Ouvidores

They were judges appointed by the donataries and in many cases acted as their deputies. In the donataries’ absence they received the oath of the councillors (vereadores), and they exercised judicial and police functions, with power to arrest persons accused of any crime. To curb the excesses of jurisdiction of the donataries and their ouvidores, there were already corregedores in Madeira in the 15th century, charged with conducting judicial inquiries and punishing judges who abused their office. The bishops also had ouvidores: the prelate Dom Luís de Figueiredo e Lemos created two ouvidorias in Madeira and one on the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’). The donataries’ ouvidores received a lodging allowance paid by the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal).