The strategy adopted by the king of Portugal from the decade of 1740 on, with the fragmentation
of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rio de Janeiro and the implementation of the captaincies of
Goiás and Mato Grosso, gives a new orientation to Lisbon diplomacy in relation to Portuguese
America. In this context, we seek to understand the new statute of the mines of Goiás in the
negotiations aiming to guarantee and to enhance the colonial administration control over the
territories situated by the frontier with the Spanish empire.
