This thesis constitutes a first approach to widowhood in Portugal in the Modern Era. In this sense, my goal is to contribute to the study of gender and family history, and to realize the impact of widowhood on the life of women and men in Porto. Considering widows as the main focus, I will try to understand how their social status in marriage, the existence of children, property, family or neighbor relationships, influenced the way they dealt with widowhood, and whether this meant maintaining their living status or, on the contrary, led to a change in their social, family and economic structures. Finally, this project aims to identify the participation of widows and widowers in the various universes of everyday life, from their relationship with the family to their relationship with commerce and the empire.