Family letter from Catarina Pinheiro and Francisca da Veiga to their father, Filipe Leitão, sentenced by the Inquisition.
The authors send some family news to their father, who lives in exile, telling him how the family is to survive in Lisbon.
The Inquisition archives contain, apart from the around 40 thousand
individual proceedings ("processos"), a collection of scattered charges, for which
the Inquisition "Promotor" had to decide whether or not to prosecute. Complaints,
confessions, letters by the commissioners or about different stages of each
proceedings are some of the document types that can be found in these books. This
letter has been kept among such documentation.
«My Father and Lord. May Our Lord allow this letter to find you in that island with all the happy successes that may comfort these daughters, for it can't help us, since there's been a long time since we've seen letters, news or any ship going from this to that country. May God be praised many times, this way He shall be served! Along with this one, I'm sending you letters in which I tell you what happened since you left. After writing them, Manuel Ledo arrived, bringing news from my brothers, good news, thank God, and a ten thousand réis letter that barely made up for the clothing [...] they sent a box of sugar. There's no news from them, which doesn't surprise me, for they say that sea is full of enemies. We stayed here in the upper floor, in the company of my aunt, who did it because of the embarrassment. The ground floor is rented to married and honest people. However, you must thank our aunt who mortifies herself by being away from her love, for the love of us: from Gaspar Pinheiro. She continues with her excellence, comforting us, telling us a little about you as usual. May God allow her not to be bored, and before this happens, I ask you, in the name of the five wounds of God, to receive us in you company, to relieve us from such problems, since we are not in need. [...] to you, that who's got so many expenses suffers from hunger. We have other beliefs, since in July it rains so much that it's wetter than the winter. Even the weather is changing... Don't disregard our support, for it's been a while since we became women. Caterina sends you regards, as well as my aunt and I, Our Lord (...) Your obedient daughters, Caterina Pinheiro [e] Francisca da Veiga.»
