Ascetic Citizens: Religious Austerity and Political Crisis in Anglo-American Literature, 1681-1799, attends to a number of scenes of voluntary self-restraint in literary, political, and religious writings of the long eighteenth century, scenes that stage, what Alexis de Tocqueville calls, “daily small acts of self-denial” in the service of the nation. Existing studies of asceticism in Anglo-American culture during the period are extremely slim. Ascetic Citizens fills an important gap in the scholarship by re-framing religious practices of seclusion and self-denial as a broadly-defined set of civic practices that permeate the political, religious, and gender discourses of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Anglo-American culture. This thesis focuses on the transatlantic relevance of the ascetic citizen—a figure whose rhetorical utility derives from its capacity, as a marker of political and religious moderation, to deploy individual practices of religious austerity as a means of suturing extreme political binaries during times of political crisis. My conception of asceticism’s role in Anglo-American society is informed by an understanding of ascetic citizenship as a cluster of concepts and cultural practices linking the ascetic’s focus on bodily control to republican theories of political subjectivity. The notion that political membership presupposes a renunciation of personal liberties on the part of the individual citizen represents one of the key assumptions of ascetic citizenship. The future guarantee of individual political rights is ensured by present renunciations of self-interest. As such, the ascetic citizen functions according to the same economy by which the religious ascetic’s right to future eternal reward is ensured by present acts of pious self-abnegation. That is to say, republican political liberty is enabled by what we might call an ascetic prerequisite in which the voluntary self-sacrifice of civic rights guarantees the state’s protection of such rights from the infringements of one’s neighbour. While the abstemious nature of ascetic practice implies efficiency grounded in economic frugality, bodily self-restraint, and physical isolation, the ascetic citizen functions as the sanctioned perversion of a normative devotional practice that circumvents the division between profane self-interest and sacred disinterestedness. The relevance of ascetic citizenship to political culture is its political fluidity, its potential to exceed the ideological functions of the dominant culture while revealing the tension that exists between endorsement of, and dissent from, the civic norm. Counter-intuitively, the ascetic citizen’s practice is marked by a celebration of moderation, of the via media. Forging a space at the threshold between endorsement/dissent, the ascetic citizen maps the dialectic movement of cultural extremism, forging a rhetorically useful site of ascetic deferral characterized by the subject’s ascetic withdrawal from making critical decisions. Ascetic Citizens provides a detailed investigation of how eighteenth-century Anglo-American authors such as Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Hannah Webster Foster, and Charles Brockden Brown conceive of individual subjectivity as it exists in the pause or retired moment between competing political orders.

Bénéficiant d'une relative prospérité, la province de Braga, dans le nord-ouest du Portugal, qu'on appelle traditionnellement le Minho, a vu fleurir, dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle, un nombre assez considérable et relativement homogène d'œuvres d'art fortement inspirées par l'ornementation rocaille parisienne et augsbourgeoise mais d'une indéniable originalité et d'une remarquable qualité. Loin de l'image d'un art collectif, anonyme et traditionnel, ce «rococo minhote» tire sa vitalité d'individualités créatrices qui peuvent s'exprimer dans la continuité, grâce, d'une part, à la virtuosité de tailleurs de pierre et de sculpteurs sur bois sachant donner vie à leurs projets d'architecture et de retables les plus difficiles, et, d'autre part, à la rivalité de quelques commanditaires soucieux d'actualité et de qualité esthétiques encouragés à l'ostentation par la présence successive de deux archevêques de sang royal à la tête de la province. Aux figures déjà connues mais reconsidérées de l'amateur André Soares (1720-1769) et du moine sculpteur Frère José Vilaça (1731-1809), viennent se joindre, plus ou moins hypothétiquement, celles du père António Soares da Silva (1716-1770), du jeune Carlos Amarante (1748-1815), plus connu pour sa très classique église du Bom Jesus, du sculpteur António da Cunha Correia Vale et d'un anonyme «maître de Labruja», parmi d'autres artistes plus ou moins obscurs ou actifs. / In the second half of the Eighteenth Century, numerous works of art of outstanding quality and of great originality have been created in the province of Braga, traditionally known as Minho, in the North-West of Portugal. Influenced by Rococo prints and books from Paris and Augsburg, their creators could refine continuously their design thanks to the virtuosity of stone and wood carvers who were able to give life to their most difficult projects and thanks to the rivalry of some patrons who were interested by novelty and quality in art, encouraged by the religious rulers of the province, two Archbishops that were sons of successive Kings. The leading figures, André Soares (1720-1769) and the monk sculptor Brother José Vilaça, have been known since long time, but are reconsidered, and new figures emerge: Father António Soares da Silva (1716-1770), the elder brother of André; the young Carlos Amarante (1748-1815), better known for his classical Bom Jesus church; the sculptor António da Cunha Correia Vale; and an anonymous '"Master of Labruja", between more or less obscurs craftsmen and more or Jess actives artists.

