Jorge Álvares
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Jorge Álvares (died July 8, 1521) is credited as the first Portuguese explorer to have reached China and Hong Kong.
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[edit] Exploration
In May 1513 Álvares sailed under the Portuguese Malacca captain, Ruy de Buto Patalim / Ruí de Brito Patalim in a junk from Pegu. The expedition was accompanied by 5 other junks. Álvares himself was accompanied by 2 other Poruguese mariners[1].
Álvares made first contact on Asian soil in Guangdong, Southern China in May 1513[2]. Upon landing, he raised a Padrão from the king of Portugal, where they landed on Lintin Island in the Pearl River estuary[3]. Based on information from their captain, they were to expect to find trade. He later became part of the settlements in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong around 1513 to 1514[4]. This visit was followed by the establishment of a number of Portuguese trading centres in the area, which were eventually consolidated in Macau. In 1517 the Portuguese settlers were in a battle with Imperial Chinese army troops in the region[5]. There is a possibilty that Álvares took part in the combat.
[edit] References
- ^ Porter, Jonathan. [1996] (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0813337496
- ^ Edmonds. [2002] (2002) China and Europe Since 1978: A European Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521524032
- ^ Porter, Jonathan. [1996] (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0813337496
- ^ Ride, Lindsay. Ride, May. Fairbank, John K. The Voices of Macao Stones: Abridged with Additional Material by Jason Wordie. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-2094872
- ^ China Briefing Media. [2004] (2004) Business Guide to the Greater Pearl River Delta. China Briefing Media publishing. ISBN 988-9867311
