SUBSÍDIOS PARA O ESTUDO DA EMBAIXADA DE MANUEL DE SALDANHA A PEQUIM (1668 ─ 1670) : CARTAS E OUTROS DOCUMENTOS NO HISTORICAL ARCHIVES OF GOA曼努埃爾‧薩達尼亞出使北京 (1668 ─ 1670) 研究：存於果阿歷史檔案館的信函及其他資料
The article provides a critical-documentary analysis of Manuel de Saldanha's embassy to Peking (1668–1670), drawing on an unprecedented collection of 52 letters preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa. The author argues that this corpus—comprising first-person writings, including appointments, i...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
2013
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40042/2882 |
| Summary: | The article provides a critical-documentary analysis of Manuel de Saldanha's embassy to Peking (1668–1670), drawing on an unprecedented collection of 52 letters preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa. The author argues that this corpus—comprising first-person writings, including appointments, instructions, directives, and orders issued by the ambassador himself—offers a more detailed account of the mission's internal dynamics and the political-institutional framework surrounding the diplomatic enterprise than other, then-scarce sources. Methodologically, the study systematically cross-references complementary accounts and testimonies, in particular: the itinerary of the Jesuit Francisco Pimentel, the tendentiously negative interpretative framing of Domingos Navarrete, the ambassador's letters to Jesuits linked to the Province of Japan, and the minutes of the Leal Senado of Macao.
The analysis concludes that the embassy failed to gain credibility with the Mandarinate authority, suffered successive setbacks over the course of its two-and-a-half-year tenure, and did not achieve the objectives initially envisioned by the Leal Senado and the mercantile community of Macao, thereby contradicting any reading of presumed Sino-diplomatic understanding and acceptance. The text further relates the mission's outcome to the political and economic conjuncture of the Middle Kingdom, marked by dynastic instability and restrictive policies on coastal trade, which structurally undermined the viability of the Macanese settlement. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |