Portuguese Macau

 ( China–portugal Relations ) 

The name of Macau seems to have originated in one of the first places accessed by the Portuguese, the Bay of A-Má ("A-Ma Gao" in Cantonese), named after a local temple of the goddess Mazu. A-Ma Gao would become, Amacao, Macao and, finally, Macau.

At the time, the Portuguese commercial establishment of Macau was only a small village with a few blocks, churches, and residences, joined by a small number of streets. Most of the population lived on trade, so many left Macao for months and sometimes years to carry out their trading. At that time, it had a vaguely defined political-administrative organization, as the Portuguese Crown had not yet properly planned for Macau. Therefore, at that time, the Captain-Major of the Voyage of China and Japan was responsible for the affairs of the Portuguese during his stay in Macau. As the only existing authority, he sought to maintain order among the Portuguese while his great merchant ship was in port.

Over time, issues emerged whose resolution could not wait for the Captain-Major's return from his trips to Japan, so a kind of triumvirate was formed, which began to direct the administration of the establishment. It was composed of three representatives of the residents, called homens-bons ("good men"), chosen by vote. In 1562, one of those elected became, by choice, Land Captain. These three representatives continued to be nevertheless dependent on the Captain-Major. Specifically, the function of these three representatives was to regulate all matters of public order and politics. In addition to the triumvirate, there was also a judge, and four merchants elected by the people who participated in the administration. These elements together formed a kind of council.

Although the Portuguese remained in Macau, the Chinese authorities maintained that Macau was an integral part of the Chinese Celestial Empire, so the Portuguese had been obligated to pay annual rent (about 500 taels of silver) and certain taxes to the Chinese since 1573. The governor of Guangdong, the highest Chinese authority in the region, ordered some mandarins in the vicinity of Macau to watch and supervise the Portuguese commercial establishment, namely with regard to the collection of rent and taxes levied by the Guangzhou authorities on all Chinese products and on all products exported by the Portuguese. These Chinese officials exercised great influence over the administration of Macau and also exercised control and ultimate jurisdiction over all Chinese residents in Macau. Many of them lived in the north of the peninsula.

In 1573 or 1574, the Chinese authorities ordered the construction of a barrier on the northern border of the Peninsula, in a place very close to the present-day Portas do Cerco, to prevent the expansion of the Portuguese through the island of Zhongshan Island (modern Zhongshan), to supervise better the collection of taxes on goods entering or leaving the city, and to control Macau's supply.

The Colégio de São Paulo was founded in the 16th century and the Seminary of São José in the 18th century. These two institutions had the function of training missionaries and priests. Due to the great importance of Macau, Pope Gregory XIII created the Diocese of Macau on 23 January 1576. Due to the lack of priestly vocations, the seminary was closed and the College was destroyed by fire in 1835.

On several occasions, the Jesuits who regularly attended the court in Beijing used their influence to save Macau from various dangers and from various exaggerated demands imposed by the Chinese authorities in Guangzhou or by the Emperor himself.

From 1550 onwards, this commercial monopoly was exercised and ensured by the Captain-Major of the Voyage of China and Japan, who also enjoyed the right to sell his post to others.

The new state of affairs in Portugal established a more organized, effective and representative administration. In 1583, on the initiative of the Bishop of Macau, the Senate, a municipal and senatorial body more representative than the oligarchic Junta, was founded to administer Macau better and to maintain Macau's autonomy from the Spanish authorities. The Senate, which feared the interference of Chinese authorities in the administration, the economy (mainly in commerce) or even in the statute or in the very existence of Macau, prepared large sums of gifts for the Chinese authorities, with the intention of trying to distance them from Macao's internal affairs. This situation of subservience on the part of Macau would only be overcome with the measures imposed during the mandate of Governor João Ferreira do Amaral (1846–1849), although Macau continued to depend on China.

