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  • This is a late sixteenth- to early eighteenth-century Portuguese colonial administrative miscellany, comprising a composite dossier of diplomatic correspondence, military reports, ecclesiastical appointments, fiscal records, judicial proceedings, and ceremonial accounts originating primarily from Lisbon, Goa, Angola, Brazil, and the Iberian Peninsula. Dated between c. 1504 and 1713 (O.S./N.S.), the document features entries referencing key figures including the Archbishop of Lisbon Dom Diogo de Sousa, the Archbishop of Braga Dom João de Sá, the Viceroy of India, the Marquis of Minas, the Count of Galveias, the Duke of Savoy, Philip II and Philip V of Spain, the Emperor Charles VI, the Duke of Lorraine, and numerous colonial administrators, bishops, and military officers across the Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Dutch spheres. Geographically, it encompasses locations such as Lisbon, Santarém, Braga, Alcântra, Carca, Nájera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Turin, Cadiz, the Algarve, the Rhineland, Frankfurt am Main, Copenhagen, Hormuz, Ormuz, Recife, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Macau, Xiamen, and multiple sites in West and Central Africa including Luanda, Benguela, and Huíla. The text documents military campaigns, naval operations, sieges, troop movements, and intelligence on enemy forces; ecclesiastical governance, episcopal vacancies, excommunications, and liturgical ceremonies; colonial administration, land disputes, forced labour, manumission acts, and fiscal arrangements; treaty negotiations, diplomatic missions, and inter-imperial rivalries; and socio-religious practices, including syncretic invocations, ceremonial pageantry, and legal-judicial procedures. It exhibits extensive orthographic variation, multilingual code-switching (Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Arabic, Persian), and scribal abbreviations typical of early modern Iberian imperial record-keeping.

  • This abstract describes a multi-page diplomatic correspondence collection comprising letters, memoranda, and official dispatches dated between 1764 and 1766, primarily originating from London and addressed to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Count of Oeiras (later Marquis of Pombal), chief minister of Portugal. The principal author is Martim de Melo e Castro, Portuguese envoy in London, whose letters detail urgent diplomatic negotiations concerning perceived Spanish and French military threats to Portugal’s European territories and colonial possessions in Brazil, particularly following troop movements along the Iberian frontier and violations of Article 21 of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Key themes include requests for British military assistance—including twelve thousand muskets, artillery, tents, and cavalry support—negotiations over the outstanding £70,000 sterling subsidy from the 1762 Anglo-Portuguese agreement, disputes concerning grain embargoes and road repairs near the frontier, and intelligence exchanges regarding troop deployments in Trás-os-Montes, Minho, and Beira. The collection also contains extensive correspondence involving Prince Charles of Mecklenburg concerning his service in the Portuguese army, stipend entitlements, regimental command, and diplomatic interventions by the British royal family, alongside ancillary material on merchant grievances, colonial administration in Nova Scotia and Goa, and financial arrangements involving the Portuguese Treasury, the Tower of London, and the National Library of Lisbon, where the document is held.

  • This archival document is a late 19th- or early 20th-century transcription—held at the Public Library and District Archive of Évora—of a Jesuit administrative and historical manuscript originally compiled in Macau, likely during the 17th century. It records the succession of Superiors, Provincials, Vice-Provincials, and Apostolic Visitors governing the Jesuit Province of Japan and China, as well as related missions in Macau, Cochinchina, Tonkin, Hainan, Fujian, Cambodia, Laos, Siam, and Shiab. The text details canonical procedures for appointment—including ‘viás’ (electoral successions), papal briefs, patents (*patentes*), and dispensations granted by Popes Innocent X and Alexander VII—as well as jurisdictional transitions, such as the formal separation of the Province of Japan and China from the Indian Provinces of Goa and Malabar in 1611. Key figures include Francis Xavier, Alessandro Valignano, Matteo Ricci, Nicolò Longobardo, Valentim Carvalho, Francisco da Veiga, and Alexandre de Rhodes; principal locations encompass Macau, Nagasaki, Funai, Kyoto, Beijing, Canton, Zhaoqing, Hainan, Tonkin, and Cochinchina. The document also chronicles foundational events, missionary strategies, political constraints, persecutions, shipwrecks, and administrative adaptations under colonial and East Asian imperial regimes, serving as a primary source for the institutional history of the Society of Jesus in East Asia.

  • This abstract describes a Qing dynasty administrative document—a formal dispatch (*pai xing*) issued in October 1741 (sixth year of the Qianlong reign) by the Deputy Magistrate of Xiangshan County, Guangzhou Prefecture, holding an Additional Rank of First Grade. The document concerns the investigation of a theft committed against the residence of Ambitide, a foreign resident in Macau, and records procedural directives issued to the Macau *Ting* (Office of the Macau Intendant) for inquiry, evidence collection, and reporting. Key figures include Magistrate Wang of Xiangshan County—described as holding an Additional Rank of First Grade and awarded one record of meritorious service—and the Macau Foreign Headman (*Yí Mù*). The text details bureaucratic protocols including deadlines denoted as ‘Ghost Day’, requirements for sworn depositions distinguishing *qie* (theft) from *qiang* (robbery), submission of seven certified copies (*yi yang qi ben*) of the investigative dossier, and consequences for non-compliance (*gan jiu*). It further references ancillary administrative actions involving the Joint Council (*Lianzong*), official messengers (*Wen Cha*), and monetary settlements in *wén*, silver dollars (*yinyang*), and Japanese silver (*Riyin*), all situated within the jurisdictional framework of coastal Guangdong’s foreign affairs administration. The document is preserved with archival register number Qianlong 6 / 473 and exhibits physical degradation consistent with mid-Qing paper-based yamen records.

