Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino a D. João IV, rei de Portugal sobre a situação da cidade de Macau. Envio de socorros. Relações dos holandeses com a cidade de Cantão. Resolução régia para que o Conselho dê o seu parecer sobre o assunto. No mesmo documento, uma consulta, de 1656-12-07, e outra consulta inclusa da data da anterior com o parecer do Conselho
This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated November–December 1656 and originating from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), comprises a series of administrative communications concerning the political, military, and economic situation in Macau during a period of heightened regional in...
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| Summary: | This 17th-century Portuguese colonial document, dated November–December 1656 and originating from the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU), comprises a series of administrative communications concerning the political, military, and economic situation in Macau during a period of heightened regional instability. The text includes reports from Manoel Martim Riemem, Governor of the State of India, and references to the Captain-Major of Macau, detailing concerns over Dutch naval activity, disruptions to maritime routes—including the Strait of Sunda—and the precarious financial and defensive state of the settlement. Key figures mentioned include João Rodrigues de Sá, Captain of the Fleet, and Eldréj de l’Artella, Governor of the Philippine Islands, who expressed strategic interest in Macau’s vulnerability. The correspondence addresses urgent measures such as troop reinforcement, provisioning of fortifications, remittance of funds (notably ten thousand xerafins or cruzados), and proposals for leadership succession within the Fidalgo fleet, including the recommended appointment of Drey VIAR de Lucellad. The document also records internal disciplinary matters, such as the conduct of Captain Sebastião Pereira, and broader diplomatic and commercial relations with Canton. Despite some marginal annotations containing anachronistic or illegible elements—such as the suspect date “1798” and uncertain terms like “prataxo” or “farenças”—the core content aligns with known historical contexts of Portuguese Asia in 1656. However, several passages are flagged as potentially unreliable due to orthographic anomalies, transcriptional errors, or suspected hallucination, necessitating cautious scholarly interpretation and further verification against original manuscripts in the AHU collection. Obs.: Resolução favorável da rainha. Anexo: 1656-11-17 - Consulta do Conselho Ultramarino a D. João IV, rei de Portugal sobre a situação da cidade de Macau, o envio de socorros, sobre o parecer do Conselho para se atribuir a Comenda da Ordem de Cristo com dote de 500 cruzados ao capitão-geral de Macau, João de Sousa Pereira |
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