Due to the growing prosperity and importance of Macau, this commercial establishment was elevated to the status of city in 1586 or 1587, by decision of King Filipe II of Spain (Filipe I of Portugal), changing its name to Cidade do Santo Nome De Deus de Macao. This Spanish monarch decided not to send a Governor to the city, preferring to keep things as they were. It was during the period of Habsburg control of Portugal that Macau reached great prosperity, entering its "golden age". Some historians point to the period between 1595 and 1602 as the height of its "golden age". In this period, Macau became one of the busiest commercial cities in the Far East and served as an entrepot for many Portuguese and Spanish trade routes, mainly for the lucrative route to Japan. At that time, the Portuguese, although increasingly dependent on the capital of the great Chinese and Japanese merchants and also suffering from increasing Dutch competition, had exclusivity on this route because Japan did not allow the entry of other foreign ships. This route, especially when the Dutch began to disturb the routes to Goa and Malacca, became one of the main sources of income for Macau and provided a key support to Portuguese trade in the China Seas.

During this period, the Church of São Paulo and many other architectural works, built mostly according to European-inspired architectural styles, were completed, giving a strong touch of splendor and grandeur to the city.

During this period, the Leal Senado was able to avoid open conflicts with the mandarins, bribing them with significant sums, and compromises with the Spaniards, who wanted to end the commercial monopoly that the Portuguese enjoyed in China (at that time, Portuguese ships, when entering Guangzhou, paid two-thirds less than other ships of the same tonnage).

The Spaniards, based in Manila, even sent embassies to China and Japan, in an attempt to end the privileged position of the Portuguese, but they did not achieve what they sought, partially due to the pro-Portuguese actions of the Jesuits based in those Asian countries. In fact, the Jesuits were at the service of the Portuguese Empire at that time, within the scope of the Portuguese Padroado agreement.

Portuguese-Spanish relations were characterized more by distrust and rivalry than by cooperation and unity. For example, in 1589, the establishment of a Macau–Acapulco trade route greatly angered the Spaniards of Manila. In another example, some Spaniards even wanted the King of Spain (and Portugal) to order the destruction of Macau, transferring the silver and silk trade between Japan and China to Manila; this proposal was not put into practice.

Alongside this, trade between Macau and Manila grew and was gradually regulated, also becoming an important source of income for the City of the Name of God.

King Philip III of Spain, who was at war with the Dutch, put an embargo on Dutch trading ships in all his territories including Portugal, so these ships headed east, causing many problems for the Portuguese settled in this region. In 1601, a Dutch fleet led by Admiral Van Neck appeared in Macau. In 1603, warships from Holland bombarded the city; and in the years 1604 and 1607 came, respectively, the expeditions led by Admirals Wybrand van Warwijck and Cornelis Matelieff de Jonge.

These Dutch appearances forced the Portuguese authorities to build a defensive system for the city. But the Chinese authorities through threats prevented the fortification of Macau at all costs, fearing a possible coup against China. In 1614, through a decree, the Emperor sanctioned the construction of fortifications in Macau. The Portuguese managed to build their desired and necessary fortifications, thanks to the magnificent gifts offered to the mandarins in charge of watching the city.

The most famous Dutch invasion took place on 22 June 1622. On the morning of 24 June, 800 soldiers from the invading army landed at Cacilhas beach. They advanced cautiously towards the center of the city, suffering heavy bombardment from cannons at the Fortaleza do Monte. It was then a wagon loaded with gunpowder belonging to the Dutch exploded, whether due to a Jesuit cannon shot or by mishandled gunpowder by the Japanese mercenaries among the Dutch, disconcerting the invading forces. It is also on this day that Macau's small military garrison (consisting of approximately 200 soldiers and a few fortresses, namely Fortaleza do Monte and Guia Fortress) defeated the invading forces. The Dutch, defeated, threw themselves overboard in an attempt to reach the boats. Many drowned and one of the boats, overcrowded, sank. Portuguese records say that a few dozen Portuguese died and that around 350 Dutch died in combat or drowned. For Macau, unprepared, the victory was considered a miracle. After the victory, Macao residents celebrated the 24th of June, Victory Day, as City Day. It is also on this day that Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the city, is celebrated. Legend has it that by his cloak, the enemy's shots were deflected, saving the city from the Dutch invaders. This day was a public holiday and celebrated every year until 1999, the date when Macau was transferred to China.

