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Fragmentary transcription from a Portuguese colonial-era manuscript, likely dating between the late 16th and early 18th centuries, documents an ecclesiastical and administrative journey involving religious personnel and territorial expeditions in a Lusophone colonial context—possibly West or Central Africa or the Amazon basin. The text records the movements of His Excellency the Bishop of Muidum from Malão towards his bishopric in 1745, including delays due to security concerns and lack of reliable intelligence. It details preparations for entry into China, issuance of pastoral letters to Dom Pedro Xavier das Milhães, and coordination of supplies and messengers. Later sections describe maritime navigation, anchorage near settlements such as Motaõ Seta and So. Brac, encounters with local traders, ritual practices involving figures like Sabina and Salis, and ceremonial processions marked by symbolic offerings, dance, and spiritual invocations. References to locations including Cantam, Malacão, Nancelum, and Fantam suggest a complex network of colonial outposts. The document further outlines military and diplomatic engagements, fortifications, jurisdictional disputes, and interactions with local authorities and Indigenous communities. Despite significant orthographic irregularities, damage to the original manuscript, and numerous illegible or ambiguous passages, the text provides insight into colonial administration, missionary activity, intercultural exchange, and ritual life. Preserved terms resist full etymological identification, reflecting phonetic transcription, scribal error, or code-switching common in frontier archives. This translation adheres strictly to British academic conventions and is suitable for scholarly analysis of early modern Portuguese imperial and ecclesiastical history.
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This fragmentary ecclesiastical document, tentatively dated 1743, originates from the Congregation of the Roman Church and its Inquisition, recorded at the Episcopal Palace in Schiauam Maior. It concerns the proposed appointment of Friar Francisco de Santa Rosa de Viterbo—also referred to as Francisco of Santa Casa de Virtù—as Episcopal Vicar for the East Indies, under the patronage of the King of Portugal and the Algarves. The text records his nomination following the death of D. Manuel de Jesus Maria, former Bishop of the Diocese of Mylapore, and confirms his designation as bishop without diocese (chirotonitus nullius dioecesis) of the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance. Central to the document is the ecclesiastical administration of regions including the Kingdom of Sina (or Sinan), where the city of Sanskim serves as a major provincial centre with a significant Christian population, and the Church of Saint James, which had become vacant. The narrative outlines structural challenges in missionary governance, including the absence of canonical clergy, reliance on catechists, and shortages of sacred vestments and liturgical furnishings. The document also grants special faculties, including powers to absolve reserved cases, confer plenary indulgences, and administer sacraments under specific conditions. Authority to receive episcopal consecration via a single bishop in the Indies is permitted under indult, contingent upon adherence to papal decrees, particularly those issued by Pope Clement X and reiterated in the constitution *Ex quo singulari*. The text reflects the complex interplay between papal authority, Portuguese colonial patronage (*alfarazia*), and the operational realities of Catholic mission work in 18th-century South and East Asia.