Your search

Official copy (*treslado*) of financial receipts from 1613, transcribed in February 1616, documenting loans advanced in Macao for the provisioning of the Portuguese China fleet under Captain-General Miguel de Sousa Pimentel. The documents record multiple transactions administered by André Dias, factor (feitor) and governor of the armada, with Francisco Duarte and later Francisco de Sá acting as scriveners. Between October and November 1613, sums totalling over 9,000 pardaus in reais were received from merchants, officials, and private lenders, including funds from the municipal council of Macao and individuals such as Estevão Borges and João Francisco Sem Biques. Loans were issued at an interest rate of twenty-five per cent, repayable in Malacca, with Miguel de Sousa Pimentel personally assuming financial risk aboard the galleon *São Bento*. Entries detail disbursements for fleet maintenance, duties, and operational expenses, with formal acknowledgements of receipt and liability declarations preserved. The original receipts were certified as accurate by Manuel Nogueira Dandrade, scrivener of the Treasury, on 13 February 1616, based on records sent from China by André Dias under warrant from the Chief Purveyor. Held in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), this document provides critical insight into early 17th-century Luso-Asian maritime finance, colonial administrative practices, and credit mechanisms within the Estado da Índia’s naval operations.

Royal decree issued by the King of Portugal on 3 September 1615, originating from Lisbon and addressed to the Viceroy of India, concerning the financial provision for Jesuit missionaries in China. The document records the monarch’s decision to augment the annual stipend granted to the Company of Jesus in the Chinese mission by one thousand xerafins, increasing the total allocation from two thousand to three thousand xerafins per annum. This increase is conditional upon confirmation that the number of Jesuit religious in China has risen to twenty-one, exceeding the original fourteen who had been supported under the prior arrangement. The augmentation is explicitly tied to the presence of at least seven additional missionaries beyond the original complement. The Viceroy of India is instructed to verify this numerical increase through official certification listing all religious stationed in the missions under Jesuit authority, including those in China, before disbursement may proceed. Failure to provide documented evidence will result in the suspension of both the additional payment and any future increments. Endorsed by Rui Dias de Meneses and bearing archival stamps from the Biblioteca Nacional Secção Ultramarina and Arquivo Histórico Colonial, Lisboa, the document forms part of the Portuguese colonial administrative records relating to Asia (AHU_CU_Índia). It reflects the Crown’s fiscal oversight of missionary activities in its overseas territories during the early seventeenth century.

Royal writ issued in 1603 granting the inhabitants of Macau, within the Portuguese State of India, the right to elect a Judge of Orphans every three years, modelled on practices in Goa and other cities of the State of India. The officeholder is to serve a single three-year term and may not be re-elected unless removed for cause or misconduct. The document further authorises the election of a Clerk of Orphans, to be held for life by a qualified individual. The writ commands the Viceroy of the Indies, the Judges of the High Court (Relação), magistrates of the State of India, the Captain-General of the Fleets, and the Ombudsman (Ouvidor) of Macau—or their successors—to uphold and enforce the provisions without imposing additional conditions or impediments. It mandates the registration of this decree in the official records of the High Court and Chancellery of the State of India, as well as in the municipal books of Macau. Issued under royal authority, the writ is to be treated as legally binding with the same force as if formally signed and sealed, overriding any conflicting provisions in the Ordinances of King D. Manuel. This document serves as an administrative and legal instrument reflecting colonial governance structures, civic organisation, and imperial authority in early seventeenth-century Macau.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial regulation outlines the judicial powers, administrative responsibilities, and institutional framework governing the office of the Ouvidor (royal judge) of Macao within the Estado da Índia. Dated and structured as a formal regimento (charter), the document defines the Ouvidor’s jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, including final adjudication in first-instance matters and procedures for appeals to the Relação appellate court in Goa. It establishes the Ouvidor’s dual role as Judge of Orphans, details staffing arrangements—including two escribãos (clerks), one meirinho (bailiff), and four subordinates—and specifies protocols for issuing cartas de segura (letters of protection) with prior approval from the Captain. The text delineates hierarchical relations between the Ouvidor and other authorities, particularly the Captain of Macao, clarifying non-interference in Captaincy affairs while affirming the Ouvidor’s autonomous judicial function. Provisions address conflict resolution, suspension procedures, challenges to judicial impartiality (suspeição), and financial administration, including the collection and disbursement of fines. Salaries are to be paid quarterly through the Malacca factory, recorded officially, and verified via documentation entered into central registers. The regulation asserts supremacy over conflicting local customs or ordinances and mandates its registration in key administrative and judicial archives across the Portuguese imperial network, including Goa and Africa. Intended for scholarly analysis, this document offers critical insights into colonial legal structures, bureaucratic practices, and jurisdictional hierarchies in early modern Portuguese Asia.

