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This 17th-century administrative petition, dated 15 March 1649, forms part of the deliberations of the Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino) concerning Luís de Miranda Henriques, a Portuguese subject resident in Macau. Submitted through legal representation, the document records Henriques’ request for the revocation and renewal of two royal warrants (*alvarás*) originally issued on 22 March 1643, granting him rights to a voyage from India to China for the benefit of his daughters, Donas Catharina and Leonor de Miranda, with the facultative right to renounce them. The petitioner asserts that due to ongoing military conflict and continuous service to the Crown in the Indian territories, he was unable to return to Portugal within the stipulated two-year period to renew the warrants. The Council recommends reissuing the *alvarás* under the same conditions, extending the renewal deadline by an additional two years and allowing succession by lawful heirs should the beneficiaries predecease their entitlement. Endorsed by officials including Salvador de Sá de Meneses and Diogo Lobo do Amaral, the document reflects bureaucratic procedures governing colonial trade privileges and royal patronage within the Portuguese Empire. Located in the Arquivo Histórico Colonial (reference AHU, Macau, Cx. I, doc. 63), this record provides insight into imperial administration, familial inheritance strategies, and the logistical constraints affecting colonial subjects’ compliance with metropolitan legal requirements during the mid-17th century.

This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated 25 January 1762 and originating from Macau, comprises a formal petition submitted by Dom Braz de Castro to the Council, accompanied by supporting correspondence and administrative records. It concerns the delayed appointment of Dom Braz to the office of Captain-General of Macau, a position allegedly granted by royal favour under King Philip IV and previously confirmed by the Viceroy Dom Theillope Maç in 1646, though notification was only conveyed in March 1661. The text details Dom Braz’s assertion that the Viceroy withheld official communication until naval vessels bound for China were already preparing to depart, thereby undermining his authority and readiness to assume command. He further alleges obstruction by a Secretary of State who repeatedly refused to issue a formal certificate (*certidão*) despite repeated requests, suggesting deliberate non-compliance. The document includes Dom Braz’s appeal for audience before His Majesty, citing the Viceroy’s known disfavour towards him, and references an accompanying petition directed to the Patriarch of Ethiopia seeking ecclesiastical intervention. Additional marginalia, archival stamps, and notarial markings—such as the seal of the Arquivo Histórico de Macau and a notation dated 10 October 1648—indicate its inclusion within the Estado da Índia administrative series. Written in formal bureaucratic Portuguese with embedded legal and diplomatic terminology, this record offers critical insight into imperial administration, jurisdictional conflicts, and personal patronage networks within the Portuguese colonial system in East Asia during the late Habsburg period.

This 17th-century administrative document, dated 14 July 1648, originates from the Portuguese Overseas Council (Conselho Ultramarino) in Lisbon and concerns a petition submitted by Father António Francisco Cardim, General Procurator of the Jesuit Province of Japan. The petition requests the restoration of an annual endowment of one thousand cruzados to the College of Macau, originally granted by King Dom Sebastião in 1574 from the customs revenues of Malacca, and later confirmed and extended by subsequent monarchs, including King Filipe II in perpetuity from 1614. Following the Dutch capture of Malacca, the funding was reassigned to revenues from the Aljofar pearl fisheries in Goa, but payment was suspended during the viceroyalty of the Count of Aveiras. The document records the Council’s deliberation on this matter, citing testimony regarding the continued missionary activity of the Jesuits across Japan, Cochin China, Tonkin, Cambodia, and Laos, despite persecution and financial hardship. It notes the province’s growing spiritual successes—including mass baptisms—and its severe economic distress, with current revenues insufficient to sustain operations. The Council recommends reinstating the grant from Aljofar revenues and formally recognising the monarch as founder of the College of Macau, following the precedent of royal patronage in Goa and Cochin. Accompanying royal charters from 1579, 1607, 1614, and 1618 are referenced as legal substantiation. A marginal royal dispatch dated 26 March 1649 approves the Council’s recommendation. The document is part of the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU) collections, specifically the India/Macau series, and reflects key aspects of Iberian colonial administration, ecclesiastical finance, and Jesuit missionary policy in East Asia during the early modern period.

