Database Search
This database is an online research tool, focused on the sources used in the project. The “mapas estatísticos da população” (literally, “statistical population charts”), ordered by the Crown, and produced by Portuguese colonial authorities are the focus of this documental corpus. Other primary sources related to the study of the colonial population are also included, especially the royal decrees that ordered the census taking.
Users can search the database by establishing chronological, geographical, and textual parameters. They can use the chronological field to search for specific years as well as for a specified interval. They also can select the relevant data from a geographic list displaying the sources by regions (e.g. Brazil, Azores, Mozambique). Finally, users can search for terms matching the documents by typing them into the text search box. This feature, however, works only with terms entered in the same language as the documents, that is, Portuguese. It is also possible to explore the sources that were already processed and digitised by simply downloading them into an Excel file format.
If you wish to access all sources related to Goa from the year 1780, for example, just type “1780” as the starting year and select “Goa” from the geographic area list. Similarly, to select the documents related to the Nossa Senhora da Guia dos Patos parish, captaincy of Paraiba, Brazil, between 1790 and 1802, then type “1790” in the starting year, “1802” in the ending year, chose Brazil as the geographic area, and type “Patos” in the text search box.