The power of command of the collectors of the fifths in the captaincy of Minas Gerais

military action, delimitation of territory and population control

Abstract

This article has as objective to present some reflections on the expressive power of command of the royal fifths collectors in the eighteenth century in Mariana, men taken from the “principals” of their villages. The attention has been focused mainly on the finding of decisive military actions of theses individuals in their society, on their role in defining the newly discovered space and the control population as a result of all this and, essentially, their tax liabilities.