Family configurations and descendants of ‘New Christians’ in the metropolitan region of Sobral, Ceará

Abstract

The proposal for sociological analysis discussed in this article seeks in the underground of the historical past to recall the trajectory of New Christians who came to Brazil, at the beginning of Colonization, in the face of the institutionalization of the faith machine, and  was characterized by stigma and persecution against Jewish blood, being especially strengthened by a complex arrangement between the Portuguese Monarchy and the Court of the Iberian Holy Office. We know that we cannot recover things exactly as they once were, but we understand that elucidating an erased and neglected part of history represents a small andimportant step towards understanding the formation of Brazilian society,especially in the backlands of Ceará. In this way, the article aims to fill a gap in the historiography of Ceará regarding the New Christians and their descendants, since the 18th century period, leading up to the present day.