Falência do Hotel Victória

This 1896 diplomatic dispatch, originating from the Portuguese Consulate in Canton (A-203, fol. 159), addresses two interconnected cases of commercial insolvency involving Portuguese subjects and foreign enterprises in late Qing China. The document, dated 29 January 1896, is addressed to the Ministe...

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Bibliographic Details
Format: Documents
Language:pt-PT
Published: 1895
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Online Access:https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/URMXPLMX/viewer_URMXPLMX.html
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Summary:This 1896 diplomatic dispatch, originating from the Portuguese Consulate in Canton (A-203, fol. 159), addresses two interconnected cases of commercial insolvency involving Portuguese subjects and foreign enterprises in late Qing China. The document, dated 29 January 1896, is addressed to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and authored by a Portuguese consular official. It details the bankruptcy of V. A. Rosário and the ‘Hotel Victoria’, a tavern-style establishment managed by the Portuguese national T. da Cruz and owned by Chinese individuals operating within the Shamshuipo concessions. The consul outlines procedural irregularities in the handling of these bankruptcies, particularly the absence of formal public notices or legal seals, and describes the customary practice whereby consular authorities recover debts and distribute proceeds proportionally among creditors. Attention is drawn to the role of the British Vice-Consul Bourne, who collected $9.06 from the Hotel Victoria’s estate but failed to report the matter promptly, resulting in uncertainty over rightful claimants. The author proposes that unclaimed sums—$20.01 from Alliston & Co. and $9.06 from the Hotel Victoria—be deposited into the consulate chest as state revenue, pending potential future claims. The text provides insight into colonial commercial practices, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and informal economic networks in treaty-port China at the close of the 19th century.