After this attempted Dutch invasion, the Portuguese authorities, from 1623 onwards, sent a Governor to Macau. The first governor of Macau was Francisco Mascarenhas. Before his arrival, the Senate administered and governed this small town. Macau's small military garrison was also reinforced. These measures revealed a greater concern and participation of the Portuguese authorities in the administration and protection of this distant and small Portuguese establishment. But, even so, the local power, residing in the Senate, continued to maintain a great autonomy in relation to the central metropolitan power of Lisbon, represented in Macau by the Governor, and continued to play a fundamental role in the administration of the city, causing frequent conflicts between the Senate and the Governor.

The Portuguese commercial system centered in Lisbon began to suffer a growing decline in the 17th century, due to the competition between it and the other systems developed by other European powers, namely England and the Netherlands. These European powers, with large and powerful fleets of merchant and warships, attacked the great but weakened Portuguese Empire, occupying and/or looting its colonies and trading bases and intercepting many of its . In the end, these emerging powers created, at the expense of the Portuguese Empire, their own empires and secured many markets and trade routes that were once dominated exclusively by the Portuguese.

In 1638–1639, the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu implemented Japan's exclusionary policies, intended to protect it from possible European occupation, and ruthlessly ordered the persecution of all missionaries and priests, and of hundreds of thousands of Japanese Christians. As a result, Portuguese trade with Japan came to an abrupt end, seriously affecting Macau, which quickly went into economic decline. The Dutch also contributed to the end of this lucrative trade, making the Japanese authorities increasingly suspicious of the commercial activity of the Portuguese and especially of the religious activity of Catholic missionaries, accused of being the vanguard of a powerful European and Catholic invading force. With the Portuguese expelled, a small number of Dutch, who gained the trust of the Japanese authorities, were able to visit the port of Dejima, although with many restrictions, becoming the only Europeans who were allowed to trade with Japan.

In 1640, in an attempt to reestablish the profitable and important trade, the Portuguese residents of Macau decided to send an embassy to Japan but not only did they not getting what they wanted, the members of the embassy were all executed, by order of the powerful Tokugawa shogun.

In 1641, another event affected Macau's declining economy: the Portuguese lost Malacca to the Dutch, who had already captured several Portuguese possessions, areas of influence and trade routes. The loss of this important city and commercial base caused disturbances and deviations from the usual route between Macau and Goa and a decrease in the supply of tradable products with China.

In 1640, when the Crowns of Portugal and Spain were once again separated, trade with Manila and with the Spaniards based there ended, causing more economic and financial problems for Macau. It was only with the end of the Portuguese-Spanish rivalry that trade was reactivated.

It was only with the re-establishment of imperial peace in southeastern China that Macau's trade prospered again. The Portuguese, not wanting Macau's status to be changed by the new imperial Qing dynasty and not wanting their privileged position to end, sent several embassies to Beijing, establishing friendly diplomatic relations with China's new sovereigns.

The end of the Portuguese monopoly on trade with China

In 1685, despite successive Portuguese embassies to Beijing, the Portuguese monopoly on trade with China came to an end because the Chinese Emperor authorized trade with all foreign countries in Canton, at least once a year during the annual fair. This ended the privileged position of the Portuguese in trade with the Chinese Empire, as the only and exclusive intermediaries in the China-Europe trade.

From that date onwards, Macau ceased to be the exclusive entrepôt for Chinese trade, thus altering Macau's economic role in trade with China. However, European merchants of other nationalities, who were also able to participate in direct trade with China along with the Portuguese, also started to temporarily visit and use Macau as a trading post and intermediary in this lucrative trade. This is because, at that time, foreigners could not reside and move freely in Guangzhou, and they had to reside in Macau for most of the year.

With the sudden increase in foreign competition in trade with China and the decline of the Portuguese trading system, merchants based in Macau, in order to continue with their commercial activities and with their profits, had to cooperate more frequently with the merchants of the new and emerging European powers, because it was these powers that held control of world trade centered on Europe. This cooperation at times generated a certain dependence on the part of Macanese merchants on these new western powers.

