History of Macau

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Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire in 1557. It was lent to Portugal as a trading post but remained under Chinese authority and sovereignty. Self-administration was next achieved in the 1840s. When the Qing dynasty and Portugal signed the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking in 1887, the treaty terms made Macau a Portuguese territory again until 1999, when it was handed over to China. Macau was the last extant European territory in continental (on-shore) Asia.

Early history

The human history of Macau stretches back up to 6,000 years, and includes many different and diverse civilisations and periods of existence. Evidence of human and culture dating back 4,000 to 6,000 years has been discovered on the Macau Peninsula and dating back 5,000 years on Coloane Island.

During the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), the region came under the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Nanhai Prefecture of the province of Guangdong. It was administratively part of Dongguan Prefecture in the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD), and alternated under the control of Nanhai and Dongguan in later dynasties. In 1152, during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), it was under the jurisdiction of the new Xiangshan County.^[1]

Since the 5th century, merchant ships travelling between Southeast Asia and Guangzhou used the region as a port for refuge, fresh water, and food. The first recorded inhabitants of the area are some 50,000 people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols in 1277, during the Southern Song Dynasty.^[2] They were able to defend their settlements and establish themselves there. Mong Há has long been the center of Chinese life in Macau and the site of what may be the region's oldest temple, a shrine devoted to the Buddhist Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy). Later in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), fishermen migrated to Macau from various parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces and built the A-Ma Temple where they prayed for safety on the sea. The Hoklo Boat people were the first to show interest in Macau as a trading centre for the southern provinces. However, Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century.^[2]

Portuguese settlement

During the age of discovery Portuguese sailors explored the coasts of Africa and Asia. The sailors later established posts at Goa in 1510, and conquered Malacca in 1511, driving the Sultan to the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula from where he kept making raids on the Portuguese. The Portuguese under Jorge Álvares landed at Lintin Island in the Pearl River Delta of China in 1513 with a hired junk sailing from Portuguese Malacca. They erected a stone marker at Lintin Island claiming it for the King of Portugal, Manuel I. In the same year, the Indian Viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque commissioned Rafael Perestrello — a cousin of Christopher Columbus to sail to China in order to open up trade relations. Rafael traded with the Chinese merchants in Canton in that year and in 1516, but was not allowed to move further.

Portugal's king Manuel I in 1517 commissioned a diplomatic and trade mission to Canton headed by Tomé Pires and Fernão Pires de Andrade.

The embassy lasted until the death of the emperor Zhengde in Nanjing. The embassy was further rejected by the Chinese Ming court, which now became less interested in new foreign contacts. The Ming Court was also influenced by reports of misbehaviour of Portuguese elsewhere in China, and by the deposed Sultan of Malacca seeking Chinese assistance to drive the Portuguese out of Malacca.

In 1521 and 1522 several more Portuguese ships reached the trading island Tuen Mun off the coast near Canton, but were driven away by the now hostile Ming authorities.

The Malay Malacca Sultanate was a tributary state and ally to Ming Dynasty China. When Portugal conquered Malacca in 1511, the Chinese responded with violence against the Portuguese when Portugal sent the diplomatic ambassador, Tomé Pires in 1516. After Pires reached Beijing in 1520 the Chinese decided to arrest the embassy. The deposed Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah sent another message to China, and this time, China responded by executing the Portuguese diplomatic embassy in Guangzhou. The Malaccans had informed the Chinese of the Portuguese seizure of Malacca, to which the Chinese responded with hostility toward the Portuguese. The Malaccans told the Chinese of the "deception" the Portuguese used, disguising plans for conquering territory as mere trading activities.^[3]

Due to the Malaccan Sultan lodging a complaint with the Chinese Emperor against the Portuguese invasion, the Portuguese were greeted with hostility by the Chinese when they arrived in China.^[4] The Malaccan Sultan, based in Bintan after fleeing Malacca, sent a message to the Chinese, which combined with Portuguese banditry and violent activity in China, led the Chinese authorities to execute 23 Portuguese and torture the rest of them in jails. After the Portuguese set up posts for trading in China and committed piratical activities and raids in China, the Chinese responded with the complete extermination of the Portuguese in Ningbo and Quanzhou^[5] Pires, a Portuguese trade envoy, was among those who died in the Chinese dungeons.^[6][7]

