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This archival document comprises a composite set of Portuguese colonial administrative records, primarily dating to January 1644, originating from the Estado da Índia and concerning logistical, fiscal, and naval operations centred on Macau. It includes royal warrants, cargo manifests (*gesso*), provisioning orders, appointment instruments, and fiscal instructions issued by or under authority of the Portuguese Crown—specifically referencing King Philip II—and executed by officials including João de Sampaio, Jorge de Melo Jorge de Albuquerque (acting), Gonçalo Fernandes Lima, João da Silva, and António Groudo. Key locations encompass Lisbon, Macau (designated as situated in northeastern China), Goa, Veleza (likely the Azores), São Tomé, and Candelária. The core subject matter pertains to the regulation and dispatch of two vessels—the *Santo André* and *Santo António* (also referenced as *Santos Antónios*, *Santo António de Aveiro*, and *Dona Clara*)—carrying cargoes including 500–700 *centos* of Bengal/Coromandel cotton cloth (*ondo*), 800–1,200 *botijas* of olive oil, 400 *tonéis* of Red Sea coral, 100 ivory tusks (with detailed weight specifications calibrated to Macau’s local *Cidade de Degre* standard), and provisions for personnel and garrisons. The documents further address the appointment of António Falto Forreiro as Captain-Major and administrator of enslaved persons (*Offício de Escravos*), the assignment of royal revenues (*quina*), exemption from port dues (*foros*), recovery of royal estates in Macau, and urgent procurement of artillery and fortification materials. All materials are preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Lisbon), bearing archival references M37A1, M37A2, H37-A3, H3448, and H3495.
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This archival document, dated 2nd January 1644 and held in the Arquivo Histórico do Estado (reference H35, Macau Series 1, Document 35), is an official Portuguese administrative communication originating from the Overseas Council in Lisbon and addressed to the Viceroy of India, Dom António de Noronha, 1st Count of Linhares (serving 1640–1642). It concerns the royal appointment of a *feitor* (fiscal agent) to the royal treasury (*fazenda*) of the Municipal Council (*Senado*) of Macau, then part of the Portuguese Estado da Índia but situated within the Kingdom of China. The document records the King’s directive—conveyed via royal letter patent (*carta régia*)—that the Archbishop of Goa appoint a suitable candidate for this post, prompted by the failure of a prior provision (*provisão*) issued in Goa to yield an acceptable appointee from Portuguese India. In response, the *Senado* of Macau recommended three local residents: João de Abreu (confirmed candidate), Francisco Carvalho of Canda, and António Roiz. The text further references a separate petition before the Overseas Council regarding the potential appointment of Dr Ruy Fêz, a stipendiary student under the Archbishopric of Goa, to the same office. Signed by João da Silva, Inspector of Appeals and Inspector of Accounts, the document reflects institutional tensions between metropolitan authority, viceregal administration, and municipal autonomy in the governance of Macau’s royal finances during the mid-seventeenth century.
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Petition submitted to the Overseas Council in April 1644 by Father Álvaro Semedo, Procurator General of the Province of China of the Society of Jesus, on behalf of the Jesuit mission in China. The document details the severe financial distress faced by the missionaries due to the non-payment of stipends for approximately twenty years, resulting in extreme poverty and the deterioration of church infrastructure in Macau. Semedo asserts that despite repeated appeals, no relief has been granted, with arrears amounting to between fifty thousand and one hundred and fifty thousand cruzados, owed not in coin but through two immediate drafts on Locoambique. He emphasizes the missionaries’ longstanding service to the Portuguese Crown since the foundation of Macau and appeals to the monarch’s conscience, urging urgent payment or the initiation of a formal inquiry through the Reverend Judge of the Inquisition. The text also references procedural delays, including the deposition of the designated investigator Terbo and opposition to recent claims. Additionally, Semedo petitions against the establishment of a new Corôs settlement without prior investigation into the conduct of former official Antonin Belle Que Staiagi, currently under scrutiny alongside others at Aley Dellaagardeside. A subsequent note records the Bishop’s inability to attend proceedings due to pressing duties, though he affirmed compliance with royal directives regarding clerical administration. The document originates from colonial archival holdings, bearing marginalia, seals, and archival references consistent with Portuguese imperial administrative practice in Asia during the mid-seventeenth century.
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This abstract describes a formal petition dated 1644, originating from Chinese Christian residents of Macau and addressed to the Portuguese monarch. The document is preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU) in Lisbon, bearing archival identifiers including ‘India’ and ‘1644’ on its first page and a marginal note indicating dispatch under cover of a letter dated 24 January (year unspecified but contextually consistent with 1644). The petitioners—self-identified as loyal vassals and members of the Confraternity of Jesus—detail longstanding civic contributions, particularly their foundational role in administering the Santa Casa da Misericórdia and maintaining its hospital. They enumerate six principal grievances: restrictions on coastal trade; compulsory unpaid watch duty in Canton despite reliance on manual labour; enforced abandonment of the *capa* garment used to conceal poverty; non-enforcement of debts owed by Portuguese creditors; unlawful diversion of legacies to the royal exchequer; and verbal and physical abuse that undermines Christian conversion efforts. The petition requests reinstatement of qualified Chinese Christians to governance roles within the Santa Casa, liberty of emigration, judicial redress through formal *devassa*, enforcement of widow’s guardianship rights under the *Ordenações do Reino*, and extension of privileges equivalent to those granted to Christians in Portuguese India and Ceylon. An administrative endorsement directs transmission to the Viceroy of India, stressing urgency due to Macau’s current state of being ‘combattida por inimigos’.