Bula pela qual Gregório XIII instituiu a diocese de Macau, que seria sufragânea da arquidiocese de Goa e concedendo ao rei de Portugal o direito de padroado e de apresentação do bispo da nova diocese. Publicada em Bullarium Patronatus Portugaliae. Olisipone: ex Typograhia Natione, 1868, pp. 243-245 e Corpo Diplomático Portuguez contendo os actos e relações políticas e diplomáticas de Portugal com as diversas potencias do mundo desde o século XVI até aos nossos dias. Lisboa: Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencias, 1884, vol. X, pp. 498-503.

This 17th-century ecclesiastical manuscript fragment, dated circa 1651, comprises a series of pastoral directives issued within the Portuguese colonial sphere, likely in India, concerning the conduct of priests in matters of marital conflict and gender relations. The document outlines strict guidelines for clerical interaction with women, particularly wives, emphasizing the avoidance of scandal (*scandalum*) and the prioritization of spiritual over temporal intervention. It prohibits priests from entertaining accusations made by wives against their husbands during confession, regardless of validity, and mandates discreet, charitable correction of husbands without public attribution of fault. Central to the text is the assertion that women’s devotional constancy should be acknowledged, yet pastoral focus must shift to men, deemed more instrumental in household governance and spiritual leadership. The instructions require mediation through the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises before absolution in marital disputes and stress impartiality, urging clergy to hear both spouses before discerning blame. Final recourse is directed to the Diocesan Bishop or Vicar General when reconciliation fails. Written in early modern ecclesiastical Portuguese with ascetic and disciplinary intent, the text reflects hierarchical gender norms, sacramental confidentiality, and the institutional Church’s role in regulating domestic life under colonial rule. This fragment provides critical insight into the intersection of religious authority, gender politics, and pastoral discipline in the Portuguese imperial context.

This 16th-century ecclesiastical manuscript comprises a series of transcribed letters and administrative reports from Jesuit missionaries operating within the Portuguese colonial sphere, primarily in India, Japan, and regions of Southeast Asia between 1556 and 1590. The document includes correspondence from key figures such as Father Melchior Carneiro, Father Gaspar Vilela, and Brother Paulo de Santa Fé, detailing missionary activities, theological instruction, and efforts to establish Christian communities. Central themes include the preaching of doctrine, administration of sacraments, conversion of local populations, and the challenges posed by cultural resistance, logistical constraints, and interreligious dynamics. The text records baptisms of both free and enslaved individuals, the suppression of indigenous religious practices, and the adaptation of Catholic rites to local contexts. References to locations such as Goa, Funai (Japan), Malacca, and Mozambique situate the missions within broader imperial and maritime networks. The manuscript also documents internal Jesuit governance, spiritual exercises, educational initiatives in colleges, and interactions with local rulers, including the Kings of Bungo and Manamotapa. Period-specific terminology, fragmented syntax, and marginal annotations reflect the original’s archival complexity, offering researchers insight into the linguistic, religious, and administrative frameworks of early modern Catholic evangelisation under Portuguese colonial authority.

This is a 16th–17th century apologetic treatise, authored by Jesuit Visitor Alessandro Valignano or an associate, in response to criticisms from Franciscan missionaries concerning the Society of Jesus’s activities in Japan and China. The document, preserved under archival reference 49-IV-58 at the Biblioteca da Ajuda (Lisbon), refutes claims made by Franciscans such as Fray Martín Ignacio de Loyola and Fray Jerónimo de Jesús regarding the legitimacy of the Jesuits’ exclusive missionary mandate, granted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1585 and supported by Portuguese royal authority. It defends the Jesuit practice of cultural adaptation—such as adopting local dress and language—as essential for evangelisation, contrasting it with the Franciscans’ confrontational methods, which allegedly provoked persecution under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (‘Taico Sama’). The text challenges accusations that the Jesuits obstructed other religious orders, monopolised trade via Macau, or engaged in political manipulation, asserting instead that their efforts sustained Christianity during severe repression. It further disputes claims about financial misconduct, arguing that Jesuit funding derived from limited alms and silk trade profits, not exploitation. Central to the argument is the assertion that Jesuit prudence preserved Christian communities, while the Franciscans’ imprudence led to martyrdom in 1597. Drawing on personal experience, correspondence, and theological reasoning, the author upholds the validity of papal and royal decrees restricting access to Japan, maintaining that unity among missionaries was vital for the faith’s survival in a politically volatile context.