This study examines an important eighteenth-century French querelle about literary education which has so far gone unacknowledged by scholars as a querelle and which, I argue, helped redefine contemporary notions of littérature. This querelle is the series of disputes about how to reform literary education in the collèges, which gathered momentum in the early 1760s, following the expulsion of the Jesuits and the publication of Rousseau's Émile (1762). I propose that we call this querelle the Querelle des collèges. Using a combination of close reading, sociological methodologies, and scholarly approaches to the study of early modern querelles, I examine how a diverse corpus of texts debated how to reform collège literary teaching practices. By resituating Émile in this context, I show that it was one among many interventions in the Querelle des collèges. My study of this Querelle demonstrates that querelleurs increasingly reached a consensus that practices associated with the disciplines of rhétorique and belles-lettres should be replaced by new practices of littérature, which were intended to turn boys into French 'grands hommes'. This Querelle was not only constituted by texts, but also by pedagogical practices, as evidenced by the results of my original archival research into the literary teaching practices of the École royale militaire, founded in 1751. Finally, my analysis situates the Querelle des collèges in the context of broader eighteenth-century debates about education, which I argue should be understood as the Querelle de l'éducation, and I provide the first corpus of this Querelle. This thesis challenges scholarly claims that littérature is a nineteenth-century invention. It argues, instead, that modern notions of littérature as 'an aesthetically pleasing, valued text', and 'a national canon', which began to appear in the late seventeenth century, were stabilised and legitimised by being written into the school discipline of littérature, which emerged between 1750 and the Revolution, in the context of the Querelle des collèges.

Italian artists working in eighteenth-century Britain played a significant role in the country's developing interest in the fine arts. The contributions of artists arriving before mid-century, including Pellegrini, Ricci, and Canaletto, have been noted, but the presence of a larger number of Italians from mid-century is seldom acknowledged. Increasing British wealth and attention to the arts meant more customers for immigrant Italian artists. Bringing with them the skills for which they were renowned throughout Europe, their talents were valued in Britain. Many stayed for prolonged periods, raising families and becoming active members in the artistic community. In a thriving economy, they found opportunities to produce innovative works for a new clientele, devising histories, landscapes, portraits, and prints to entice buyers. The most successful were accomplished networkers, maintaining cordial relationships with British artists and cultivating a variety of patrons. They influenced others through teaching, through formal and informal exchanges with colleagues, and through exhibition of their works that could be studied and emulated.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-06-14Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:06:15Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 precioso_d_me_fran.pdf: 1690256 bytes, checksum: 928420da304d64bfbc64ffd9b7efa2e8 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Este estudo aborda os mecanismos forjados pelos pardos da Capitania de Minas Gerais, mais precisamente na Vila Rica Setecentista, visando a conquista de reconhecimento em uma sociedade colonial herdeira de critérios de hierarquização típicos do Antigo Regime, mas igualmente trespassada por valores ligados ao acúmulo de riquezas e por concepções jurídicas vinculadas ao Direito Natural. Neste sentido, por meio de um estudo prosopográfico, buscamos analisar de que maneira os homens pardos da Confraria de São José de Vila Rica procuraram distinguir-se socialmente dos demais homens livres de cor durante a segunda metade do século XVIII (1750-1803). Para tanto, observamos a captação de recursos materiais e simbólicos, o desempenho de atividades religiosas, militares, artísticas e artesanais, e a negociação dos pardos com as autoridades locais e ultramarinas para um melhor arranjo do grupo na escala social / The present study sorts the mechanisms forged by the pardos of the Capitany of Minas Gerais, precisely the 1700’s Vila Rica, aiming the conquest of recognition in a colonial society heir to the hierarchy criteria typical from the Old Regime, but equally affected by the values related to the fortune amassed and legal conceptions connected to Natural Right. In that sense, through a posopographical study, we search in which ways the pardos from Confraria de São José de Vila Rica attempt to differ from the other men free in colour during the second part of the XVIII century. For this purpose, we observe the collection of material and symbolic resources, the performance of the religious, military, artistic and handmade activities, as well as the negotiation among the pardos, the local authority and ultramarine for a better rearrangement of the group into the society

