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On the nomination of the Bishop of Nanjing, Alessandro Cicero.

This archival document comprises a multi-page administrative dossier from the Portuguese colonial administration in Macau, dated between 1823 and 1827, with the principal communication dated 27 April 1827. It consists of official correspondence, memoranda, petitions, and marginalia addressed to senior colonial authorities—including the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord (a high-ranking official in Lisbon), the Bishop of Macau (Miguel d’Arriaga Borba da Silveira), and the Governor and Captain-General of Macau—concerning the contested regulation and fiscal management of the *anfiao* (opium) trade. Key figures include Luís Chacim (arrived in Macau aboard the vessel *Porto*), L.M.P.S.D.H. (Luís Maria Pereira da Silva e D’Oliveira Horta), António Vicente Mendes, Jorge Moura/Sousa Pacheco, and Dom Man-hi, alongside references to Chinese mandarins—including the Boat Mandarin—and Portuguese military and ecclesiastical officials such as Field Marshal António Barrio and Marshal of the Field (brevet rank) Castro Caldeira e Albuquerque. The dossier documents disputes over jurisdiction between Macau’s Municipal Senate (reconstituted in 1822), the Bishop-Governor, royal officials, and Qing imperial authorities, particularly concerning revenue loss following the shift of *anfiao* fairs to Lantau Island after c. 1820, administrative dereliction, and efforts to restore trade under Portuguese oversight. It further records appeals for royal intervention, procedural deliberations by the Secretaria de Estado dos Negócios Ultramarinos and the Overseas Council, and formal submissions to the Infanta Regent at Ajuda Palace. The material originates from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU) and related Portuguese national archives, bearing archival references including M2687 and its variants.

This 1826 administrative document, originating from the Royal College of St Joseph in Macao, China, comprises a formal submission by its Superior, Joaquim José Monteiro Torres, addressed to a high-ranking colonial or ecclesiastical official. The letter transmits an enclosed petition concerning the welfare of missionary activities under the Royal Patronage of the Portuguese Crown, requesting its forwarding to the "Royal Presence" of the August Lord D.º G.º. Signed by both Monteiro Torres and Nuciao Rodrigues Osório de Borja, the document reflects institutional efforts to coordinate ecclesiastical affairs within the Portuguese imperial framework in Asia. Endorsed with marginal annotations indicating administrative routing—specifically instructions to communicate the matter to the Bishop of Macao on 2 April 1827, preceded by earlier notations dating to 23 March and 1 April 1827—the manuscript reveals procedural aspects of colonial governance and church-state relations in the late Portuguese Empire. Originally archived under references linked to the Historical Archive of Portugal (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D. 84), the document bears a circular seal associated with Portuguese historical documentation. As a primary source, it provides insight into the bureaucratic mechanisms supporting Catholic missions in Macao during the early 19th century, illustrating the interplay between religious institutions and imperial authority in a colonial Asian context.

Livro das Monções Fontes

Livro das Monções.

Livro das Monções.

Novas Aquisições Francesas

Documentação sobre Macau referenciada no Catálogo dos Documentos Relativos às Filipinas, de Pedro Torres y Lanza

Secretarias Provinciais

This abstract describes a bilingual (Chinese and Latin) imperial edict issued on 9 November 1785—the eighth day of the tenth lunar month in the fiftieth year of the Qianlong reign—alongside a contemporaneous ecclesiastical dispatch dated 22 January 1786 from Macau. The document records the Qing Emperor’s conditional release of twelve European missionaries, including Patiliano (Father Joannes a Salsis), who had entered China without official authorisation and were apprehended across multiple provinces including Huguang, Zhili, Guangdong, Gansu, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. It details the Emperor’s rationale for initial sentencing to perpetual imprisonment—citing clandestine movement and proselytisation as disruptive analogues to the legendary venomous serpent *Guiyu*—and his subsequent clemency, permitting the missionaries either residence in Beijing churches (*jiaotang*) or repatriation to Macau under imperial auspices. The dispatch, authored by Martinho de Melo, Apostolic Administrator *ad interim* of Macau, reports ceremonial reception in Beijing—including imperial audience, liturgical celebration at the Cathedral, and solemn processions—as well as the identities and nationalities of twelve missionaries en route to Macau, among them Bishop Francisco Gabriel Turin of Sichuan, Italian, Spanish, French, Macanese, and Colombian clergy. The text reflects Qing administrative procedures, jurisdictional roles of the Board of Rites (*Lifan Yuan*) and Ministry of Justice (*Xingbu*), and missionary interpretations of imperial favour, including the term *Condegiro* as colloquial reference to high-ranking mandarins. This material constitutes a primary source for studying Sino-European religious diplomacy, Qing legal administration, and Catholic missionary activity in late eighteenth-century China.

