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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 abstract describes a Qing dynasty imperial edict, promulgated on 23 April 1785 (15th day of the third lunar month in the fiftieth year of the Qianlong reign) and publicly posted in Macau on 10 December 1785, concerning the suppression of Christianity in China. Issued under the authority of Chi, Viceroy (*Sontoc*) of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Lua, Provincial Governor (*Foyem*) of Guangdong, the document records the Board of Punishments’ formal rulings—endorsed by Grand Councillor Kong Ho and approved by the Qianlong Emperor—against European missionaries and Chinese converts. It details the arrest, interrogation, and sentencing of numerous individuals, including Franciscan priests João de Safary, José de Bientina, Luís de Santo António, and João Baptista de Mandelo; bishops Francisco Magni and António Maria Laconi; and Chinese clergy such as Francisco Grima, António, Manuel Gonçalves, Caetano Siu, and Lieou Haitie. The edict specifies punishments ranging from life imprisonment and forced labour in Yli to banishment, corporal punishment, confiscation of property, and destruction of religious materials, while mandating the systematic identification and prosecution of converts, catechists (*xintu*), and ecclesiastical supervisors (*jiao-yuan*) across provinces including Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hunan, Gansu, Hubei, and Fujian. The text also documents the roles of lay intermediaries—including Sinlou, Pedro Hai, and Licou Hactie—in facilitating missionary movement and correspondence, and outlines administrative directives for provincial officials regarding enforcement, property seizure, and ideological re-education.

This dissertation surveys the history of Christianity in China during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with particular attention given to Chinese clergy and lay Christians. A variety of issues are discussed: the social organization of Christian communities, the networks among communities in different localities, internal tensions and conflicts, and Christian devotions in relation to the printing and circulation of Chinese Christian texts known as "scriptures". By examining a group of unusual sources that have been mostly neglected by past scholars---the correspondence of Chinese Christians with ecclesiastical authorities in Rome, and other more familiar but little studied sources such as memorials and edicts regarding the investigation and interrogation of Chinese Christians and Western missionaries during the period of prohibition (1724-1844)---I intend to show how the imperial ban on Christianity in 1724, especially the expulsion of missionaries and the closing of all churches outside the imperial capital, may have affected Christian beliefs and practices at the local level. The historical survey of the period from 1724 to 1780 and the two case studies in Beijing and Jiangnan from 1780 to 1860 will demonstrate that the repression of Christianity and periodic anti-Christian campaigns did, to some extent, help to shape the Christian community in China, making them into a whole body of people connected by religious identity, as distinguished from non-Christians. Yet this strong sense of community may also have been due to spiritual and social connections with Christian communities beyond China. A second contribution of this dissertation study has to do with its exploring the nuances of Christian and other forms of popular devotions. Recent scholarship that sees Christianity primarily as a Chinese popular religion may have underestimated its distinctive "foreignness" and in part misunderstood what conversion meant in the context of Chinese religion and society. To some extent, Chinese converts were attracted to Christianity because it provided another choice for them beyond the existing religious traditions. A drastically different calendar characterized by distinctive feast days, fasting and abstinence, veneration of saints, along with other peculiar Christian beliefs and practices, have become what I define as "alternative devotions".

The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at the University of San Francisco is very pleased to announce that the newly digitized archives of the former Catholic Archdiocese of Canton will become available to researchers beginning in summer 2011. Containing approximately 15,000 items (30 linear feet) of documents, plans, maps, correspondence, deeds, petitions, decree’s and artifacts, the Archives cover the period from 1851 to 1949, which nearly exactly coincides with the “hundred years of shame” (百年國恥 bainian guochi), from the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing through the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949 and the end of Catholic missionary work. Diocesan and parish records from this period and locale are extremely rare. The Canton Archives thus provide a unique resource on the Chinese Church during a turbulent period in modern Chinese history.

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.