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-05-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:24:04Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 botta_mg_dr_arafcl.pdf: 3215346 bytes, checksum: 91712270799aaa66c951ec4cb4d6ee4a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Cette thèse analyse le contenu idéologique exprimé à travers les unités lexicales du vocabulaire du premier journal imprimé périodique en langue portugaise, la Gazeta de Lisboa, à partir d’un corpus constitué de 99 éditions de cette publication, entre 1715 et 1810. Elle vise également à mettre en évidence les stratégies linguistiques et discursives conçues socialement et par lesquelles les utilisateurs d'une langue expriment leurs opinions et leurs points de vue à travers le lexique. Un autre objectif de cette recherche est de démontrer l'importance de la solidarité entre deux domaines distincts, la lexicologie et l’analyse du discours, complémentaires et nécessaires pour l’étude du sens des énoncés. Actuellement, les études lexicales dans une perspective discursive gagnent progressivement du terrain parmis les études linguistiques, motivées par la conception théorique propre de la lexicologie et de la lexicographie, qui favorisent la prise en compte des contextes et des emplois des unités lexicales. Cette étude est liée à la théorie linguistique de la lexicologie, développée dans une perspective discursive, fondée sur un modèle dialogique de l'énonciation, qui considère les mots comme porteurs de la mémoire d’usages antérieurs ; ils ont donc une dimension intertextuelle qui détermine leur emploi selon les circonstances énonciatives. Nous partons du point de vue que le dialogisme est inscrit dans les mots et que le choix des unités de la langue utilisées dans les énoncés est négocié par l'interaction entre la réalité et le sens, qui est construit par la circulation de l'information dans la société. Dans un premier temps, nous avons mené une large recherche historique sur la politique et la société portugaise du dixhuitième siècle ainsi que sur l'émergence des premiers journaux imprimés en Europe. Ensuite, des études... (Résumé complet accès életronique ci-dessous) / Por meio dessa tese se propõe a análise do conteúdo ideológico expresso por meio das unidades lexicais do vocabulário do primeiro jornal periódico impresso em língua portuguesa, a Gazeta de Lisboa, num corpus composto por 99 edições dessa publicação, entre 1715 e 1810. Ela também pretende destacar as estratégias linguísticas e discursivas que são concebidas socialmente, e pelas quais os usuários de uma língua explicitam as suas opiniões e visões de mundo partilhadas por meio do léxico. Outro objetivo dessa pesquisa é mostrar a importância da solidariedade entre duas áreas distintas, a lexicologia e a análise do discurso, complementares e necessárias para os estudos sobre os sentidos dos enunciados. Propostas de estudos lexicais em perspectiva discursiva vêm, aos poucos, ganhando espaço nos estudos linguísticos, motivadas pela própria concepção teórica da Lexicologia e também pela prática lexicográfica, que privilegiam a consideração dos contextos e dos usos das unidades lexicais. Realiza-se uma pesquisa vinculada à teoria linguística da Lexicologia, desenvolvida em perspectiva discursiva, baseada em um modelo dialógico da enunciação, que considera que as palavras carregam consigo a memória de usos anteriores e, portanto, têm uma dimensão intertextual que determina seu emprego de acordo com as circunstâncias enunciativas. Partese do ponto de vista que o dialogismo está inscrito nas palavras, e a escolha das unidades da língua usadas na enunciação é negociada na interação entre a realidade e o sentido, que é construído por meio da circulação de informações na sociedade. Numa primeira etapa, foi feita uma ampla pesquisa histórica sobre a política e a sociedade portuguesa do século XVIII, e também sobre o surgimento dos primeiros jornais periódicos impressos na Europa. Em seguida, foram realizados estudos quantitativos... / This thesis provides an analysis of the ideological content expressed through the lexical units of the vocabulary of the first newspaper printed in Portuguese, the Gazeta de Lisboa, in a corpus consisting of 99 editions of the publication, between 1715 and 1810. It also aims to highlight the linguistic and discursive strategies that are designed socially, and by which users of a language formulate their opinions and points of view through the lexicon. Another objective of this research is to demonstrate the importance of the solidarity between two distinct areas, lexicology and discourse analysis, which are complementary and necessary for studies on the meanings of the utterances. Proposals for lexical studies in discursive perspective have gradually gaining ground in linguistic studies, motivated by the theoretical conception of lexicology and lexicography, which favor the consideration of the contexts and the uses of lexical units. This study is linked to the linguistic theory of lexicology, developed in a discursive perspective, based on a dialogical model of