This is a fragmentary administrative and legal document, likely from the Portuguese colonial period (16th–18th century), preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D). The text records land tenure, inheritance claims, and ecclesiastical appointments involving noble and religious figures in a colonial context, possibly Goa or another territory within the Portuguese Empire. It details property transfers, including holdings such as the estate of Dona Maria de Noronha and lands associated with the Tenhorometod Re Syndicato Eclojophia, referencing local jurisdictions, familial succession, and testamentary arrangements. Key individuals include Pero Maffina, Manuel Caldeira do Canto, Reverend Father François Marquez El Corueta, and various officials such as Corregedores, Vicars General, and members of the Almada and Albuquerque families. The document contains references to judicial procedures, powers of attorney, tithe rights, and disputes over guardianship and asset distribution. Despite significant orthographic irregularities, phonetic spellings, and sections of indecipherable content, it reflects the complex bureaucratic, legal, and ecclesiastical frameworks of Lusophone colonial administration. Seals, marginal annotations, and archival markings indicate formal authentication and provenance within official colonial record-keeping systems. This transcription serves as a primary source for scholarly research into colonial governance, property law, and familial networks in the Portuguese imperial sphere.

This is a handwritten ecclesiastical letter dated 4th September 1702, addressed to D. Pedro II, King of Portugal, from Alexandre Cícero, Bishop of Nankim, and written in Portuguese colonial script. The document originates from Nankim (likely Nanquim or a variant spelling of a South or East Asian mission station) and forms part of the Portuguese overseas ecclesiastical archive. It discusses the ongoing Chinese Rites controversy, referencing deliberations in Rome and the consultation of missionaries from China regarding the compatibility of Confucian ancestral practices with Catholic doctrine. The author expresses relief that longstanding missionary efforts in China are being distinguished from the actions of disruptive vicars, and conveys hope for a favourable papal decision under the new Supreme Pontiff. The letter also acknowledges royal intervention in securing the provision of the author’s ecclesiastical stipend (*congrua*) through the Viceroy of India, for which gratitude is expressed. Marginalia include an illegible annotation possibly indicating "Humble Chaplain" and the initials "MAOZ". Official stamps from the National Library’s Ultramarine Section appear on the page, confirming archival provenance. The signature, "Alexandre Cícero, Bishop of Nankim", authenticates the document. This primary source offers critical insight into 18th-century Catholic missionary politics, Lusophone imperial patronage, and the intersection of colonial administration and religious authority in Asia.

This is a composite archival document comprising three distinct but contemporaneous 1673 Portuguese colonial administrative and legal texts originating from Macau, with supplementary references to São Paulo de Macau, the Indian ecclesiastical province, and related jurisdictions in Asia. The principal components are: (1) a formal petition dated 10 January 1673 concerning the proposed appointment of an individual to the office of *Lindo Malho d’Agange*, entangled with land claims (*grina*) in Selgera (likely São José or São Paulo complex), contested by the *Juna Mozerna* and the *Companhia de São Intreicada*, and involving fiscal administration, judicial injunctions (*striga*), and procedural safeguards under the *Senado*’s chancery; (2) a supplementary administrative report—also dated 10 January 1673—detailing ecclesiastical appointments, military deployments in the Ignorini region, unrest in Hyne Durcanda (Lugy Grouve district), vulnerabilities in Etha Cido Emergirgo, infrastructural deficiencies in medical provision, and systemic challenges to governance, agriculture, and public health across the Galvarad region; and (3) a personal declaration of filiation and legitimation dated 10 March 1673, executed by João Damasceno de Oliveira in Macau, acknowledging his daughter Maria José as legitimate *per aliam viam* and authorising her son-in-law Generoso de Jesus Servido, with contextual reference to Minas Gerais Province. All texts bear marginalia identifying Macau as the locus of origin, archival references to the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D. 84; Cx. 1, D. 75), and attestations by municipal notaries and officials. The document offers critical insight into mid-seventeenth-century Luso-Asian administrative practice, jurisdictional conflict, ecclesiastical governance, and colonial legal culture.

This 17th-century administrative correspondence, originating from the municipal council (Câmara) of Macao and dated between August and December 1666, comprises a series of petitions addressed to the Portuguese monarch concerning the severe economic and political crisis afflicting the settlement. The documents detail the catastrophic impact of a Chinese imperial edict—issued under the Qing (Tartar) government—that prohibited maritime navigation and forced coastal populations to relocate inland, effectively severing Macao’s commercial lifelines, particularly its trade with China. Council members, including Rafael Arias de Morales and other assessors, report widespread famine, isolation, and the collapse of local markets, exacerbated by the absence of military and financial support from the Viceroyalty of India. They urgently petition for the dispatch of a royal embassy to the Court of Peking as the only viable remedy to restore trade and safeguard Portugal’s strategic and religious interests in the region. The text further describes the detention of Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan missionaries in Canton and the suppression of Christian proselytisation. Endorsed with official seals of the Arquivo Histórico Colonial and Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, these records form part of the Portuguese colonial archive and offer critical insights into the challenges faced by European enclaves in East Asia amid shifting imperial policies in early Qing China.