This is a transcription of a 17th-century Portuguese colonial document from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), dated 11 May 1665, originating from Lisbon and associated with the Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino). The document records a petition submitted by António de Sousa de Meneses, nobleman of the royal household, requesting confirmation of a royal warrant (alvará) originally issued on 24 January 1598 under the authority of the King of Castile during the Iberian Union. The alvará granted him rights to a voyage to China, a claim he asserts through inheritance via his uncle, Dom Diogo Lobo, who was provisionally appointed captain of the China voyage prior to 1598 and formally designated it in his last will of 10 June 1612. The petitioner cites prolonged military and administrative service to the Crown on the Alentejo frontier and in Portuguese India as grounds for confirmation, despite having failed to seek validation earlier due to active duty. The Council recommends approval based on his meritorious conduct and extenuating circumstances. The text exhibits orthographic variations typical of 17th-century Portuguese bureaucratic writing, including terms such as “chancelaria” (warrant office) and “vagaante” (voyage). Marginal annotations include procedural notes, archival references (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D. 84), and later cataloguing entries, while official seals and signatures of Council officials authenticate the record. This document provides critical insight into the administration of colonial appointments, succession claims, and maritime governance within the Portuguese Empire during the post-Union period.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated 23 May 1664, constitutes a formal copy of a royal communication from the Prince (likely referring to King Afonso VI during his transitional reign) addressed to the Count of India. Originating from Lisbon and preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Nacional with archival references “K70 A4” and “A.53”, the text responds to reports from the Senate of the Municipal Council of Macau regarding severe disruptions to trade and widespread hardship among Portuguese vassals due to ongoing military conflicts in China. The correspondence emphasizes the necessity of maintaining commercial routes between Macau and the Philippines under historical privileges established during the reign of Dom Sebastião, while strictly prohibiting the transport of East Indian goods by foreign agents, particularly Spaniards, to prevent economic prejudice. It underscores the Crown’s obligation to protect its loyal subjects and calls for urgent measures to secure maritime commerce amid regional instability linked to the Ming-Qing transition. Despite an apparent scribal anomaly in the date (“664”), contextual evidence confirms its authenticity within the mid-17th century Portuguese imperial framework. The presence of official seals from both the National Historical Archive and the Overseas Historical Archive (AHU) affirms its provenance. This document provides critical insight into Iberian colonial administration, inter-Asian trade dynamics, and diplomatic protocols within the Portuguese Empire during a period of geopolitical upheaval in East Asia.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated November–December 1656 and originating from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), comprises a series of administrative communications concerning the political, military, and economic situation in Macau during a period of heightened regional instability. The text includes reports from Manoel Martim Riemem, Governor of the State of India, and references to the Captain-Major of Macau, detailing concerns over Dutch naval activity, disruptions to maritime routes—including the Strait of Sunda—and the precarious financial and defensive state of the settlement. Key figures mentioned include João Rodrigues de Sá, Captain of the Fleet, and Eldréj de l’Artella, Governor of the Philippine Islands, who expressed strategic interest in Macau’s vulnerability. The correspondence addresses urgent measures such as troop reinforcement, provisioning of fortifications, remittance of funds (notably ten thousand xerafins or cruzados), and proposals for leadership succession within the Fidalgo fleet, including the recommended appointment of Drey VIAR de Lucellad. The document also records internal disciplinary matters, such as the conduct of Captain Sebastião Pereira, and broader diplomatic and commercial relations with Canton. Despite some marginal annotations containing anachronistic or illegible elements—such as the suspect date “1798” and uncertain terms like “prataxo” or “farenças”—the core content aligns with known historical contexts of Portuguese Asia in 1656. However, several passages are flagged as potentially unreliable due to orthographic anomalies, transcriptional errors, or suspected hallucination, necessitating cautious scholarly interpretation and further verification against original manuscripts in the AHU collection.

