Castro Marim in SE Portugal was a site of internal exile for several thousand minor sinners
and convicts from the 1400s until the 1830s. The punishment was revived by the Estado Novo
dictatorship a century later. During early modern times the guilty could flee to several
border towns for sanctuary. The state's courts and later courts of the Inquisition directed
minor offenders to this town typically for two to three years. These newcomers were forced to
either enter the local work force or flee. Here we see a detailed example of social control and
coordination between the early modern Church and state. Crime sin punishment redemption
sanctuary the Enlightenment monopolies and smuggling interact with this system of forced
labor. Sanctuary internal exile and town of free people created a unique legal and social
space. This labor force was long-lasting flexible and useful. Tax evasion and smuggling
forced Lisbon to create neighboring Vila Real de Santo António with tighter fiscal control and
free labor which would eventually supersede this forced labor system in Castro Marim. Internal
exile was a semi-independent judicial component linked to manpower needs overseas ending as
those demands increased.