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.

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.

This undated draft consultation, provisionally attributed to 1645 and originating from the Portuguese colonial administration, pertains to ecclesiastical governance in Macau during the mid-17th century. The document comprises a royal administrative dispatch, likely issued by the State Council or royal secretariat, addressing the appointment of a Bishop and Governor for Macau under the framework of the *padroado real*. It requests that the Crown appoint a suitable religious individual to the bishopric, with provision for a coadjutor享有 future succession rights (*coadiutor com futura succeßam*) to the ecclesiastical benefices (*bems*) of the see. The text further instructs the Viceroy to nominate a priest or clergyman as interim colleague (co-legate), subject to royal confirmation. Marginal annotations, including the date “28 June 1645” and references to the Senate of Macau and the Bishop of Macau, suggest archival linkage to a broader consultation, though the main body of the earlier folio remains entirely illegible. Seals bearing inscriptions associated with the Arquivo Histórico Colonial and the AHU, along with royal ciphers and archival references such as “Macau. Cx. 1, doc. 52”, confirm its provenance within the Portuguese colonial archive. The document reflects centralised Crown authority over ecclesiastical appointments and offers insight into the political and religious dynamics shaping the Lusophone Catholic Church in East Asia.

This 17th-century archival document, originating from Macau and dated 25 September 1645, comprises a formal petition addressed to the Portuguese monarch from the Municipal Council (Câmara) of Macau, with additional administrative entries and signatures from February and November 1645. The primary text, signed by Rafael Arrais de Morais on behalf of the council, emphasizes the strategic and economic importance of preserving Macau amid concerns over military vulnerability and trade instability. It argues against proposals to abandon the settlement, particularly those advanced by António Fialho, and stresses Macau’s potential for generating royal revenue through revived trade with Japan and Manila, as well as its shipbuilding capacity. The document highlights a critical shortage of gunpowder for defence and requests urgent supply, asserting that maintaining Macau serves the Crown’s interests in the Orient. A secondary communication, dated 25 November 1645, references English ships dispatched under the Count of Aveiro, whose arrival via Batavia caused diplomatic tension due to Chinese opposition to foreign vessels, prompting procedural concerns over unauthorised correspondence channels. Marginal annotations, seals bearing the insignia of Portugal and inscriptions such as “ARQUIVO HISTÓRICO COLONIAL” and “CÂMARA DE MACAU”, and multiple signatures—including those of officials like Manoel de Figueiredo e Araújo and Alvaro de Fartilho—attest to the document’s administrative provenance. Despite physical deterioration, ink bleed-through, and some illegibility, the text provides vital evidence of colonial governance, imperial diplomacy, and geopolitical anxieties within the Portuguese Estado da Índia during the mid-1640s.

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.

This 17th-century royal letter, dated 16 October 1643, is a manuscript document from the Portuguese Crown addressed to Jorge Mascarenhas, Marquis of Montalvão, member of the Council of State and President of the Treasury. Written in Enxoura, the document concerns the urgent preparation of ships for a voyage to India, referencing vessels described as 'coral vessels'—a term possibly indicating textual corruption or scribal error, potentially intended as *correios* (dispatch ships) or *caravelas*. The King notes a recommendation from António Ferreira Fialho, conveyed via the Marquis, that greater damage to these ships may render their voyages more advantageous, a claim requiring further examination by the Councils of Finance and Commerce. The Council of State provisionally endorsed dispatching the *Candelaria* and the *Carrias São João*, pending consultation with key officials, including Fialho and Gonçalo Ferreira de Lima. The text reflects administrative decision-making within the Portuguese imperial bureaucracy and highlights logistical and fiscal considerations in maritime operations. Archival markings include contemporary annotations, seals—both wax and ink—and later cataloguing stamps from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino and the Inspeção das Bibliotecas e Arquivos, indicating provenance and preservation within Portuguese colonial archives. Housed in Macau, Box 1, doc. 22, this document offers critical insight into Iberian naval administration, colonial logistics, and early modern statecraft.