This document is a petition submitted by Captain D. Pedro Rodrigues Teixeira, a prominent figure in the governance of Macau, requesting royal favours in recognition of his long-standing service to the Crown in Asian territories. The text records the granting of the habit of Christ—denoting membership in the Military Order of Christ—as an honour previously bestowed in acknowledgment of his loyalty, alongside financial provisions amounting to four thousand réis for the dowry of his daughter. The petitioner further requests the deferred captaincy of Mombasa for one of his daughters and equitable compensation for the loss of the fortress of Pancelllos due to shipwreck, seeking recompense proportional to the value of the habit. Marginal annotations indicate review by the Overseas Council, referencing Teixeira’s residence in Macau and the purpose of the request as securing marital provision for his daughters. Archival markings include references to “Macau, Cx. 1, doc. 67” and a possible folio designation “4º”, with a blue “AHU” stamp confirming provenance from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino. Significant portions of the main text are illegible due to deterioration, and several signatures and seals remain indecipherable. The document reflects seventeenth-century Portuguese imperial administrative practices, particularly the use of chivalric honours and territorial grants as instruments of patronage and colonial governance.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated circa 1654, is an administrative or military dispatch originating from Macau, China, and held within the Historical Archive of Macau. It comprises a formal letter addressed to a high-ranking colonial official, likely the governor, invoking religious and dynastic legitimacy in the context of Portuguese imperial authority in Asia. The text references key figures including Dom Brás—interpreted as a scribal error for Dom João IV—and allusions to Dom Afonso Henriques, symbolising national restoration and divine providence following the end of the Iberian Union (1580–1640). Central themes include the moral and spiritual justification of Portuguese rule, the deposition of tyranny, and appeals to divine intervention for relief from political and material hardships afflicting Macau. The document mentions obscure geographical terms such as "ascatorpens" and "Lande Ingatto," alongside the "route of the Six Reigns," possibly denoting trade or military routes in maritime Asia. A marginal archival reference ("Macau, Cx. 4, doc. 65") indicates its provenance within a classified colonial archive. Seals bearing inscriptions from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino confirm its institutional custody. Written in early modern Portuguese with archaic orthography and syntactic irregularities, the document reflects post-Restoration nationalist rhetoric interwoven with Catholic providentialism. It serves as a valuable source for studying Portuguese colonial ideology, administrative practices, and discourses of sovereignty in 17th-century Asia.

This is a seventeenth-century administrative document dated 10 March 1650, originating from the Portuguese imperial administration and bearing archival identification marks consistent with holdings of the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU). The document records royal appointments and financial disbursements related to the governance and military administration of Portugal’s overseas territories, with specific reference to India and Angola. It outlines the delegation of commissions to several individuals: Dom Rodrigo de Sá, a military officer in Lisbon previously active in India; Francisco Luís, a councillor and former captain-major of a nau who also served in Angola and São Miguel; António de Sousa Coutinho and Francelino da Elyva, both long-serving officials in India; and Cartilho Fernandes Pereira, to whom a sum of 6,500 cruzados was disbursed in Lisbon. The text emphasises criteria for appointment, including proven loyalty, administrative experience, and familiarity with local conditions, particularly favouring those with prior service in India for roles requiring institutional stability. A circular colonial stamp referencing the “Império Português” and “Fundado em 1500” appears alongside handwritten annotations indicating archival classification. Signed by João Miguel Ribeiro, the document reflects centralised decision-making within the Portuguese crown’s bureaucratic framework during the mid-seventeenth century. Its language and structure provide insight into the mechanisms of colonial administration, personnel selection, and fiscal authorisation in the early modern period. This transcription preserves original orthography and textual irregularities for scholarly accuracy.

