The Lusosphere: Macau

1553-1554: The Portuguese arrive in Macau. They illegal & temporarily settle there under the pretext of drying their soaked up merchandise.

1557: The Chinese authorities finally give permission to the Portuguese to permanently settle in Macau; and grant them a fair degree of self-government. In exchange, the Portuguese had to pay an annual fee (of approximately 500 silver taels [1 silver tael = 40 grams]) and certain taxes to China (so that it could always be known that Macau was still a Chinese territory).

Ever since, Macau has developed and enriched by becoming an entrepôt of trade and the intermediary of commercial triangle between China, Japan and Europe (in a time when China prohibited direct trade with Japan for more than 100 years).

Besides being a transshipment centre, Macau was also an important disseminator of the Roman Catholic teachings throughout the Far East (specially China). For this reason, in 1576, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau was created by the edit of Pope Gregory XIII (which covered China, Japan, Vietnam and the Malay archipelago [excluding the Philippines]).

(Macau Trade Routes)

1583: The "Leal Senado" was created (some sort of City Council) which was in charge of protecting the commerce controlled by Macau; of establishing order and security and solving day-to-day issues.

1622: Due to its prosperity, Macau was attacked several times by the Dutch. The most famous attack occurred on the 22nd of June 1622, when 800 Dutch soldiers disembark on the city to conquer it; only after two days of combat they were heavily defeated and the Portuguese victory was considered a miracle given the fact that they were so unprepared.

1844-1849: Through a Royal Decree, Macau was officially considered a Portuguese colony (such decree was not recognised by China). Macau becomes a free economic zone. Governor João Ferreira do Amaral orders that the annual fee and taxes paid to the Chinese are to be ceased; that the mandarins are to be expelled from Macau and that the Ho-pu (Chinese customs) was to be abolished.

(Lesser Coats of Arms of Portuguese Macau)

1901: BNU (Banco Nacional Ultramarino [Overseas National Bank]) was authorised to issue currency (the Pataca).

1966: 3rd of December, a mutiny (known as the 12-3 Incident) occurred in Macau carried out by the pro-communist Chinese (who were unhappy and utterly inspired by the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-tung), which led Portugal to renounce its perpetual occupation of the territory.

1974: Right after its Revolution (known as the Carnation Revolution), Portugal declared the immediate independence of all its overseas provinces; but China cleverly rejected it and proposed negotiations. In the end it was decided that Macau would now be called Chinese Territory under Portuguese Administration, and that it was to be transferred to the People Republic of China on the 20th of December 1999 (through the Transfer of Sovereignty of Macau declaration).

(Macau Flag)

Language

The official languages are the Chinese and Portuguese (declared official by the Chinese government in 1993). Very few people speak Portuguese in Macau but institutions like "Fundação Oriente" (East Foundation) strive to keep the language alive in that region.

Curiosity

I know a few people who came from Macau (mainly during the 90's) to Portugal and I can say that, just like any other person from the former colonies, they are absolutely fantastic (completely different than the Portuguese). They are dynamic, creative, open minded, out-of-the-box people, cultivated, entrepreneurs...simply amazing.

Portuguese Architectural legacy

Enjoy some of the images:

(St. Paul's Cathedral's whole)

(St Anthony of Padua's Church)

("Leal Senado" Building)

("Ponte da Amizade" [Friendship Bridge])

(International Airport of Macau)

Next Stop: Back to Portugal

All images (with the exception of "Friendship Bridge") were taken from Wikipedia.