Reading handwriting in old documents can be challenging. There are a number of useful palaeography tutorials online:
Family Search: Portuguese Paleography
Family Search: Spanish Paleography
Family Search: Spanish Script Tutorial
Spanish Paleography Tool of City University of New York
Many formal documents follow a standard format. If you start with a more legible document, you will know what to look for in the more difficult ones.
The A Nação Hebraica project
The A Nação Hebraica project is using machine learning artificial intelligence (Transkribus software) to ‘read’ the early modern Portuguese-language Accounts Books of the London Spanish & Portuguese Jews’ Congregation. The first results of their work, searchable Accounts Books, are now freely available.
There are equivalent projects in Portugal and Brazil.
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