Consulta (cópia) do Conselho Ultramarino a D. João IV, rei de Portugal sobre a autorização do comércio de Macau com Manila, enquanto estiver fechado o comércio com o Japão
This document is a translation of a highly corrupt seventeenth-century Portuguese manuscript from the Overseas Historical Archive, dated 1856 but concerning events and correspondence from 1626 to 1646. It comprises a series of fragmented reports, royal decrees, and council opinions regarding the eco...
Saved in:
| Format: | Manuscripts |
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| Published: |
1646-09-07
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| Subjects: |
China Trade Silver
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Conselho Ultramarino
;
D. João V
;
Estado da Índia
;
Japan Trade Restrictions
;
Macau Commerce
;
Macau Economic Viability
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Macau Rebellion Threat
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Macau Silver Trade
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Manila Trade Route
;
Overseas Historical Archive Goa
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Portuguese Colonial Administration
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Portuguese-Castile Division
;
Salvador Corrêa de Sá
;
Manuscripts
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| Online Access: | https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/SED58JB4/viewer_SED58JB4.html |
| Summary: | This document is a translation of a highly corrupt seventeenth-century Portuguese manuscript from the Overseas Historical Archive, dated 1856 but concerning events and correspondence from 1626 to 1646. It comprises a series of fragmented reports, royal decrees, and council opinions regarding the economic and political state of Macau and Portuguese trade in Asia. The central subject is the critical importance of silver to the China trade, upon which the prosperity and survival of Macau depended. The text details the three primary sources of silver for this commerce: from the Portuguese kingdom, from Japan (a trade then restricted), and from Manila. It reveals deep anxieties within the Portuguese colonial administration that the closure of the Japan trade and the scarcity of silver from Europe, compounded by the political division between Portugal and Castile, threatened Macau’s viability. The documents explicitly warn that the city’s wealthy and warlike inhabitants, driven by economic necessity, might rebel against the Crown. Proposed remedies include permitting Macau’s merchants to trade with Manila in designated ports of friendly kingdoms, but only as a temporary measure until the Japan trade could be reopened. Key figures mentioned include Salvador Correia de Sá and King João III, with the text reflecting the strategic and commercial challenges facing the Portuguese Estado da Índia in the mid-seventeenth century. Obs.: Resolução favorável do rei Anexo: 1646-11-15 - Provisão (cópia) de [D. João IV], rei de Portugal, para o vice-rei do Estado da Índia, [D. Filipe de Mascarenhas], em que deu ordem para Macau poder comerciar com Manila, enquanto se encontra fechado o comércio com o Japão. |
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