What was a fogo?
Vive Cabeceiras · Memória documental · 1758

Old figures call for a different way of reading.

A fogo corresponded to a household, not a person. This distinction is also explained in notes to editions of the Parish Memories, such as the one published by the municipality of Ourém. The term’s explanation is general; this story’s figures come from the Passos account.

The 1758 Passos account counts 71 households and 211 people eligible to receive the sacraments. These are parish-record categories: they do not mean 71 inhabitants or a total population measured like a modern census. The source then places Passos within the jurisdiction of Celorico de Basto. The same summary dedicates the parish church to São Sebastião and says its vicar was presented by the abbot of São Clemente de Basto. Population and religious organisation thus appear side by side in the document.

Sources and context
Municipality — Parish memories of Passos, 1758
https://cabeceirasdebasto.pt/cultura-memorias-paroquiais-passos
Accessed: 2026-11-06
Municipality — Parish Memories of Passos, 1758; transcription of José Viriato Chapel (2003)
https://cabeceirasdebasto.pt/cultura-memorias-paroquiais-passos
Accessed: 2026-11-07
Municipality of Ourém — Freixianda Parish Memory (1758), note 4: Fires and households
https://www.ourem.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/MemParoquias_Freixianda.pdf
Accessed: 2026-11-07

Editorial summary. The date of consultation is not the date of the facts.
Text and recipe, when available. Photos, activities and updates on the page:
https://vivecabeceiras.pt/en/descobrir/terra-viva/?leitura=passos-contagens#passos-contagens