The criminals in the Coutos de homiziados in the Alto Alentejo: mobility, profile and crimes (15th century)

This article is a brief reflection on the coutos de homiziados (territories designated for the forced exile of criminals) that were created in the northeastern Alentejo, i.e. Marvão, Arronches and Ouguela, and how they were a manifestation of a political and military policy during the 15th century. We will determine who the criminals that were sent to those coutos were: their names and functions, the types of crimes they had committed, and above all, their provenance, the flexibility of sentences and the movement of homiziados between Coutos. The letters of pardon are the main source consulted. Although it is a small sampling, a comparative analysis of these three coutos allowed us to establish similarities and differences among them, and to determine the social profiles of the criminals and their mobility in Portugal in the late Middle Ages. On this last point, for example, research showed that most of the outlaws came from the southern part of the realm. In some cases, criminals requested to be transferred to cities controlled by the Portuguese in North Africa.