Mother Beatriz de Santa Maria

Of Japanese origin, her second husband was the merchant António da Silva, who lived in Japan for over 29 years and to whom more than 11,000 taeis were confiscated. She was expatriated from Japan in 1634, along with her husband and their daughter. She had a son from her first marriage, Diogo da Costa. Martyred with boiling water, just as her daughter, she became a Poor Clare with the assent of her husband. Her daughter matured quickly and equally opted for religious life, adopting the name of Mother Maria da Madre de Deus (Mary of the Mother of Good). Being part of the group of Japanese women who were forced to integrate themselves into the society of Macau, she never totally recovered from the emotional distress. The event also affected her husband who, in turn, also opted for religious life, becoming a Franciscan of the Third Order. Having entered the Saint Clare Convent in 1636, she died on 25 October 1651, some seventeen years after her husband who, in the meanwhile, had changed his mind and had returned to his business, becoming a merchant in the city of Manila.

Bibliography:
PENALVA, Elsa, «Mulheres em Macau 1633-1644», Actas do Colóquio Internacional Macau no Período Ming, Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau, I.P., 2007 (forthcoming).

Translated by: John Silva