A (literally meaning "judge from the outside" in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
) was a magistrate appointed by the King of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
to serve in the municipalities where the intervention of an impartial and unbiased judge - usually from outside of the town - was necessary. Often, the judges also assumed a political role, being appointed to preside over municipal councils (''
câmaras'') in order to provide some central control.
History
The office arose in Portugal in 1327, under King
Afonso IV
Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave ( pt, o Bravo, links=no), was King ...
, as a type of itinerant magistrate, appointed by the Crown. His main function was to ensure compliance with the
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
on behalf of the King. The authority of the was far superior to that of ordinary local judges.
The appointment of a was justified by the need for a truly free, impartial judge, brought in from outside of the town to guarantee fair trials judge. The position could not be exercised at the place of origin or habitual residence of the magistrate, nor were they allowed other links with the local population such as marriage or close friendship .
As part of the process of formation of the structure of the Portuguese State, the Crown invested in the strength of the municipalities and local authorities, in order to weaken the hold of feudal lords.
The final consolidation of the office was carried out by King
John III in 1532 who undertook a major centralization programme. By 1580, when the
Iberian Union
pt, União Ibérica
, conventional_long_name =Iberian Union
, common_name =
, year_start = 1580
, date_start = 25 August
, life_span = 1580–1640
, event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession
, event_end = Portuguese Restoration War
, ...
emerged with the reign of
Philip I of Portugal
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
(Philip II of Spain), there were more than fifty Portuguese municipalities governed by .
The office was also later created in the
Portuguese Overseas territories, specially in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. In the areas of difficult access and administration of Brazil, the office of was used as a means of control to prevent the adoption of measures conflicting with the interests of the Crown.
After the Restoration of the Independence, the Kingdom of Portugal concentrated all its effort in consolidating the newly recovered power, looking not to start unnecessary conflicts and Brazilian municipalities maintained their autonomy until the last years of the seventeenth century. The first in Brazil was appointed in 1696 in
Salvador, beginning a transition phase that would last for over a hundred years.
The office was abolished after the establishment of the Constitutional Monarchy and the resulting separation of the executive and judicial powers. The judicial functions of the former were assumed by {{lang, pt, juízes de direito (judges of law), who do not have any political or administrative functions.
Officials of the Kingdom of Portugal