Social and Religious Boundaries in Confraternities, Prisons and Hospitals in Renaissance Portugal The last years of the ifteenth century and the sixteenth century were crucial in the structuring of assistance to the poor in Portugal during the early modern period. As the result of the solidiication of monarchic power, the king became interested in protecting his des- titute subjects: poor prisoners, the sick, foundlings and orphans. The concern over eternal life and the salvation of the soul transformed religion into a powerful component of state building. This process was achieved through the king’s initiative in matters concerning the organization of the ecclesiastical sphere, such as the administrative supervision of chapels, the nomination of bishops and cardinals, and control over the military religious orders 1 . Legitimating royal power could not be achieved without the Church, and the crown actively sought the ideological support brought by religion. In order to appear as the defender of the poor, the crown had to resort to charity and make an appeal to religion. The reorganization of hospitals and pris- ons is a good example of how religious values were put to service of the empowerment of the monarchy. In order to create new hospitals out of small units, which had been created previously by private donations, the king had to negotiate with the Holy See. Concerning prisons, a new balance of power with local municipalities had to be created, as the crown was interested in increasing its inluence over different jurisdictions through the pro- tection of the underprivileged and powerless. A particularly good mo- ment in what concerns the economic context enabled the crown to 1 Research funded by project PTDC/HAH/71309/2006, Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia. M.L. Rosa, As Almas Herdeiras: Fundação de Capelas Fúnebres e Air- mação da Alma como Sujeito de Direito (Portugal, 1400-1521), Doctorate dissertation, Lisboa 2004; J. P aiva Os Bispos de Portugal e do Império 1495-1777, Coimbra 2006; F. Olival, Structural Changes within the 16th-century Portuguese Military Orders, «e- Journal of Portuguese History», 2/2, 2004.