Good relations between the Portuguese and Chinese Ming Dynasty resumed in the 1540s, when Portuguese aided China in eliminating coastal pirates. The two later began annual trade missions to the offshore Shangchuan Island in 1549. A few years later, Lampacau Island, closer to the Pearl River Delta, became the main base of the Portuguese trade in the region.^[8]

Diplomatic relations were salvaged by the Leonel de Sousa agreement with Cantonese authorities in 1554. In 1557, the Ming court finally gave consent for a permanent and official Portuguese trade base at Macau. In 1558, Leonel de Sousa became the second Portuguese Governor of Macau.

Following a ship wreck in 1535, Portuguese traders were allowed to anchor ships in Macau's harbours, and the right to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore.^[9]

Macao was first settled by Portuguese survivors of the massacres of the Portuguese at Ningbo and at Quanzhou by Chinese government soldiers. After the Portuguese raided and pillaged villages around the trading posts in those two cities, the Emperor ruled that all Portuguese encountered everywhere should be killed on the spot. The casualties in total, with the 800 dead Portuguese, totalled 12,000 dead Christians. The massacres resulted in the Portuguese survivors fleeing to Macao, where they were allowed by China to start a colony to build sheds for drying goods in 1557.

They later built some rudimentary stone-houses around the area now called Nam Van. But not until 1557 did the Portuguese establish a permanent settlement in Macau, at an annual rent of 500 taels (~20 kilograms (44 lb)) of silver.^[10] Later that year, the Portuguese established a walled village there. Ground rent payments began in 1573. China retained sovereignty and Chinese residents were subject to Chinese law, but the territory was under Portuguese administration. In 1582 a land lease was signed, and annual rent was paid to Xiangshan County.

The Portuguese continued to pay an annual tribute up to 1863 in order to stay in Macau.^[11]

On 24 June 1622, the Dutch attacked Macau in the Battle of Macau with 800 men under Captain Kornelis Reyerszoon, expecting to turn it into a Dutch possession after its conquest. African slaves who fought for the Portuguese repulsed the Dutch attack, and the Dutch never tried to conquer Macau again. The majority of the defenders were Africans slaves, with only a few Portuguese soldiers and Priests.^{[12][13][14][15]}

The Portuguese, often married Tanka women since Han Chinese women would not have relations with them. Some of the Tanka's descendants became Macanese people. Some Tanka children were enslaved by Portuguese raiders.^[16] The Chinese poet Wu Li wrote a poem, which included a line about the Portuguese in Macau being supplied with fish by the Tanka.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Macau's golden age

After Portuguese permanent settlement in Macau, both Chinese and Portuguese merchants flocked to Macau, although the Portuguese were never numerous (numbering just 900 in 1583 and only 1,200 out of 26,000 in 1640).^[21] It quickly became an important node in the development of Portugal's trade along three major routes: Macau-Malacca-Goa-Lisbon, Guangzhou-Macau-Nagasaki and Macau-Manila-Mexico. The Guangzhou-Macau-Nagasaki route was particularly profitable because the Portuguese acted as middlemen, shipping Chinese silks to Japan and Japanese silver to China, pocketing huge markups in the process. This already lucrative trade became even more so when Chinese officials handed Macau's Portuguese traders a monopoly by banning direct trade with Japan in 1547, due to piracy by Chinese and Japanese nationals.^[22]

Macau's golden age coincided with the union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns, between 1580 and 1640. King Philip II of Spain was encouraged to not harm the status quo, to allow trade to continue between Portuguese Macau and Spanish Manila, and to not interfere with Portuguese trade with China. In 1587, Philip promoted Macau from "Settlement or Port of the Name of God" to "City of the Name of God" (Cidade do Nome de Deus de Macau).^[23]

The alliance of Portugal with Spain meant that Portuguese colonies became targets for the Netherlands, which was embroiled at the time in a lengthy struggle for its independence from Spain, the Eighty Years' War. After the Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602, the Dutch unsuccessfully attacked Macau several times, culminating in a full-scale invasion attempt in 1622, when 800 attackers were successfully repelled by 150 Macanese and Portuguese defenders. One of the first actions of Macau's first governor, who arrived the following year, was to strengthen the city's defences, which included the construction of the Guia Fortress.^[24]

