THE CARE THAT SHOULD BE THE PARENTS OF THE DECEASED BOYS: PRESERVATION OF CHILDHOOD AND SPIRITUAL ADVICE OF JESUIT PRIEST ALEXANDRE DE GUSMÃO, 17TH CENTURY

Abstract This article examines the provisions made by the Portuguese Jesuit priest Alexandre de Gusmão (1629-1724) on the care that parents should have in education and spiritual protection of their children, especially at the time of his death, the work Arte de crear bem os filhos na idade da puericia (1685). The analysis will focus on the elements that constituted the childhood conservation practices, the imminent dangers of child death, the spiritual advice related to the care of the dead boys and assignments of blame to parents who were negligent in their children's education. Written in portuguese-brazilian christian seventeenth-century context, Gusmão preachings can be understood as a certain pedagogical and care model for children.