Knowing the process of decline of the Portuguese world trading system and the lack of resources on the part of Portugal to sustain an intense long-distance trade (that is, commercial voyages from the East to Europe), Macanese merchants bet heavily on intra-Asian trade, while long-distance trade was mostly dominated by the new European powers, such as the Netherlands and England.

These Macau-based traders invested, in addition to Goa and China, in several Asian regional markets, such as Makassar, Solor, Flores, Timor, Vietnam, Siam, Bengal, Calcutta, Banjarmasin, and Batavia.

Over time, the diverse and almost constant adaptations to the changing political and economic realities of the different Asian regional markets bore fruit. In the 18th century, intra-Asian trade became sufficient to create a new and true proto-capitalist class of entrepreneurs, both Portuguese and Chinese, based in Macau. This emerging class specifically included Chinese buyers and the main shipowners and trade captains who accepted the high risk of sailing in the eastern seas and who knew how to adapt to the new realities of the region.

But even so, this intra-Asian trade never managed to restore the prosperity experienced in Macau that was provided by trade with Japan. Often, mainly due to the policies of the Chinese authorities that were unfavorable to the interests of the Portuguese in Macau, such as the opening of certain Chinese ports to international trade, this intra-Asian trade was unable to fully contribute to the subsistence of the territory. Macanese authorities often had to ask for large loans from other neighboring countries or from wealthy merchants in the Far East.

• The Solor–Timor–Macau trade, based essentially on the supply of the valuable and much sought after sandalwood to Chinese markets, prospered in the 16th century, when trade with Japan was already conducted with many and great difficulties. This aromatic wood, much sought after in China, was transported from Timor and Solor to Macau, where it was later sold in Canton. This trade, although under great danger and intense pressure from the powerful Dutch, made huge profits, which could be above 100% to 150%. Therefore, in that difficult period for Macau, the sandalwood trade became one of the main sources of income for the authorities of the City of the Holy Name of God. But with the fortress of Solor besieged in 1636 by the Dutch, the merchant ships from Macau that participated in the profitable sandalwood trade began to head only to Timor, still under the jurisdiction of Goa. This island supplied slaves, honey and horses, as well as sandalwood. But in the mid-18th century, Macau, which was Timor's main trading partner, abandoned trade with this island, mainly due to interminable internal revolts. Trade with Timor was only reactivated with the pacification of the island.

• Macau–Macassar trade, while not as profitable as the sandalwood trade, relied on Macassar's spice trade in exchange for Chinese roots and cotton goods. This trade prospered after the fall of Malacca in 1641 and, according to Charles Ralph Boxer, grew to such an extent that it threatened the Dutch spice trade in the East. But with Macassar attacked and captured by a Dutch fleet in the 1660s, this trade had to end. With the end of the Portuguese-Dutch rivalry, trade was reactivated.

• The Vietnam–Macao trade: Even before the decline of Portuguese trade with Japan, Portuguese traders were already making commercial trips to Tonkin and Cochinchina (now Vietnam), although these had been considered as operations of secondary importance that served mainly to support the Jesuit mission. But due to the Jesuit influence in the royal courts of these countries, trade was stimulated, mainly in the exchange of silver for Chinese silk. It was only with wars and political instability in Vietnam in the late 18th century that trade ceased.

• The Batavia-Macau trade: In the late 17th century, with the Portuguese-Dutch rivalry over for some time, Portuguese traders, lacking markets, began to cooperate with the Dutch East India Company, trading with Batavia (located in Java). At that time, commercial activity with this Dutch colony was mainly based on the shipment of blue and white porcelain produced in southern China by Portuguese and Chinese merchants from Macau. Trade with Batavia intensified particularly in the period from 1717 to 1727, when the Chinese authorities banned foreign trade. The Dutch, who used to buy Chinese tea in Canton, now did so exclusively in Macau. During this period, tea was transported by Chinese merchants to Macau by reeds.

