People’s judge
Original title: Juiz do Povo
The juiz do povo was an officer elected by the Casa dos Vinte e Quatro to represent the popular classes before Funchal's authorities, an office that existed until 1834.
The people’s judge (juiz do povo, elected representative of the craft guilds) was elected by the House of the Twenty-Four (Casa dos Vinte e Quatro, assembly of the craft guilds) (see that entry). He represented the popular classes before various corporations and official bodies and had certain administrative duties. He acted unofficially as intermediary between the people and the local authorities, chiefly in cases where the legal provisions were not entirely clear, and he could not be elected without at least six years’ service in the House of the Twenty-Four.
Under a resolution passed by the Senate (senado, the municipal council) of the City of Funchal on 22 December 1802, the people’s judge, when he came to the Council ‘to make a petition on some matter’, sat on a low chair (chairs with backs were reserved for the councillors (vereadores) and the clerk (escrivão)) above the eldest of the guild representatives (mesteres).
We do not know when the office of people’s judge was created here; it lasted until 1834.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 01
- Funchal
City whose Senate regulated the juiz do povo's seating in the council.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.