This 16th–17th century Portuguese ecclesiastical manuscript, likely of Jesuit origin, comprises a series of translated missives and ecclesiastical reports documenting Catholic missionary activities across Portuguese colonial territories in India, China, Japan, and Brazil. Dated between 1514 and 1612, the text records efforts to establish Christian communities, administer sacraments, and combat idolatry, with specific references to Cochin, Chaul, S. Tomé, Pernambuco, Amáguçhe, Malacca, the Cape of Comorin, and Hirado in Japan. Key figures include Father Osório, Brother Gabrielão, Father Balthazar Gago de Bingo, Father M. Francisco, and lay converts such as Paulo of Japan and Alexandre. The documents detail baptisms, confessions, doctrinal instruction, and the suppression of indigenous religious practices, while noting resistance from local populations, including the Tuna and Tapuya peoples, and opposition from Spaniards and Moors. Reports highlight spiritual transformations, miracles attributed to missionaries, and the establishment of mission stations despite logistical and cultural challenges. The text also reflects internal Church administration, including the role of *Lascarins*, *Fecourbas*, and *curas spadry*, alongside descriptions of liturgical practices, sacramental renewal, and the emotional fervour of converts. As a primary source, it provides critical insight into early modern missionary strategies, cross-cultural encounters, and the interplay between colonial authority and religious conversion within the Portuguese Empire. Orthographic inconsistencies and partial illegibility reflect its archival nature, necessitating careful philological interpretation.

This historical document transcription, originating from the Jesuit Mission of Tumkin in Macao between 1711 and 1720, forms part of a series of ecclesiastical records compiled by João Alvares and later forwarded to the Procuratorship in Lisbon. The text details missionary activities across contested territories such as Tonkin (Tunkim), Funckim, and Dunkin during periods of intense persecution under royal decrees. It documents the spiritual labours, administrative challenges, and sacramental ministries of Jesuit missionaries including Francisco Nogueira Rodrigues, Father Ruiz, and Father Ignacio Martiny, among others. The narrative highlights efforts to sustain clandestine Christian communities amid political hostility, forced concealment, imprisonment, and martyrdom. Key figures such as Father Marinho Coelho, Father Jerónimo de Azevedo, and Alexandre de Rhodes are noted for their linguistic and pastoral contributions. The abstract includes statistical accounts of conversions, baptisms, and confessions, alongside reports of resistance from local authorities, particularly Mandarins, who enforced prohibitions against Christian practice through edicts, confiscations, and corporal punishment. Despite severe hardship—including famine, illness, and isolation—missionaries continued administering sacraments in secret, often relying on native catechists and covert networks. The document reflects colonial-era religious conflict, indigenous engagement with Catholicism, and institutional struggles within the Society of Jesus, preserved in Portuguese ecclesiastical archives for doctrinal and administrative review.

This historical lease agreement, dated 1 January 1928 (first day of the first month in the seventeenth year of the Republic of China), documents the rental of an urban dwelling house by Chow Tunkwu from the Catholic Church. The document specifies an annual rent of three dollars and fifty cents in silver coinage, payable monthly, with a five-dollar deposit paid in advance. The landlord assumes responsibility for all repairs, including structural damage, roof leaks, and cleaning. Termination provisions require one month’s notice from the tenant and at least one day’s notice from the landlord in the event of re-letting. The agreement is formalised through signatures and seals, including those of the lessee, Chow Tunkwu, and a witness, Li Tseng (name partially damaged). The text is accompanied by multiple official and institutional stamps, including a 'Rent Tax' stamp (租稅), a contract designation (约), and a revenue stamp denoting one cent (壹分), indicating fiscal registration. A watermark and central seal bearing the Latin motto "LUX IN TENEBRIS LUCET" and the name "CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY", alongside the values "VERITAS" and "BONITAS", suggest institutional involvement by a Catholic educational or ecclesiastical body, potentially linked to a university. This primary source offers valuable insight into early Republican-era urban tenancy practices, property management, and the role of religious institutions in housing and legal administration in China during the late 1920s.

Folder with fourteen documents