enunciation, which believes that words carry the memory of past use and therefore have an intertextual dimension that determines their use according to the circumstances of utterance. We start from the standpoint that dialogism is recorded in words, and the choice of language units used in the utterances is made on the basis of the interaction between reality and sense, which is built by the circulation of information in society. As a first step, we conducted a broad historical research on the Portuguese politics and society in eighteenth-century, and about the emergence of the first printed newspapers in Europe. Next, quantitative studies were performed on the corpus data, which indicated the preferential issue of the journal, the military policy. From this information and the reading of the texts, 22 lexical units employed... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Ida Lewkowicz / Banca: Marco Antonio Silveira / Banca: Jean Marcel Carvalho França / Resumo: Este estudo aborda os mecanismos forjados pelos pardos da Capitania de Minas Gerais, mais precisamente na Vila Rica Setecentista, visando a conquista de reconhecimento em uma sociedade colonial herdeira de critérios de hierarquização típicos do Antigo Regime, mas igualmente trespassada por valores ligados ao acúmulo de riquezas e por concepções jurídicas vinculadas ao Direito Natural. Neste sentido, por meio de um estudo prosopográfico, buscamos analisar de que maneira os homens pardos da Confraria de São José de Vila Rica procuraram distinguir-se socialmente dos demais homens livres de cor durante a segunda metade do século XVIII (1750-1803). Para tanto, observamos a captação de recursos materiais e simbólicos, o desempenho de atividades religiosas, militares, artísticas e artesanais, e a negociação dos pardos com as autoridades locais e ultramarinas para um melhor arranjo do grupo na escala social / Abstract: The present study sorts the mechanisms forged by the pardos of the Capitany of Minas Gerais, precisely the 1700's Vila Rica, aiming the conquest of recognition in a colonial society heir to the hierarchy criteria typical from the Old Regime, but equally affected by the values related to the fortune amassed and legal conceptions connected to Natural Right. In that sense, through a posopographical study, we search in which ways the pardos from Confraria de São José de Vila Rica attempt to differ from the other men free in colour during the second part of the XVIII century. For this purpose, we observe the collection of material and symbolic resources, the performance of the religious, military, artistic and handmade activities, as well as the negotiation among the pardos, the local authority and ultramarine for a better rearrangement of the group into the society / Mestre

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul / In the late eighteenth century, Ann Radcliffe established herself as one of the most famous novelists of her time, and she reached the peak of her career with her fourth novel entitled The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Although it is one of the most important gothic novels, this narrative has issues not much explored by critics yet. The Mysteries of Udolpho presents us with one of the strongest characteristics of Radcliffe s fiction, namely, the detailed construction of setting. In this sense, this work analyses and discusses the roles of setting, which is organized in the novel as natural or constructed setting. The analysis focuses on the relation between this thematic-formal aspect and the actions and personal relationships of the protagonist Emily with other characters. The discussion shows that the different types of setting are essential in the narrative once they have strong participation in the ideological construction of characters regarding the connection between sentimentalism and rationality. Therefore, the relation between setting and characters, in this particular novel, expresses important aspects of the complex development of the bourgeois sensibility in eighteenth-century England. / Em fins do século XVIII, Ann Radcliffe se estabeleceu como uma das romancistas mais famosas de sua época, atingindo o ápice de sua carreira com seu quarto romance intitulado The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Apesar de ser um dos romances góticos ingleses mais importantes, ele ainda apresenta questões pouco exploradas pelos críticos. The Mysteries of Udolpho possui uma das características mais fortes das obras de Radcliffe: a minuciosa elaboração do espaço. Em vista disso, este estudo analisa e discute as funções do espaço, o qual está organizado em natural e construído. A análise centra na maneira como esse aspecto temático-estrutural se relaciona com as ações e relações pessoais da protagonista Emily com as demais personagens. Discutimos como os diferentes tipos de espaço tornam-se essenciais por participarem de forma enfática na construção ideológica das personagens, no que diz respeito à associação entre sentimentalismo e racionalidade. Assim, a relação entre espaço e personagens nesse romance expressa aspectos importantes da complexa construção da sensibilidade burguesa na Inglaterra do século XVIII.