  • This fragmentary ecclesiastical and administrative document, originating from a Portuguese colonial context likely in Asia or Africa during the 17th century, comprises a series of missionary reports, spiritual accounts, and institutional records spanning multiple locations including Xiamen (Cinhina), Su-idê, Macau, Goa, and regions associated with the Chinese interior and coastal provinces. The text details the activities of Jesuit and other Catholic missionaries, notably Fathers Francisco Brancato, Julio Aldeni, João Adam, and Miguel Irigaut, under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocesan and Metropolitan See of China. Central themes include the administration of sacraments—particularly Holy Baptism and Confession—among local Christian communities and catechumens, efforts to combat idolatry and demonic influence, and the establishment of churches and confraternities in villages such as Ké chò, Ké ngâm, and Capba. Accounts of spiritual struggles, exorcisms, visions, and martyrdom reflect the integration of European Catholic theology with local cosmologies, while references to Mandarins, Gentiles, and political authorities illustrate the complex interplay between religious mission and imperial governance. The document also records internal Church disputes, logistical challenges due to persecution and natural calamities—including locust plagues and droughts—and the veneration of saints and relics. As a composite manuscript containing marginal annotations, seals, and archival references, it provides critical insight into the operation of Lusophone missionary networks, indigenous conversions, and the socio-religious dynamics of early modern colonial Christianity.

  • 1965年增設望德堂區和花地瑪堂區 |https://www.archives.gov.mo/cn/detail/38

  • 奏報臣屬地方春間雨澤多且米價漸增每石九錢內外不等並西洋臣聶若堅交臣上用葡萄酒已賚交天主堂轉進 具奏日期: 康熙48年04月09日 (1709-05-18) 產生者:偏沅巡撫 趙申喬 硃批內容:知道了 文件類別:奏摺 形制:摺件 尺寸:20.2x9.5x14(公分) 質材:紙 關鍵字: 天主教 出版品: 《宮中檔康熙朝奏摺》第2輯,頁154

  • 奏為在寶坻縣訪獲天主教及提省審辦緣由(附件:奏報雨雪情形片) 具奏日期: 乾隆46年12月25日 (1782-02-07) 產生者: 署直隸總督 英廉 硃批內容:知道了 文件類別:奏摺 形制: 摺件 尺寸: 21.4×9.8(公分) 質材: 紙 附件: 附件:奏報雨雪情形片 出版品: 《宮中檔乾隆朝奏摺》第50輯,頁383

  • 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 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.

  • 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 fragmented 16th–17th century Portuguese colonial administrative document, likely originating from Macao and dated between the 1520s and 1625, comprises a series of translated fiscal, military, and diplomatic records concerning the establishment and governance of Portuguese settlements in maritime Asia. The text details the foundation of Malacca after its conquest by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511, attributing its early development to figures such as Dom João Sanches or his daughter, and references the death of St. Francis Xavier in the region. It chronicles Portuguese commercial and military activities along the China coast, particularly at Lampacao and Macao, including trade fairs, conflicts with Chinese authorities, and the strategic use of fortified positions on riverine frontiers such as Fantan. The account describes armed resistance led by local leaders (e.g., the "chuncho"), negotiations with regional polities like Hipa, and the growing integration of Portuguese settlers through intermarriage and alliances with local officials. Fiscal management is a central theme, with records of customs revenues, expenditures exceeding 855,000 réis between years 622 and 625 (likely Islamic or local calendar dates), and concerns over unsustainable taxation. Reference is made to key individuals including Din Rg Yeus, Deiran, Godeleyo, Don Martin Alfego, and Miguel de Souta, within contexts of ecclesiastical influence, trade regulation, and imperial defence. The document also outlines requests from Macao for royal permission to conduct annual voyages to Japan and Manila, citing economic hardship and Chinese restrictions. Strategically, it underscores the importance of fortifications—particularly the taipa at St. Paul’s—and the need for sustained provisioning of munitions and supplies to maintain control amid ongoing hostilities. Endorsed by probable signatures of D. João de Lemos, Secretary of State of India, and linked to the Marquês de Tenguer, this manuscript offers critical insights into Iberian colonial administration, Sino-Portuguese relations, and the political economy of early modern Asian trade networks.

  • Papal bull and associated financial account, dated 13 November 1884 (with administrative notes from 14 March and 14 October 1884), concerning the episcopal appointment of Dom António Joaquim de Medeiros (also referenced as de Noronha) as Bishop of Macau. The document, issued by Pope Leo XIII during his seventh year of pontificate, formally transfers the titular Bishop of Thermopylae to the Diocese of Macau, a see established under Portuguese royal patronage (*Padroado Real*) granted by King Luís I, Most Faithful King of Portugal and the Algarves. It details the Apostolic authority for the translation, including absolution from prior ecclesiastical obligations, delegation of full spiritual and temporal governance, and instructions for oaths of fidelity to be administered by a designated Catholic prelate. The text affirms the legitimacy of the Macau see under various historical patronage designations, including *Patronatus Caritatis* and *Tropaeum Canonissimi*, and commands local clergy, cathedral chapter, university, and laity to render obedience. Accompanying the bull is an itemised account of consistorial expenses totalling 957.57 florins, covering fees paid to Roman Curia officials, scribes, notaries, and other functionaries involved in the episcopal consecration process, attested by Vicente Domati and Christina Duplertum. The documents originate from the Holy See and pertain to ecclesiastical administration in colonial Macau, reflecting the intersection of papal authority and Portuguese imperial patronage in late 19th-century Catholic missions.

Last update from database: 6/19/26, 5:57 PM (UTC)

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