The marriages of families from the nobility of the land of Pernambuco: family as a basis for social reproduction. 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

Many families from Pernambuco who called themselves “land nobility”, that is, ancient strains, fifteenth or sixteenth century, who worked in the Restoration against the Dutch domination and started to claim mercies and privileges, remained with high social status in the captaincy of Pernambuco throughout the colonial period. This article is dedicated to understand the models of social reproduction of the land nobility based on the analysis of the sons and daughters of eight families fate: Albuquerque, Carneiro da Cunha, Camelo Pessoa, Cavalcanti, Pais Barreto, Rego Barros and Vieira de Melo. It is investigated which biosocial strategies these families developed to optimize resources for their survival. The analysis of the social reproduction of these families from their settlement in the captaincy until the third quarter of the 18^th century, which married most of their sons and daughters, seeks to understand how marriage was relevant for the formation and maintenance of a social network and for the success of biological and social reproduction of the land nobility of Pernambuco.