Religious activity

As well as being an important trading post, Macau was a center of activity for Catholic missionaries, as it was seen as a gateway for the conversion of the vast populations of China and Japan. Jesuits had first arrived in the 1560s and were followed by Dominicans in the 1580s. Both orders soon set about constructing churches and schools, the most notable of which were the Jesuit Cathedral of Saint Paul and the St. Dominic's Church built by the Dominicans. In 1576, Macau was established as an episcopal see by Pope Gregory XIII with Melchior Carneiro appointed as the first bishop.^[25][26]

1637–1844: Decline

In 1637, increasing suspicion of the intentions of Spanish and Portuguese Catholic missionaries in Japan finally led the shogun to seal Japan off from all foreign influence. Later named the sakoku period, this meant that no Japanese were allowed to leave the country (or return if they were living abroad), and no foreign ship was allowed to dock in a Japanese port. An exception was made for the Protestant Dutch, who were allowed to continue to trade with Japan from the confines of a small man-made island in Nagasaki, Deshima. Macau's most profitable trade route, that between Japan and China, had been severed. The crisis was compounded two years later by the loss of Malacca to the Dutch in 1641, damaging the link with Goa.

The news that the Portuguese House of Braganza had regained control of the Crown from the Spanish Habsburgs took two years to reach Macau, arriving in 1642. A ten week celebration ensued, and despite its new-found poverty, Macau sent gifts to the new King João IV along with expressions of loyalty. In return, the King rewarded Macau with the addition of the words "There is none more Loyal" to its existing title. Macau was now "City of the Name of God in China, There is none more loyal". ("Não há outra mais Leal" [ Listen ]).

In 1685, the privileged position of the Portuguese in trade with China ended, following a decision by the emperor of China to allow trade with all foreign countries. Over the next century, England, Holland, France, Denmark, Sweden, the United States and Russia moved in, establishing factories and offices in Guangzhou and Macau.

Until 20 April 1844 Macau was under the jurisdiction of Portugal's Indian colonies, the so-called "Estado português da India" (Portuguese State of India), but after this date, it, along with East Timor, was accorded recognition by Lisbon (but not by Beijing) as an overseas province of Portugal. The Treaty of Peace, Amity, and Commerce between China and the United States was signed in a temple in Macau on 3 July 1844. The temple was used by a Chinese judicial administrator, who also oversaw matters concerning foreigners, and was located in the village of Mong Há. The Templo de Kun Iam was the site where, on 3 July 1844, the treaty of Wangxia (named after the village of Mong Ha where the temple was located) was signed by representatives of the United States and China. This marked the official beginning of Sino-US relations.

1844–1938: The Hong Kong effect

After China ceded Hong Kong to the British in 1842, Macau's position as a major regional trading centre declined further still because larger ships were drawn to the deep water port of Victoria Harbour. In an attempt to reverse the decline, Portugal declared Macau a free port, expelled Chinese officials and soldiers, and thereafter levied taxes on Chinese residents. In 1848, there was a revolt of the boatmen that was put down.

Portugal continued to pay rent to China until 1849, when the Portuguese abolished the Chinese customs house and declared Macau's "independence", a year which also saw Chinese retaliation and finally the assassination of Gov. Ferreira do Amaral during the so-called Baishaling Incident. Portugal gained control of the island of Wanzai (Lapa by the Portuguese and now as Wanzaizhen), to the northwest of Macau and which now is under the jurisdiction of Zhuhai (Xiangzhou District), in 1849 but relinquished it in 1887. Control over Taipa (氹仔 in Chinese, Jyutping: Tam5 Zai2; pinyin: Dàngzǎi) and Coloane (路環 in Chinese, Jyutping: Lou6 Waan4; pinying: Lùhuán), two islands south of Macau, was obtained between 1851 and 1864. Macau and East Timor were again combined as an overseas province of Portugal under control of Goa in 1883. The Protocol Respecting the Relations Between the Two Countries (signed in Lisbon 26 March 1887) and the Beijing Treaty (signed in Beijing on 1 December 1887) confirmed "perpetual occupation and government" of Macau by Portugal (with Portugal's promise "never to alienate Macau and dependencies without agreement with China" in the treaty). Taipa and Coloane were also ceded to Portugal, but the border with the mainland was not delimited. Ilha Verde (青洲 in Chinese, Jyutping: Ceng1 Zau1 or Cing1 Zau1; pinyin: Qīngzhōu) was incorporated into Macau's territory in 1890, and, once a kilometre offshore, by 1923 it had been absorbed into peninsula Macau through land reclamation.

In 1871, the Hospital Kiang Wu was founded as a traditional Chinese medical hospital. It was in 1892 that doctor Sun Yat-Sen brought Western medicine services to the hospital.^[27]

1848–1870s: Slave trade

From 1848 to about the early 1870s, Macau was the infamous transit port of a trade of coolies (or slave labourers) from southern China. Most of them were kidnapped from the Guangdong province and were shipped off in packed vessels to Cuba, Peru, or other South American ports to work on plantations or in mines. Many died on the way there due to malnutrition, disease, or other mistreatment. The Dea del Mar which had set sail to Callao from Macau in 1865 with 550 Chinese on board, arrived in Tahiti with only 162 of them still alive.

1938–1949: World War II

Macau became a refugee center during WWII causing its population to climb from about 200 thousand to about 700 thousand people within a few years.^[28] There had been also food shortages in Macau leading to food rationing and in some cases cannibalism.^[28][29]

Unlike in the case of Portuguese Timor which was occupied by the Japanese in 1942 along with Dutch Timor, the Japanese respected Portuguese neutrality in Macau, but only up to a point.^[28] As such, Macau enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity as the only neutral port in South China, after the Japanese had occupied Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong. In August 1943, Japanese troops seized the British steamer Sian in Macau and killed about 20 guards. The next month they demanded the installation of Japanese "advisors" under the alternative of military occupation. The result was that a virtual Japanese protectorate was created over Macau. Japanese domination ended in August 1945.

When it was discovered that neutral Macau was planning to sell aviation fuel to Japan, aircraft from the USS Enterprise bombed and strafed the hangar of the Naval Aviation Centre on 16 January 1945 to destroy the fuel. American air raids on targets in Macau were also made on 25 February and 11 June 1945. Following Portuguese government protest, in 1950 the United States paid US$20,255,952 to the government of Portugal.^[30]

1949–1999: Macau and communist China

When the Chinese communists came to power in 1949, they declared the Protocol of Lisbon to be invalid as an "unequal treaty" imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, leaving the maintenance of "the status quo" until a more appropriate time. Beijing took a similar position on treaties relating to the Hong Kong territories of the United Kingdom.

In 1951, the Salazar regime declared Macau, as well as other Portuguese colonies, an "Overseas Province" of Portugal.

During the 1950s and 1960s Macao's border crossing to China Portas do Cerco was also referred to as Far Eastern Checkpoint Charlie with a major border incident happening in 1952 with Portuguese African Troops exchanging fire with Chinese Communist border guards.^[31] According to reports, the exchange lasted for 1-and-three-quarter hours leaving one dead and several dozens injured on Macau side and more than 100 casualties claimed on the Communist Chinese side.^[32]

In 1954, the Macau Grand Prix was established, first as a treasure hunt throughout the city and in later years as formal car racing event.^[33]

In 1962, the gambling industry of Macau saw a major breakthrough when the government granted the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM), a syndicate jointly formed by Hong Kong and Macau businessmen, the monopoly rights to all forms of gambling. The STDM introduced western-style games and modernised the marine transport between Macau and Hong Kong, bringing millions of gamblers from Hong Kong every year.^[34]

Riots broke out in 1966 during communist Cultural Revolution, when local Chinese and the Macau authority clashed, the most serious one being the so-called 12-3 incident. It was sparked by the overreaction of some Portuguese officials to what was a regular minor dispute concerning building permits. The riots caused 8 deaths and the end was a total climbdown by the Portuguese Government, which signed two agreements, one with Macau's Chinese community, and the other with mainland China. The latter committed the Government to compensate local Chinese community leaders with as much as 2 million Macau Patacas and to prohibit all Kuomintang activities in Macau. This move ended the conflict, and relations between the government and the leftist organisations remained largely peaceful. This success in Macau encouraged leftists in Hong Kong to "do the same", leading to riots by leftists in Hong Kong in 1967. A Portuguese proposal to return the province to China was declined by China.

Also in 1966, the Church of our Lady of Sorrows on Coloane opened up.^[35]

In 1968, the Taipa-Coloane Causeway linking Taipa island and Coloane island was opened up.^[35]

In 1974, following the anti-colonialist Carnation Revolution, Portugal relinquished all claims over Macau and proposed to return Macau over to Chinese sovereignty.

In 1990, the Academy of Public Security Forces was founded in Coloane.^[35]

In 1994, the Bridge of Friendship was completed, the second bridge connecting Macau and Taipa.^[35]

In November 1995, the Macau International Airport got inaugurated.^[35] Before then the territory only had 2 temporary airports for small aeroplanes, in addition to several permanent heliports.

In 1997, the Macau Stadium was completed in Taipa.^[35]

1999: Handover to the People's Republic of China

Portugal and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations on 8 February 1979, and Beijing acknowledged Macau as "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration." A year later, Gen. Melo Egidio became the first governor of Macau to pay an official visit to Beijing.

The visit underscored both parties' interest in finding a mutually agreeable solution to Macau's status. A joint communiqué signed 20 May 1986 called for negotiations on the Macau question, and four rounds of talks followed between 30 June 1986 and 26 March 1987. The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau was signed in Beijing on 13 April 1987, setting the stage for the return of Macau to full Chinese sovereignty as a Special Administrative Region on 20 December 1999.

After four rounds of talks, "the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macau" was officially signed in April 1987. The two sides exchanged instruments of ratification on 15 January 1988 and the Joint Declaration entered into force. During the transitional period between the date of the entry into force of the Joint Declaration and 19 December 1999 the Portuguese government was responsible for the administration of Macau.

The Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, was adopted by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 31 March 1993 as the constitutional law for Macau, taking effect on 20 December 1999.

The PRC has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practised in Macau and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defence affairs until at least 2049, fifty years after the handover.

Thus the history of European colonisation of Asia ended where it began. Although offered control of Macau in the 1970s, the Chinese deemed the time "not yet ripe" and preferred to wait until December 1999—the very end of the millennium, two years after the Hong Kong handover—to close this chapter of history.

Recent history of Macau (1999 - today)

1999–2007: The rise of Macau as the Las Vegas of Asia

In 2002, the Macau government ended the gambling monopoly system and 3 (later 6) casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) were granted to Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM, an 80% owned subsidiary of STDM), Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, and the partnership of Melco and PBL, thus marking the begin of the rise of Macau as the new gambling hub in Asia.

As one of the measures to develop the gambling industry, the Cotai strip was completed after the handover to China with construction of the hotel and casino industry starting in 2004. In 2007, the first of many resorts opened, The Venetian Macao. Many other resorts followed, both in Cotai and on Macau island, providing for a major tax income stream to Macau government and a drop in overall unemployment over the years down to a mere 2% in 2013.^[36]

In 2004, the Sai Van Bridge is completed, the third bridge between Macau island and Taipa island.^[35]

In 2005, the Macau East Asian Games Dome, the principal venue for the 4th East Asian Games, is inaugurated.^[35]

Also in 2005, Macau government started a wave of social housing construction (lasting until 2013 at least), constructing over 8000 apartment units in the process.^[37]

2007–2008: The Financial Crisis hits Macau

Similar to other economies in the world, the financial crisis of 2007–08 hit Macau leading to a stall in construction of major construction works (Sands Cotai Central^[38]) and a spike in unemployment.^[39]

2008-2013: Expansion into Hengqin and further Casino boom

With residential and development space being sparse, Macau government officially announced on 27 June 2009 that the University of Macau will build its new campus on Hengqin island, in a stretch directly facing the Cotai area, south of the current border post. Along with this development, several other residential and business development projects on Hengqin are in the planning.

In 2011 to 2013 further major construction on several planned mega-resorts on the Cotai Strip commenced.^[40]

2014 - last year

2014 marked the first time that the gambling revenues in Macau declined on a year-to-year basis. Starting in June 2014, gambling revenues declined for the second half of the year on a month-to-month basis (compared with 2013) causing the Macau Daily Times to announce that the "Decade of gambling expansion end(ed)".^[41]

See also

• Anders Ljungstedt
• Culture of Macau
• Gambling in Macau
• Military of Macau under Portuguese rule
• Jorge Álvares
• Names of Macau
• Religion in Macau

References

History of China by political division Provinces¹ Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Tibet Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special administrative regions Hong Kong Macau Note: 1. Taiwan is claimed as a province, but is administered by the Republic of China (see Political status of Taiwan).

History of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau

Portuguese overseas empire   North Africa 15th century 1415–1640 Ceuta 1458–1550 Alcácer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir) 1471–1550 Arzila (Asilah) 1471–1662 Tangier 1485–1550 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1487–16th century Ouadane 1488–1541 Safim (Safi) 1489 Graciosa 16th century 1505–1541 Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir) 1506–1525 Mogador (Essaouira) 1506–1525 Aguz (Souira Guedima) 1506–1769 Mazagan (El Jadida) 1513–1541 Azamor (Azemmour) 1515 São João da Mamora (Mehdya) 1577–1589 Arzila (Asilah)   Sub-Saharan Africa 15th century 1455–1633 Anguim 1462–1975 Cape Verde 1470–1975 São Tomé1 1471–1975 Príncipe1 1474–1778 Annobón 1478–1778 Fernando Poo (Bioko) 1482–1637 Elmina (São Jorge da Mina) 1482–1642 Portuguese Gold Coast 1508–15472 Madagascar3 1498–1540 Mascarene Islands 16th century 1500–1630 Malindi 1501–1975 Portuguese Mozambique 1502–1659 Saint Helena 1503–1698 Zanzibar 1505–1512 Quíloa (Kilwa) 1506–1511 Socotra 1557–1578 Accra 1575–1975 Portuguese Angola 1588–1974 Cacheu4 1593–1698 Mombassa (Mombasa) 17th century 1645–1888 Ziguinchor 1680–1961 São João Baptista de Ajudá 1687–1974 Bissau4 18th century 1728–1729 Mombassa (Mombasa) 1753–1975 Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 19th century 1879–1974 Portuguese Guinea 1885–1975 Portuguese Congo 1 Part of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1753. 2 Or 1600. 3 A factory (Anosy Region) and small temporary coastal bases. 4 Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879.   Southwest Asia 16th century 1506–1615 Gamru (Bandar Abbas) 1507–1643 Sohar 1515–1622 Hormuz (Ormus) 1515–1648 Quriyat 1515–? Qalhat 1515–1650 Muscat 1515?–? Barka 1515–1633? Julfar (Ras al-Khaimah) 1521–1602 Bahrain (Muharraq • Manama) 1521–1529? Qatif 1521?–1551? Tarut Island 1550–1551 Qatif 1588–1648 Matrah 17th century 1620–? Khor Fakkan 1621?–? As Sib 1621–1622 Qeshm 1623–? Khasab 1623–? Libedia 1624–? Kalba 1624–? Madha 1624–1648 Dibba Al-Hisn 1624?–? Bandar-e Kong   Indian subcontinent 15th century 1498–1545 Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep) 16th century Portuguese India  • 1500–1663 Cochim (Kochi)  • 1501–1663 Cannanore (Kannur)  • 1502–1658  1659–1661 Quilon (Coulão / Kollam)  • 1502–1661 Pallipuram (Cochin de Cima)  • 1507–1657 Negapatam (Nagapatnam)  • 1510–1961 Goa  • 1512–1525  1750 Calicut (Kozhikode)  • 1518–1619 Portuguese Paliacate outpost (Pulicat)  • 1521–1740 Chaul   (Portuguese India)  • 1523–1662 Mylapore  • 1528–1666 Chittagong (Porto Grande De Bengala)  • 1531–1571 Chaul  • 1531–1571 Chalé  • 1534–1601 Salsette Island  • 1534–1661 Bombay (Mumbai)  • 1535 Ponnani  • 1535–1739 Baçaím (Vasai-Virar)  • 1536–1662 Cranganore (Kodungallur)  • 1540–1612 Surat  • 1548–1658 Tuticorin (Thoothukudi)  • 1559–1961 Daman and Diu  • 1568–1659 Mangalore   (Portuguese India)  • 1579–1632 Hugli  • 1598–1610 Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam) 1518–1521 Maldives 1518–1658 Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1558–1573 Maldives 17th century Portuguese India  • 1687–1749 Mylapore 18th century Portuguese India  • 1779–1954 Dadra and Nagar Haveli   East Asia and Oceania 16th century 1511–1641 Portuguese Malacca 1512–1621 Maluku  • 1522–1575  Ternate  • 1576–1605  Ambon  • 1578–1650  Tidore 1512–1665 Makassar 1537–1999 Macau 1571–1639 Decima (Dejima / Nagasaki) 17th century 1642–1975 Portuguese Timor (East Timor)1 19th century Portuguese Macau  • 1864–1999 Coloane  • 1849–1999 Portas do Cerco  • 1851–1999 Taipa  • 1890–1999 Ilha Verde 20th century Portuguese Macau  • 1938–1941 Lapa and Montanha (Hengqin) 1 1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.   North America and the North Atlantic Ocean 15th century 1420 Madeira 1432 Azores 16th century 1500–1579? Terra Nova (Newfoundland) 1500–1579? Labrador 1516–1579? Nova Scotia   Central and South America 16th century 1500–1822 Brazil  • 1534–1549  Captaincy Colonies of Brazil  • 1549–1572  Brazil  • 1572–1578  Bahia  • 1572–1578  Rio de Janeiro  • 1578–1607  Brazil  • 1621–1815  Brazil 1536–1620 Barbados 17th century 1621–1751 Maranhão 1680–1777 Nova Colónia do Sacramento 18th century 1751–1772 Grão-Pará and Maranhão 1772–1775 Grão-Pará and Rio Negro 1772–1775 Maranhão and Piauí 19th century 1808–1822 Cisplatina (Uruguay) 1809–1817 Portuguese Guiana (Amapá) 1822 Upper Peru (Bolivia) Coats of arms of Portuguese colonies Evolution of the Portuguese Empire Portuguese colonial architecture Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia Portuguese colonization of the Americas Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia

European and American trade in Qing China Topics Canton System Cohong East India Company James Flint Old China Trade Thirteen Factories Chinese Hongs Ewo Hong Howqua Foreign Hongs Augustine Heard and Company Augustine Heard Albert Heard Dent & Co. Lancelot Dent John Dent Dodwell & Co. Gibb, Livingston & Co. Hugh Bold Gibb Jardine, Matheson & Co. William Jardine James Matheson John Abel Smith Magniac & Co. Daniel Beale Thomas Beale Thomas Chaye Beale Hollingworth Magniac Olyphant & Co. David Olyphant Robert Morrison Olyphant Russell & Company Robert Bennet Forbes John Cleve Green Abiel Abbot Low William Henry Low Samuel Russell Russell Sturgis Shewan, Tomes & Co. Robert Shewan David Sassoon & Co. David Sassoon Chinese Officials Lin Zexu Key Locations Amoy Canton Foochow Hong Kong Macau Shanghai

Further reading

• Gunn, Geoffrey C. Encountering Macau, A Portuguese City-State on the Periphery of China, 1557–1999 (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996),
• Porter, Jonathan. "'The Past Is Present': The Construction of Macau's Historical Legacy," History and Memory Volume 21, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2009 pp. 63–100
• Porter, Jonathan. Macau: The Imaginary City, Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996)
• Schellinger and Salkin, ed. (1996). "Macau". International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. UK: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-884964-04-6. 
• Souza, George Bryan. The Survival of Empire: Portuguese Trade and Society in China and the South China Sea, 1630–1754 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986)
• Coates, Austin: A Macao Narrative
• Shipp, Steve: Macau, China: A Political History of the Portuguese Colony's Transition to Chinese Rule

External links

• Macau handover: Asia's last colony