope of creating a network for further research and perhaps the foundation for a book.