Submitted by José Inácio Neto (neto_jin@hotmail.com) on 2016-10-27T19:02:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO_MESTRADO_JOSE_INACIO_NETO_UNESP_FRANCA.pdf: 1343798 bytes, checksum: 7cec06d34f34aec7a4e9aa450e192868 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-11-03T17:29:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 inacioneto_j_me_franca.pdf: 1343798 bytes, checksum: 7cec06d34f34aec7a4e9aa450e192868 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-03T17:29:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 inacioneto_j_me_franca.pdf: 1343798 bytes, checksum: 7cec06d34f34aec7a4e9aa450e192868 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-10-26 / Daniel Defoe foi uma figura importante para as transformações literárias que caracterizaram a difusão do romance na Inglaterra setecentista, gênero em formação durante este período. Entre as características de sua obra ficcional, notamos a semelhança com alguns relatos de viagens – como os de Drake, Raleigh, Poyntz, Narborough, Dampier e Rogers – e representações recorrentes do continente americano – territórios nunca visitados pelo autor. Os textos publicados por estes viajantes contêm representações de regiões da América como o Caribe e os litorais ocidentais da América do Sul que, por sua vez, também aparecem como cenários nas obras ficcionais do romancista. Por outro lado, conhecido pelo engajamento político e pela participação nas discussões sobre os rumos da expansão do Império Britânico, o autor também lança mão desta literatura em seus ensaios para sustentar seus argumentos sobre as possibilidades de avanço imperial no Novo Mundo. Partindo de reflexões teóricas importantes para a História Cultural, sobretudo aquelas ligadas às noções de representação e apropriação debatidas por Roger Chartier, a presente pesquisa intenta estabelecer relações entre as obras de ficção de Defoe e os relatos de viagem lidos por ele. Neste sentido, a análise se orientará por alguns questionamentos centrais: como e por que estas representações de domínios coloniais de outros Impérios aparecem na ficção de Defoe? De que maneira estas representações se relacionam com os relatos de viagem que são mencionados pelo autor em suas obras não ficcionais? Em que medida as obras ficcionais do autor apresentam questões pertinentes à expansão do Império Britânico no início do século XVIII? Nosso objetivo principal, portanto, é tentar sustentar a hipótese de que os romances de Defoe contêm representações do Novo Mundo que, em certa medida, foram construídas por meio de apropriações dos relatos de viagem por ele lidos. Ademais, tentaremos perceber de que forma tais representações inserem suas obras de ficção nas discussões sobre as possibilidades de expansão do comércio e da colonização no continente americano. / Daniel Defoe was an important writer for the literary transformations that marked the spread of the novel in eighteenth-century England, genre that was in making during the period. Among the features of his fictional work, we note the similarity with some travel accounts – like those of Drake, Raleigh, Poyntz, Narborough, Dampier and Rogers – and recurring representations of the American continent – territories never visited by the author. The texts published by these travelers contain representations of regions of America as the Caribbean and the western coasts of South America, which, in turn, also appear as scenarios in the fictional works of the novelist. On the other hand, known for political engagement and participation in discussions on the directions of expansion of the British Empire, the author also makes use of this literature in his essays to support his arguments about the possibilities of imperial advance in the New World. Starting from important theoretical reflections for Cultural History, especially those related to the notions of representation and appropriation discussed by Roger Chartier, this research attempts to establish relations between the works of Defoe’s fiction and travel reports read by him. In this sense, the analysis is guided by some central questions: how and why these representations of colonial domains of other empires appear in fiction of Defoe? How these representations are related to the travel accounts that are mentioned by the author in his non-fiction works? To what extent the fictional author’s works have issues related to the expansion of the British Empire in the early eighteenth-century? Our main objective, therefore, is to try to support the hypothesis that Defoe’s novels contain representations of the New World, to some extent, that were built by appropriation of elements found in travel accounts read by him. Furthermore, we will try to understand how such representations insert their works of fiction in discussions about trade expansion possibilities and colonization in the Americas.

