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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.

This archival document, originating from the 19th to early 20th century and likely sourced from Portuguese colonial administrative records—potentially held in repositories such as the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, Lisbon—presents significant challenges for transcription due to repeated validation failures caused by excessive textual repetition or apparent hallucination in the source input. These anomalies may stem from technical issues in digitisation processes, including scanning artefacts, misaligned folios, or mechanical duplication, as well as physical manuscript degradation such as ink corrosion, water damage, or superimposed entries. Alternatively, the repetitions may reflect inherent features of colonial record-keeping practices, including administrative reduplication, marginalia, palimpsests, or scribal errors. The document’s content remains inaccessible in its current form, with all transcription attempts failing across multiple segments of the source material. For accurate scholarly engagement, direct consultation of the original manuscript or a high-fidelity digital facsimile is strongly advised to assess legibility, structural integrity, and paleographic characteristics. Researchers should approach this material with rigorous source criticism, recognising that such transcription difficulties are not uncommon in colonial-era archives where preservation conditions and documentation standards varied considerably. This notice serves as a methodological clarification rather than an assessment of the document’s historical authenticity or research value.

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 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 document, "Prolegomenes Sur Ly Kins", delves into an exploration of the ancient Chinese text, the *I Ching* (or *Ly King* as it's referred to herein), positioning it as a profound source of wisdom worthy of scholarly attention. The author outlines a method for European scholars to engage with the symbolism inherent in the *I Ching*, offering preliminary insights designed for ease of understanding and retention. The work critiques existing interpretations, particularly those that deviate from the core text, whilst also acknowledging the text's inherent obscurity and the need for detailed explication. The author touches upon the disputed origins of the *I Ching*, noting the common belief that the 64 figures and their names are ancient, with the text attributed to Ven vang, commentary to Tcheou Kong, and glosses to Confucius, though scholarly consensus is lacking. The document also references supplementary treatises like the Hy-tsée and Tchoüé Koüa tchoüen. A personal conviction is expressed that the *I Ching*'s core elements predate Noah, suggesting a more ancient origin, possibly reaching back to Irense or even Adam. The author also details the structure of the 64 hexagrams, reducing them to eight trigrams and explaining their symbolic associations, such as Kien representing heaven and Koien representing earth. Further, the text discusses the combinations and transformations of these trigrams and hexagrams, and the significance of individual lines within them. The author posits that the *I Ching* portrays the "dieu-homme," a concept linked to Jesus Christ, with the sun and moon symbolizing divinity and humanity respectively.

Folder with fourteen documents