This 17th-century administrative petition, dated 15 March 1649, forms part of the deliberations of the Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino) concerning Luís de Miranda Henriques, a Portuguese subject resident in Macau. Submitted through legal representation, the document records Henriques’ request for the revocation and renewal of two royal warrants (*alvarás*) originally issued on 22 March 1643, granting him rights to a voyage from India to China for the benefit of his daughters, Donas Catharina and Leonor de Miranda, with the facultative right to renounce them. The petitioner asserts that due to ongoing military conflict and continuous service to the Crown in the Indian territories, he was unable to return to Portugal within the stipulated two-year period to renew the warrants. The Council recommends reissuing the *alvarás* under the same conditions, extending the renewal deadline by an additional two years and allowing succession by lawful heirs should the beneficiaries predecease their entitlement. Endorsed by officials including Salvador de Sá de Meneses and Diogo Lobo do Amaral, the document reflects bureaucratic procedures governing colonial trade privileges and royal patronage within the Portuguese Empire. Located in the Arquivo Histórico Colonial (reference AHU, Macau, Cx. I, doc. 63), this record provides insight into imperial administration, familial inheritance strategies, and the logistical constraints affecting colonial subjects’ compliance with metropolitan legal requirements during the mid-17th century.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated 25 January 1762 and originating from Macau, comprises a formal petition submitted by Dom Braz de Castro to the Council, accompanied by supporting correspondence and administrative records. It concerns the delayed appointment of Dom Braz to the office of Captain-General of Macau, a position allegedly granted by royal favour under King Philip IV and previously confirmed by the Viceroy Dom Theillope Maç in 1646, though notification was only conveyed in March 1661. The text details Dom Braz’s assertion that the Viceroy withheld official communication until naval vessels bound for China were already preparing to depart, thereby undermining his authority and readiness to assume command. He further alleges obstruction by a Secretary of State who repeatedly refused to issue a formal certificate (*certidão*) despite repeated requests, suggesting deliberate non-compliance. The document includes Dom Braz’s appeal for audience before His Majesty, citing the Viceroy’s known disfavour towards him, and references an accompanying petition directed to the Patriarch of Ethiopia seeking ecclesiastical intervention. Additional marginalia, archival stamps, and notarial markings—such as the seal of the Arquivo Histórico de Macau and a notation dated 10 October 1648—indicate its inclusion within the Estado da Índia administrative series. Written in formal bureaucratic Portuguese with embedded legal and diplomatic terminology, this record offers critical insight into imperial administration, jurisdictional conflicts, and personal patronage networks within the Portuguese colonial system in East Asia during the late Habsburg period.

This 17th-century administrative document, dated 14 July 1648, originates from the Portuguese Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino) in Lisbon and concerns a petition submitted by Father António Francisco Cardim, General Procurator of the Jesuit Province of Japan. The petition requests the restoration of an annual endowment of one thousand cruzados to the College of Macau, originally granted by King Dom Sebastião in 1574 from the customs revenues of Malacca, and later confirmed and extended by subsequent monarchs, including King Filipe II in perpetuity from 1614. Following the Dutch capture of Malacca, the funding was reassigned to revenues from the Aljofar pearl fisheries in Goa, but payment was suspended during the viceroyalty of the Count of Aveiras. The document records the Council’s deliberation on this matter, citing testimony regarding the continued missionary activity of the Jesuits across Japan, Cochin China, Tonkin, Cambodia, and Laos, despite persecution and financial hardship. It notes the province’s growing spiritual successes—including mass baptisms—and its severe economic distress, with current revenues insufficient to sustain operations. The Council recommends reinstating the grant from Aljofar revenues and formally recognising the monarch as founder of the College of Macau, following the precedent of royal patronage in Goa and Cochin. Accompanying royal charters from 1579, 1607, 1614, and 1618 are referenced as legal substantiation. A marginal royal dispatch dated 26 March 1649 approves the Council’s recommendation. The document is part of the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU) collections, specifically the India/Macau series, and reflects key aspects of Iberian colonial administration, ecclesiastical finance, and Jesuit missionary policy in East Asia during the early modern period.