The perception on literacy and illiteracy levels of the elite in the XVIII century in Sergipe was possible through the study on the signature and the alphabetical skills (read and write) of that population, data which had been collected from the wills and inventories. The signatures, when used as literacy indicators in previous period to the survey (Censos), by framing them into signature scales levels, provided means, even with gaps, allowing to both identify and quantify who was literate or illiterate; as well as realize what sort of family relationship, friendship and/or collusion used to bind those two groups together. It shows that signing up your name in the XVIII, in Sergipe, was not an indicator that one knew how to read and write, however the method used by the Ancient Regime and the colonial societies was first to learn how to read and only then, write. Bringing to light, in the XXI century, the women´s presence into the world of the written eighteenth culture, regardless it was a literate person, which was rare in the colonial society, or if the person was able only to sign up her name or was merely illiterate, turning to the one who would be able to help her (they would always look for men), reflecting the educational reality of the eighteenth,-the fact that the great majority was illiterate. But determining that elite literacy taking as a parameter only the signature, without crossing those pieces of information with some other sources such as biographies, written production by those authors, often offers misled results. By coming up with the alphabetical skills (read and write) it is evident that the great majority of that elite was formed by people who were inserted in that literacy culture, since when we put together 64 literate and 66 people, that were able to sign up their names, we will get 95%, at any rate, that elite used to have a high leveled literacy. This study proves that although Sergipe, in the XVIII, was a subaltern captaincy to Bahia, and also not be of economical, urban nor mining importance whose population, it vast majority, used to live in a rural area, there used to be an elite not only economical, political and social, but also instructed consisting of businesspeople (ranch people, mill, farm and commerce owners). Hence the eighteenth elite, even being composed by illiterate people, used to lie on its mediators of the written culture, spouses, relatives and friends, agents whether public or not, but they provided the support in justice issues, regardless being literate or not, provided the law allowed to everyone to reach it when necessary. / A percepção do nível de alfabetismo e letramento da elite do século XVIII em Sergipe deu-se mediante o estudo das assinaturas e das capacidades alfabéticas (ler e escrever) desta população, coletados nos testamentos e inventários. As assinaturas, quando utilizadas como indicadores de alfabetização nos períodos anteriores aos Censos, através do enquadramento em escalas de níveis de assinaturas, fornecem subsídios, mesmo com lacunas, permitindo identificar e quantificar quem era alfabetizado ou analfabeto e ainda perceber as relações de parentesco, amizade e/ou compadrio que interlaçava estes dois grupos. Mostra que assinar o nome não significava, no século XVIII em Sergipe, saber ler e escrever, embora o método utilizado no Antigo Regime e nas sociedades coloniais fosse primeiro aprender a ler e depois a escrever. Traz à luz, no século XXI, a presença da mulher no mundo da cultura escrita setecentista, seja ela como pessoa alfabetizada, raro na sociedade colonial, seja como assinante ou quando era analfabeta, recorrendo a quem lhe fizesse a rogo (todas recorreram a homens), refletindo a realidade educacional setecentista, o fato de a maioria ser analfabeta. Mas determinar o letramento dessa elite tendo como indicador apenas as assinaturas, sem cruzar estas informações com outras fontes como biografias, produção escrita por estes autores, é oferecer resultados equivocados. Com o levantamento das capacidades alfabéticas (ler e escrever) fica evidente que essa elite era, em maior parcela, formada por pessoas inclusas na cultura escrita, pois ao juntar os 64 alfabetizados com os 66 assinantes, a porcentagem é de 95 %, ou seja, a referida elite tinha um alto nível de alfabetização. O estudo comprova que apesar de Sergipe ser, no século XVIII, uma capitania subalterna à Bahia, e de não ser de ponta da economia colonial, nem urbana nem mineradora, cuja maioria da população morava na zona rural, havia uma elite não só econômica, política e social, mas também instruída, composta por negociantes (sitiantes, donos de engenho, fazendas, casas comerciais). Pois a elite setecentista, mesmo composta por analfabetos, teve nos mediadores da cultura escrita, cônjuges, parentes e amigos, fossem eles agentes públicos ou não, o amparo nas suas questões jurídicas, sendo irrelevante para a justiça ser ou não alfabetizado, uma vez que a lei assegurava a todos o acesso a ela quando se fazia necessário.