Carta (2) do Senado da Câmara de Macau a [D. Afonso VI], rei de Portugal, sobre a actuação do Governo de Pequim: a proibição da navegação e comércio nos mares da China; a retenção de religiosos em Cantão proibindo-lhes a pregação. Necessidade de um pregador para a corte de Pequim
This 17th-century administrative correspondence, originating from the municipal council (Câmara) of Macao and dated between August and December 1666, comprises a series of petitions addressed to the Portuguese monarch concerning the severe economic and political crisis afflicting the settlement. The...
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| Format: | Manuscripts |
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| Published: |
1666-11-14
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| Subjects: |
Administrative Crisis Response
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Chinese Imperial Policy
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Christian Proselytisation Suppression
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Coastal Relocation
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Commercial Interests
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Dominican Missionaries
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Economic Crisis in Macao
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Forced Relocation Impact
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Franciscan Missionaries
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Government Prohibition
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Jesuit Missionaries
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Macau Municipal Council
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Maritime Navigation Ban
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Military Absence
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Morales Assessors
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Petitions to Monarch
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Political Instability
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Portuguese Colonial Administration
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Portuguese Settlement
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Qing Imperial Edict
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Qing Rule
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Royal Embassy Request
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Trade Restoration
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Ultramarino Records
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Widespread Famine
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Manuscripts
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| Online Access: | https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/D4PJCWH8/viewer_D4PJCWH8.html |
| Summary: | This 17th-century administrative correspondence, originating from the municipal council (Câmara) of Macao and dated between August and December 1666, comprises a series of petitions addressed to the Portuguese monarch concerning the severe economic and political crisis afflicting the settlement. The documents detail the catastrophic impact of a Chinese imperial edict—issued under the Qing (Tartar) government—that prohibited maritime navigation and forced coastal populations to relocate inland, effectively severing Macao’s commercial lifelines, particularly its trade with China. Council members, including Rafael Arias de Morales and other assessors, report widespread famine, isolation, and the collapse of local markets, exacerbated by the absence of military and financial support from the Viceroyalty of India. They urgently petition for the dispatch of a royal embassy to the Court of Peking as the only viable remedy to restore trade and safeguard Portugal’s strategic and religious interests in the region. The text further describes the detention of Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan missionaries in Canton and the suppression of Christian proselytisation. Endorsed with official seals of the Arquivo Histórico Colonial and Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, these records form part of the Portuguese colonial archive and offer critical insights into the challenges faced by European enclaves in East Asia amid shifting imperial policies in early Qing China. Anexo: 1670-03-31 - Parecer do Conselho Ultramarino sobre se comunicar a Macau que a embaixada de Manuel de Saldanha foi aceite pela corte de Pequim. |
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