Structural Changes within the 16th-century Portuguese Military Orders

Abstract

How and why the Portuguese Military Orders changed in the 16th century is the central topic of this paper. Three great 16th-century structural changes are analyzed: the process of the perpetual transfer of tutelage of the Orders to the Portuguese Crown; the introduction of individual service as a means of servants gaining access to the Military Orders; and the adoption of statutes dealing with purity of blood and occupation.