Alms, pious works and other gestures of good will in viceregal Lima: The house of Atocha, itinerant almoners and aid from the Lima council

Varillas P.E.R. · Revista de Humanidades (SPAIN) (2025) · DOI: 10.5944/rdh.54.2025.43827

Resumen

Poverty in the Modem Age, and in Lima in particular, was an evident reality. The majority had almost nothing, and the few who could help their fellow man had the opportunity to alleviate their religious needs and gain prestige in the society in which they were immersed. Almsgiving was the means used to achieve these objectives, whether individually (testamentary wills), as a union and group (brotherhoods) or institutionally. This article shows the internationalization of almsgiving in the Christian world, in the case of itinerant almsmen, as well as the commitment of local institutions, the town council and the foundling home, to alleviate poverty in Lima, seat of the Viceroyalty of Peru, one of the territorial units of the Spanish crown.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos