Karoline Marques Machado

Karoline Marques Machado is a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt am Main and a Ph.D. candidate in History at the State University of Rio de Janeiro since 2023. Her work bridges German and Brazilian academic institutions through collaborative research on colonial legal systems.

• Ph.D. in History, State University of Rio de Janeiro (2023–present)
• Master’s Degree in History (Political History), State University of Rio de Janeiro (2021–2023)
• Bachelor’s degree in History, Federal Fluminense University (2009–2014)
• Visiting student, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2012–2013)

Her research centers on Global Legal History and Normativity Studies, examining how the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia functioned as a governance institution across the Portuguese Empire. She analyzes power dynamics in colonial Goa and Rio de Janeiro during the 17th–18th centuries, focusing on how local practices reshaped imperial legal frameworks. This work challenges Eurocentric historiography by emphasizing South-South connections in normative production.

Dr. Machado’s methodological approach combines archival analysis from global repositories (Arquivo Histórico de Goa, Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo) with theoretical frameworks from postcolonial studies. Her project contributes to understanding how charitable brotherhoods monopolized rituals like funerals and pious legacies to consolidate political authority.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• FAPERJ’s Mestrado Nota 10 scholarship for academic excellence (2022)
• Top placement in competitive admissions for both Master’s (2021) and Doctoral (2023) programs
• Junior Researcher award for Rio de Janeiro historical studies (2014)

She actively contributes to multiple research networks including NEHMO (Núcleo de Estudos de História Moderna), NUPEP (Property Studies Research Group), INCT-Proprietas, and the SILB Sesmarias Network, focusing on colonial governance and property systems across Lusophone territories.