Lotteries

The Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia) of this city was more than once granted the right to hold a lottery to help meet the costs of maintaining this charitable house. The first of which we have knowledge was granted by the royal notice of 5 April 1803. It was for thirty contos (one million réis) de réis and was divided into six thousand tickets at five thousand réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis) each. The business of this lottery was directed by the corregedor (royal district magistrate) of the judicial district (comarca), by the juiz de fora (crown-appointed judge from outside the district) and by three other individuals appointed by the governor and captain-general. The draw was to take place several times a year, but it seems that the wheel never actually turned.

Through the efforts of the president (provedor) of the Holy House (Santa Casa, the Misericórdia), the illustrious Madeiran Dr João Francisco de Oliveira, a new concession was made to the Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy, a lay charitable brotherhood) of Funchal in 1823. The proceeds of the lottery were to be applied to repairs at the Orphan Girls’ Retreat (Recolhimento das Órfãs) and to turning this establishment into a school for respectable girls from both the city and the distant towns.

The president’s proposal was submitted to the Government with a favourable report from the Governor, and the Holy House of Mercy easily obtained the royal licences needed to hold the said lottery. It was laid down, however, that its proceeds would be applied first to paying the debts of the Holy House and then to the repairs that the recolhimento (religious retreat house for women) required. We believe that this lottery was short-lived.

By a royal letter (carta régia) of 12 September 1857 the Misericórdia obtained yet another concession, from which it benefited for some years. The value of the lottery’s top prize varied greatly: it was 400,000 réis, 500,000 réis, 600,000 réis, 800,000 réis and 1,000,000 réis.

In May 1865 there were 2,400 tickets and 488 prizes, the three largest being of 800, 200 and 100 thousand réis; and in January 1868 the lottery consisted of 1800 tickets, 600 of which won prizes, with one prize of 400, another of 100 and a third of 50 thousand réis. Each ticket cost 1000 réis and the smallest prizes were of 1200 réis.

In the early 19th century the government assisted those rebuilding the Teatro Grande (‘great theatre’) by granting them an annual lottery, whose top prize was 3 contos de réis. The minutes of the meeting of the Funchal Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal do Funchal) of 12 January 1814 refer to ‘a lottery held in this city for the benefit of the lepers’, but we have been unable to gather any further information about this lottery. It seems to have been promoted by the Council in order to raise funds to improve the conditions of those sufferers.