Loyal Senate Building (18th century)

The Senate of Macau was founded in 1563 by an assembly of residents presided over by the bishop Don Leonardo Fernandes de Sá. The Senate functioned as a local administrative council and comprised two judges, three councillors and a procurator elected for three years.
In 1568 the Viceroy of India, Dom Duarte de Menezes recognised Macau as the “City of God’s Name in China” and in 1623 the appointment of the first governor, Dom Fernando de Mascaranhas, strengthened the links between Lisbon and the official power of the Portuguese state on the one hand and Macau, the autonomous mercantile city on the other.