The Diocese of Guarda during the Liberal Revolution of 1820

The members of the General and Extraordinary Courts of the Portuguese Nation, who began their work on January 26, 1821, influenced by the theories of enlightened despotism and regalism from the 18th century, and following the example of Spain under a liberal regime, sought to reaffirm the power of the State over the Church. They made the “religious question” one of the central themes of the ideological debate. This research project seeks to analyze how this issue affected the Diocese of Guarda during the time of the Constituent Cortes.

For this purpose, a description of the Diocese of Guarda at the time is being made, including the composition and revenues of the Mitra and the Chapter, the ecclesiastical structure of the Diocese, the revenues of the clergy from their parishes, the tithes of the Diocese from all parishes and their distribution among civil and ecclesiastical entities, the population of the entire Diocese by parish, the taxes paid by the clergy, and the charts and maps of the Diocese. This project is based on handwritten historical sources available in national archives, providing for the first time a clear and comprehensive view of the entire Diocese of Guarda and its parish clergy.

Funding: Municipality of Guarda and CEPESE

Coordination: Fernando de Sousa, Diogo Ferreira, and Bruno Rodrigues

Duration: 2021-2024