Vice-reis, governadores e a administração da justiça na América portuguesa (séculos XVII e XVIII)

If legal history and social history of justice grew as fields of research in the Luso-Brazilian historiographical production over the last quarter of a century, it is also true that they have predominantly been approached through the actions of judges and magistrates. Considering that there are still relatively few works proposing to analyze the participation of other agents in the government of justice, this article aims to offer a contribution to those fields of study by analyzing the actions of viceroys, governors-general and captaincy governors in this jurisdictional area, regarding them in a systematic and comprehensive perspective. We aim to survey these actions over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, considering the different forms of aid provided by governors to magistrates and the governmental actions that put them in the position of true administrators of justice.