• The Banjarmasi–-Macau trade, based on the transport of pepper to Macao from Borneo, prospered for a short time in the late 17th century, but also ended abruptly two years after the trade started, due to an attempted massacre of the Portuguese.

• In the late 18th century, Macao traders also began to participate in the opium trade between Bengal and China. They also engaged heavily in trade with Calcutta, where Portuguese traders traded spices, cotton, and opium, in exchange for Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain. This intense commercial activity with these colonies of the British Empire was not a competition between the merchants based in Macau and the English East India Company. On the contrary, they cooperated with this powerful English commercial company to obtain the desired profits.

The Chinese authorities even ordered, in 1648, the establishment of a military post with 500 soldiers in the village of Qianshan (which the Portuguese called Casa Branca), very close to Portas do Cerco, to guard the "City of the Holy Name of God of Macau". This village was also the home of one of the mandarins in charge of supervising Macau.

On several occasions, the impositions and decisions by the Chinese authorities to sanction Macau caused a large exodus of the Chinese community from Macau. For this reason, during the first centuries of Macau's existence, the number of the Chinese population was uncertain and fluctuated considerably. These impositions and requirements, sometimes very abusive, sometimes brought real financial crises to the Macao authorities.

The restrictions and impositions by the Chinese authorities began to intensify more and more when the Qing became the rulers of China, as they were always suspicious of foreign actions and influence.

Three years after the opening of the port of Guangzhou to all foreign merchants, in 1688, the Chinese authorities established a Chinese customs house, the "Ho-pu", supervised by a mandarin to better oversee the collection of taxes on certain goods transported by merchant ships anchored in the port of Macau and above all to control the access of foreign ships long-distance to Canton. The Ho-pu became the symbol of Chinese authority, power and influence in Macau.

In 1736, the Chinese authorities imposed a local mandarin in Macau with the name "tchó-t'óng" (or Tso-tang), under the pretext of helping the mandarins in charge of supervising Macau and of better dealing with the affairs of the Chinese inhabitants of the city. This mandarin, residing in the north of the Macau Peninsula, only began to exercise full authority from 1797 onwards.

The power of the mandarins over Macau would be drastically reduced only in the 19th century, during the mandate of Macau Governor João Ferreira do Amaral.

In fact, at this time, the Macanese authorities, which formerly depended mainly on taxes paid by Portuguese traders, now also depended on taxes paid by these wealthy European merchants. To further increase these revenues, the Macanese authorities, in 1784, also created their own customs system, charging customs duties on imported goods and on the anchoring of ships. But most of the revenue from this new customs system was sent directly to Portugal's state coffers.

In 1783, through royal measures, the Queen granted the Governor of Macau fundamental powers and the right of veto over the decisions of the Senate. The governor had the obligation and responsibility to veto all decisions that were contrary to regulations, laws or orders from Lisbon or Goa. The measures dictated that the governor, with his powers already expanded and fortified, had to intervene in all matters related to the administration and government of Macau. Prior to the enactment of these measures, the governor was only the commander of the Portuguese military forces in Macau and did not participate much, with a few exceptions, in the administration of the city.

If, by chance, these two governing bodies could not reach agreement on a matter, and if the case was urgent, the Bishop of Macau and (Portuguese) citizens with the right to vote were to meet and resolve by a majority of votes. In conclusion, from 1783 onwards, the power between the governor and the Loyal Senate reached an equilibrium.

In 1809, the famous naval battle of the Tiger's Mouth (or Bocca Tigris) took place between a Portuguese flotilla of six ships and a Chinese pirate fleet with more than 300 ships. The Portuguese flotilla, outnumbered but with superior firepower provided by the artillery, emerged victorious and managed to maintain Portuguese rule in Macau, which at that time was seriously threatened by these pirates, who frequently attacked local merchant ships.

Although Macau continued to house a class of merchants and buyers (mostly Chinese) and although commerce never ceased to exist in the City, Macau was no longer the outpost of Europe in China, and was relegated to a secondary economic and commercial level.

