Based on more than two decades of research conducted on five continents, this monumental work focuses on the activities of members of the Society of Jesus from its foundation to the eve of its expulsion from the Portuguese world. A second volume will examine the Order's expulsion, the fate of its members, and the disposition of its assets in Portugal and her empire from 1750 to 1808. The present volume begins with the Society's introduction to Portugal and traces its expansion throughout what the Society defined as the Portuguese Assistancy, a vast complex of administrative units that...