MUJERES, PECADO Y ESCÁNDALO PÚBLICO EN EL NORTE DE PORTUGAL A FINALES DEL ANTIGUO RÉGIMEN: LA COMARCA DE VILA REAL.

This paper studies female transgressions persecuted by ecclesiastical authorities at the end of the Ancient Regime in the region of Vila Real, in the Portuguese province of Trás-os-Montes, using as the main source of information the wealth of documents from the so-called «Visitas e Devassas» of the archbishopric of Braga. By systematically analyzing 8,395 accusations registered in the books between 1760 and 1818, a quantitative analysis is made in order to understand the intensity of the persecution of sins by the ecclesiastical authorities, its temporal evolution, the typology of the crimes committed, and their relationship with the marital status of the offenders. The paper attempts to relate these behaviours to the economic, social, and cultural structures of an eminently rural territory, and undertakes a comparative analysis with other Portuguese territories already studied. The information obtained points to a greater rigour in the surveillance of female deviance in comparison to male deviance and the preponderance of sins linked to sexual morality, especially concubinage, in which the prominence of unmarried women stands out. Likewise, the continuing importance of these transgressions at the end of the period shows the limitations of the disciplinary efforts in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]