After the Royal Decree of 1844, Portugal declared the City a free port in 1845, through a royal decree that would later be implemented by Governor João Ferreira do Amaral, appointed in 1846 with a mandate to assert Portuguese sovereignty. He began his term in office in 1846, ordering an end to the payment of annual rent and Chinese taxes and, seeing the impossibility of collecting taxes and customs duties (the colony's biggest revenue) because Macau was already a free port, he ordered the introduction of new taxes on the inhabitants of the City, including the Chinese, and on Chinese light boats, the faitiãos. This led to a Chinese revolt which was put down by the Portuguese military.

The Governor even ordered the construction of a road to connect the walled city of Macau in the south of the peninsula, to the "Portas do Cerco", a border post located in the extreme north that separates the Macau Peninsula from continental China.

Amaral also ordered the expulsion of the mandarins from Macau and, because Macau was a free port (that is, a port without customs), he finally could order the abolition, in 1849, of the famous Ho-pu (Chinese customs), thus culminating the process of strengthening Portuguese sovereignty. From that date onwards, the Macau Government also began to exercise ultimate jurisdiction over all Chinese residents of Macau City and to levy taxes on them, ending their special status. In the implementation of the royal decree of 1845, the Portuguese customs also ceased to exist.

The Senate opposed his actions, stating that establishing full control by force was an "unfair and disloyal gesture".Hao 2011, pp. 41–42 Amaral dissolved the Senate and called them unpatriotic. He told Chinese officials that they would be received as representatives of a foreign power.

After the events of 1783, of 1834, of 1844, the definitive shake-up of the mandarins' power over Macau, and the abolition of Chinese customs in 1849, the Governor of Macau, free from local and Chinese authorities, became Macau's highest authority.

Amaral's policies evoked much resentment, and he was assassinated by Chinese men on 22 August 1849. This led the Portuguese to capture the Passaleão fort beyond the Barrier Gate three days later.

On 25 August, 1849, a young Macanese second lieutenant, Vicente Nicolau de Mesquita, proposed to the Government Council (which replaced the Governor) to attack the Passaleão fort, whose garrison began bombarding with its 20 cannon the Portas do Cerco, at that time garrisoned by only 120 Portuguese soldiers and three pieces of artillery. The situation was unbearable and many residents of Macau predicted the end of Portuguese rule in Macau.

Mesquita, together with 32 soldiers supported by two pieces of field artillery and two cannons from a gunboat and a lorcha, began the attack on the fort, first bombarding it with an artillery piece that only fired once (since it broke down, after the first shot). The shot caused a panic among the Chinese troops. The panic of the Chinese soldiers was also related to an African landim soldier, who was the first to jump over the walls of the fort. Due to the confusion, Chinese troops from Passaleão and its vicinity withdrew. When the Portuguese returned victorious, they took with them, in an act of revenge, the head and hand of a mandarin who had offered resistance.

After the confrontation of Passaleão, the Tso-tang was transferred to Chinsan or Xiangshan (modern Zhongshan), a Chinese town neighboring Macau, with its power shaken. After several protests, insistence and delays, Amaral's head and right arm were delivered on January 16, 1850 and his remains transferred to Lisbon.

Both Mesquita and Ferreira do Amaral are remembered as heroes in Macau and Portugal. Later, Mesquita was promoted to Colonel. In 1871, the Government of Macau inaugurated the Arco das Portas do Cerco, with the aim of honoring the deeds of Governor Ferreira do Amaral and Colonel Mesquita.

Perhaps taking advantage of the situation, on August 13, 1862, Governor Isidoro Francisco Guimarães managed to get the Chinese government to sign a treaty in Tianjin (or Tientsin). This treaty, consisting of 54 articles, recognized that Macau was a Portuguese colony. But it was never ratified as the Governor and Minister Plenipotentiary at that time, José Rodrigues Coelho do Amaral, returned to Macau without ratifying it, protesting against the objections of the Chinese delegates regarding the interpretation of the ninth article. They posited that Macau could not be considered a Chinese territory, raising a bitter argument with Coelho do Amaral in May 1864, when he arrived in Tianjin to ratify the treaty.