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This 17th-century administrative document, originating from Macau and addressed to D. João IV, King of Portugal, records deliberations by the Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino) concerning escalating tensions between ecclesiastical and civil authorities in the Portuguese colony. The dispute centres on jurisdictional conflicts between D. João de Melo, Governor of the Bishopric of Macau, and Fr. António de São Miguel, Commissioner of the Holy Office, particularly regarding spiritual authority and governance. The text details mutual accusations: the Commissioner alleges interference in matters of conscience and discipline, while the Governor asserts overreach beyond sanctioned powers. Concurrently, residents of Macau have formally complained of official abuses, unjust taxation, and judicial inequities, exacerbating civil unrest. The document also addresses a royal prohibition on travel for Portuguese and Castilian subjects to Manila, imposed due to geopolitical tensions with Spanish authorities, alongside the forced withdrawal of Catholic religious personnel from Manila, raising concerns about pastoral continuity and missionary safety. The Council advises the Crown to issue a definitive ruling delineating ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions, initiate an inquiry into colonial grievances, and consider measured adjustments to the travel ban and missionary deployments. Endorsed by marginal annotations and preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D), this record offers critical insight into colonial administration, church-state relations, and imperial policy in early modern Portuguese Asia.
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Fragmentary administrative document dated 28 November 1643, originating from the Municipal Council of the City of Macao (referred to as Nome de Deus), addressed to a high-ranking Portuguese colonial authority, likely the Viceroy or Crown representative in Asia. The text records a formal petition requesting permission to conduct three trading voyages to Japan should the Japan trade be reopened, with the expressed purpose of alleviating the city’s substantial debts owed to Japanese creditors. The Council requests that the first voyage be granted to the local Company as a privilege, and that the remaining two be purchased at the standard rate established in Stillo, with proceeds allocated toward settling civic obligations and funding the presídio (garrison) salaries, including regular and double-pay allowances. Jorge de Albuquerque supports the petition, affirming the residents’ merit for royal favour due to eight years of commercial hardship. A supplementary note outlines conditions for royal voyages: reimbursement of Crown expenses from voyage revenues, and a proposal that if additional voyages are granted to other parties, the Macao petitioners should receive one-quarter of the profits from an extra voyage over four years as an act of grace. Marginal and interlinear annotations indicate archival routing, including a reference to Belém and archival code No. 31 A 1. Seals bear inscriptions identifying the Arquivo Histórico Colonial and AHU. The document reflects late Habsburg-period Portuguese colonial fiscal policy, intra-Asian trade dynamics, and the socio-economic pressures on Macao following Japan’s closure of foreign trade.