1607. Carta de Gastão de Abrunhosa para Inês Mendes Leitoa.

Family letter from Gastão de Abrunhosa to Inês Mendes Leitoa.

The author asks his mother and sisters to come live with him.

The defendants in these processes are Alexandre de Abrunhosa and his cousin Gastão de Abrunhosa, who, as other family members, were accused of Judaism in 1602. Alexandre de Abrunhosa, his sister Isabel de Abrunhosa, and his cousin, Ana de Abrunhosa, all lived in Lisbon, parish of Martyrs, where they had taken refuge to escape the wave of arrests made by the Inquisition in Serpa. Nevertheless, they were arrested in 1602. They were released in 1605, thanks to a pardon granted by the pope, largely because of the steps that Gastão de Abrunhosa promoted in Rome. Gastão de Abrunhosa fled to Spain in 1602, following the arrest of his cousins. In letters sent from there to Nicolau Agostinho (PSCR1317 and PSCR1318), it is clear that his intention is to move to Rome in search of justice. This letter (PSCR1313) was handed over to the Inquisition, along with other three, by António Borges, who found a packet addressed to Alexandre de Abrunhosa. António Borges had picked the packet at the home of the local postmaster he thought that perhaps there was there some letter related to him. There was indeed, and he also found some other letters with words that he thought were suspicious, which led to him delivering them to the Inquisition.