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Padre Marcelo Mastrilli, a Jesuit, is remembered for his martyrdom in Nagasaki, Japan, and a miracle attributed to him by St. Francis Xavier. In 1636, en route to India, he foresaw his martyrdom in a letter to S. Antonio Tegliez de Silva. In 1634, while dying in Naples, St. Francis Xavier healed him and tasked him with preaching in the Indies, promising him martyrdom. Mastrilli journeyed through Madrid, Lisbon, Goa, Malacca, and Manila before reaching Japan, experiencing miracles along the way. Leaving Goa in April 1636, with twelve companions, Mastrilli's group split up, heading for Malacca. He, along with Padres Baldassarro Citadella, Antonio Capece, and Francesco Carola, sailed on Domenico di Camera's Galeotta, intending to reach Japan, China, and other areas. However, Dutch vessels forced them to Manila. En route, when the Galeotta sprung a leak, Mastrilli reassured everyone with an image of St. Francis Xavier, promising salvation. In Manila, Mastrilli faced difficulties entering Japan due to restrictions on religious figures. It was decided he would go alone, while his companions went to Macao. Before departing, he accompanied the Governor of Manila to conquer Mindanao. During a battle, he flagellated himself, provoking a demonic reaction and receiving a revelation that the victory would be his and that the Governor would facilitate his journey to Japan. Mastrilli, with ten Japanese men disguised as locals, sailed from Manila on July 13, 1637, reaching the Kingdom of Saxuma on September 19. Seeking the Emperor, he landed at Xiguiso but was discovered and arrested with his companions, then taken to Nagasaki. There, he declared his mission to convert the Emperor. Mastrilli endured tortures, maintaining his faith. Sentenced to death, he was thrown into a pit of filth on October 17, 1637. After four days, he was beheaded; an earthquake occurred at his death.
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This 17th-century Portuguese colonial administrative document, dated between 1606 and 1634, comprises a series of petitions, royal warrants (alvarás), notarial certifications, and archival annotations originating from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino and related repositories in Lisbon. It concerns Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, gentleman of His Majesty’s Household and heir to his uncle of the same name, who petitioned the Crown for confirmation and reissuance of a lost royal licence granted on 30 March 1606 authorising a voyage to China. The documentation further reveals that in 1606, a sum of 600,000 réis was allocated to representatives of Lisbon aboard a ship returning from China via Bandar Abbas, intended initially for Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, son of Dom Jorge Mascarenhas, Count of Castanheira, and later transferable to his nephew, Dom Pedro de Melo Mascarenhas. The petitioner requests legal authority to manage the estate, receive revenues, appoint attorneys, and conduct proceedings before royal judges (ouvidores). Multiple attestations by officials including Manuel Jacome Bravo, Chief Keeper of the Torre do Tombo, and notaries such as Pedro António de Carvalho and Gaspar Maldonado, confirm searches in chancery records and the authenticity of transcribed provisions. Marginalia, fiscal stamps (imposto do sello), and repeated archival markings (AHU, M. das C.) reflect bureaucratic verification processes. The text illustrates the operation of Iberian Union-era colonial administration, particularly regarding maritime privileges, succession rights, and Crown revenue management in relation to India, Malacca, Macao, and Japan.
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This document is a transcription of an official municipal record dated 1632, originating from Macau, then under Portuguese administration. It records a resolution passed by the municipal council (Câmara) on 7 July 1632 in the City of the Name of God (Macau), concerning the imposition of additional customs duties to alleviate the city’s financial debt. The meeting was attended by ordinary judges Francisco Rodrigues da Silva and Salvador Pinto de Moraes, councillors Diogo Vas Bavaro and Rodrigo Sanches de Paredes, and Procurator of the City Antonio Prounca. The councillor for the month, Diogo Vas Bavaro, informed the assembly that the city's debt had resulted in the detention of local merchants’ commercial goods in Japan, necessitating urgent fiscal measures. To address this, a proposal was made to increase existing duties by two per cent, bringing the total levy to seven per cent. After deliberation, the measure was unanimously approved. The record was formally drawn up and signed by Tristão Tavares Alferes, Clerk of the City. The document bears dual archival stamps from the Arquivo Histórico Colonial in Lisbon and contains marginal annotations indicating its origin and year. A second page lists officials serving under the Governor of China, with a certification of authenticity by José Joaquim Barrois, Secretary of the Senate. This primary source provides critical insight into the fiscal policies, administrative structures, and economic challenges faced by the Portuguese colonial municipality of Macau in the early 17th century, particularly in relation to trade relations with Japan.
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