The Role of Ius Commune in Asia: Law and Economy in the Casuistry of Goa (1563–1606)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Mathias Schmoeckel
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence ; Early Modern History
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 574828834

In 16th-century Asia, where the Portuguese colonial enterprise unfolded alongside Jesuit missionary work, many complex legal cases—often economic in nature—emerged. When conventional legal scholarship offered no clear answers, solutions came from a different type of literature: the writings of Jesuit theologians who, despite their primary concern with the salvation of souls, engaged deeply with complex legal topics. This project studies the case-by-case literature produced by these scholars between 1563 and 1606—a largely unexamined body of work crucial for understanding how law adapted to new contexts, considering the well-recognized role of moral theology in the development of private law. This research investigates how Goan scholars engaged with complex cases from diverse Asian territories and, more centrally, how they drew on sources, principles, and concepts from the ius commune—the learned law—alongside European theological texts in their quest for answers. Rather than viewing legal knowledge as simply exported from Europe, this study understands Goa as an active site of legal reasoning and normative innovation shaped by local realities. Employing archival research, manuscript analysis, and qualitative analysis using dedicated software, the project will map and catalogue sources, themes, and legal strategies, correlating data across cases, regions of origin, and authors. Comparative analysis—both among Goan scholars and between them and their European peers— will further highlight local distinctiveness. The central hypothesis is that Jesuit scholars in Goa pragmatically adapted ius commune frameworks to resolve novel legal issues in a colonial setting, fostering innovative approaches shaped by both tradition and the needs of the mission in Asia. This research will provide a clearer picture of the legal strategies used to address complex cases in this multifaceted colonial context and their broader significance in the narrative of private law development.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Belgium
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Wim Decock; Professor Dr. Jean-Pascal Gay