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This is a collection of official dispatches, petitions, and correspondence from the Portuguese colonial administration in Macau, dating between 1822 and 1827, primarily addressed to high-ranking officials in Lisbon, including the Secretary of State for Overseas Affairs and the Royal Presence. The documents centre on the political, economic, and administrative crisis in Macau following the establishment of a new Municipal Council (Senado da Câmara) in August 1822 after the swearing-in of the Constitutional Basis, which led to factionalism, governance disputes, and a breakdown in public order. A key figure is Fr. Francisco, Bishop of Macau, who acts as both spiritual leader and Governor, reporting on the deteriorating trade conditions, particularly the shift of opium commerce from Macau to Lintin Island due to failed agreements with Chinese Mandarins after 1820. He attributes economic decline to internal rivalries and illegitimate governance, warning of foreign ambitions and strategic vulnerability. Multiple memorials from Macau residents, dated 1825, urge mediation by the Bishop and Governor to restore trade through renegotiation with Chinese authorities, proposing coordinated action among merchants and customs officials to revive revenues. The texts include requests for intervention in commercial affairs, appeals for royal approval, and administrative instructions, reflecting the entangled ecclesiastical and civil authority in the colony. Endorsed by the Secretariat of State in Lisbon in April 1827, the papers were submitted to the Overseas Council for deliberation on reviving regulated opium trade under Portuguese oversight. The documents are part of the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (Lisbon), bearing archival stamps and marginalia indicative of their bureaucratic trajectory within the Portuguese imperial administration.
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Petition letter dated 26 February 1820, addressed to Count Pedro de Mello, Plenipotentiary Minister and Envoy of the Portuguese Crown at the Holy See, from Don Filippo Colonna, Rector of the Pious House of the Catechumens in Rome. The document concerns two individuals undergoing religious instruction: Bakxù, a 14-year-old Muslim youth of Macao, China—located within the Portuguese-administered territory under the Province of Guangdong, District of Quanzhou—who seeks baptism and relief from destitution while residing at the institution; and an unnamed 19-year-old Jewish catechumen described as nearly destitute. Colonna requests alms on behalf of both, specifically appealing for clothing previously donated to another convert, referred to as Moro, a Turkish catechumen. The petition underscores the material hardship endured by these converts, particularly Bakxù, who is described as poorly clothed and in fragile health, dependent on minimal sustenance provided by his guardian. The text reflects institutional practices of conversion and charitable support within the Roman Catholic Church during the early 19th century, highlighting transnational religious migration and the role of diplomatic patronage in ecclesiastical welfare. This primary source offers insight into colonial subjecthood, religious conversion, and the socio-economic conditions of foreign converts in papal Rome, as mediated through ecclesiastical authority and diplomatic channels.
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