Conselho Ultramarino
Item
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Country
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PT
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Name of institution (English)
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The National Archive of Torre do Tombo
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Language of name of institution
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por
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Contact information: postal address
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Alameda da Universidade, 1649-010 Lisbon
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Contact information: phone number
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00351 210037100
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Contact information: email
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mail@dglab.gov.pt
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Reference number
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PT/TT/CU
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Overseas Council
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Title (official language of the state)
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Conselho Ultramarino
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Language of title
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por
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Creator / accumulator
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Conselho Ultramarino
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Date(s)
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1663/1803
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Language(s)
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por
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Extent
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10 books
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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The Conselho Ultramarino (Overseas Council) fonds chiefly contains commercial and economic-related documentation from Portuguese overseas territories. It includes information on contracts for the purchase of pepper, cocoa, sugar, and other goods; payments of wages and allowances to relatives of overseas employees; compliance with orders and maritime routes, among several other documents.
New Christian and Sephardic merchants were closely involved in the Portuguese overseas trade and commerce. This fonds contains relevant information regarding their business networks.
For instance, Gabriel Lopes Pinheiro and Diogo de Aguilar, Portuguese Jews established in London and Vienna, financed the Portuguese government structures in Brazil in the 18th century by contributing to the payment of the income of the governors of Espírito Santo and Maranhão captaincies. Their contribution is testified in a document from this fonds (PT/TT/CU/2/2, fols. 128v, 155-155v).
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Conselho Ultramarino (Overseas Council) was regulated on July 14, 1642, and instituted one year later. This body was responsible for all affairs related to the Portuguese overseas territories. Its duties included the financial (with jurisdiction over all assets of Portuguese colonies, except the Azores, Madeira, and North African territories), judicial and military administration, the regulation of shipping, the appointment to overseas positions, and the attribution of benefits for services rendered in colonial territories. Later, some of these duties were transferred to the Junta do Comércio, Agricultura, Fábricas e Navegação (Board of Trade, Agriculture, Industry and Navigation) and the Conselho do Almirantado (Council of the Admiralty) after their creation in 1755 and 1795, respectively.
During the period in which the Portuguese court was settled in Brazil (1808-20), the activity of the Conselho Ultramarino was reduced to routine procedures, such as paying wages or issuing licenses. Then, the Mesa do Desembargo do Paço e da Consciência e Ordens, created in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, took on some of the functions of the Conselho Ultramarino and other state bodies. The Conselho Ultramarino was abolished on August 30, 1833.
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(source: Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino database)
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System of arrangement
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The documentation is organised chronologically and according to document type.
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2022