This mid-eighteenth-century Portuguese colonial administrative memorandum, dated 6 December 1741 and preserved in the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU_CU_Índia, Cx. 14, D.), concerns strategic and diplomatic efforts to safeguard Macau’s position amid escalating tensions with Spanish authorities in Manila. Addressed to the Portuguese Crown, the document details a memorial submitted to the Count of Atouguia, Minister of State for John of India, urging urgent military and political support for Macau to counter Castilian influence. It references intelligence from Macau and Goa indicating substantial annual shipments through Manila under Spanish protection, raising fears of Portuguese smuggling and potential annexation by the King of Castile. The text records failed diplomatic initiatives, including correspondence routed via England involving António Fialho Francisco and the Marquis of Fontes in Boston, as well as constraints imposed by regional suspicion and intra-imperial rivalry. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of dispatching authoritative envoys from Lisbon to reinforce royal sovereignty, particularly through economic revitalisation and naval presence, while addressing internal obstacles within the Junta. Mention is made of key figures such as Mapeta Jant and Jacobo Fialho, alongside allusions to Hofuku and Chinchai, reflecting complex trans-regional networks in maritime East Asia. Seals of the Ministério da Marinha e do Comércio and archival markings confirm its provenance within formal state correspondence. This document provides critical insight into Portugal’s defensive colonial diplomacy, imperial competition, and the precarious autonomy of Macau within the Estado da Índia framework during the 1740s.

This 1642 handwritten dispatch, addressed to King D. João IV of Portugal and attributed to Pórciamodelamnceclabreu, forms part of the Portuguese colonial administrative correspondence originating from Macau. The document, received from the Casa da Índia and bearing marginal annotations in Portuguese, outlines pressing commercial and political challenges affecting Portuguese interests in Asia during the early years of the Iberian Union. It details disruptions to trade networks, particularly with China and Japan, citing restrictions imposed by local authorities (possibly referencing Ming dynasty policies), logistical failures, and internal administrative instability. Central concerns include the loss of ciphered communications, insufficient military reinforcement, famine in key territories such as Lendre, and the collapse of a commercial negotiation due to the panic-induced failure of agent Fernão G. L'estas. The text also references the strategic importance of the settlement known as "the city of the Name of God" (likely Macau), highlighting its economic value, defensive vulnerabilities, and symbolic role within the Estado da Índia. Despite orthographic irregularities, encrypted terms (e.g., *segofas*, *Camo*, *Haixada*), and partial lacunae, the document reflects authentic 17th-century colonial documentation practices. Its structure, language, and allusions to ecclesiastical authority, divine providence, and Company-supported embassies align with known administrative genres of the period. This transcription preserves original features including script, layout, and physical markings, offering scholars a valuable primary source on mid-17th century Luso-Asian trade, governance, and imperial diplomacy.

This document is a 17th-century Portuguese administrative decree, dated 23 May 1641, issued during the reign of King João IV, and handled in Macau. The main text, partially legible through translation, records an order for the Council of Finance to disburse funds to the Bishop-Elect of Japan (Bispo Elleito do Japão) for the transmission of his Bulls, in accordance with the financial provisions granted to his predecessor. Marginal annotations confirm the date and location, with the notation “Macau, 23 May 1641” appearing on the left side of the page. A signature attributed to “João IV” is present in the lower left margin, alongside an unidentifiable mark. Three faded circular seals, likely wax or ink impressions, are centrally positioned, though no inscriptions are legible. A stamp marked “AHU” (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino) appears in the lower left corner, indicating archival provenance within the Portuguese colonial record system. Additional handwritten elements include a partial annotation possibly reading “Pro Fazenda” or “Pro Fazenda d. João IV” and a small marginal mark “t”. The term “Elleito”, a period-appropriate orthographic variant of “Eleito”, reflects contemporary Portuguese ecclesiastical usage. Despite minor palaeographic variations, the document’s content, dating, and administrative context align consistently with Portuguese imperial practices in Asia following the restoration of independence in 1640. The sole anachronistic element, “a. 1. dec. 18”, is assessed as a later archival addition and not part of the original 1641 record. This manuscript constitutes a genuine primary source relevant to the study of Iberian colonial administration, ecclesiastical finance, and Lusophone Asia in the early modern period.