MACAU:The First Permanent Meeting Point in China

Tereza Sena

　　Macau is Chinese territory which remains under Portuguese administration until the 19th of　December 1999. The singing of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration by Portugal and the　People’s Republic of China on the 26th of Match 1987 resolved the Situation of Macau and　brought the points of view of both States into line. This had not always been the case over the　centuries precisely because the historical reasons which lay behind them were not always　clear.
　　Immediately after the sea route to India was discovered in 1498 and the conquest of Malacca in 1511, the Portuguese tried to set up contacts which would allow them to reach and trade　with the famous and wealthy Kingdoms of the Orient, China, Marco Polo’s Cathay being one　of their most sought-after goals.
　　Several attempts were made before they were able to settle on the coast of China. Portugal　sent out merchants, missionaries, and ambassadors bur no harvest was to be reaped from these　efforts because the Middle Kingdom had issued a decree in 1522 forbidding trade with people　from the West although some clandestine trading still took place.
　　However, the first Portuguese written referentes to Macau appeared in 1555 and we know　that between 1552 and 1557 they carne to settle in this tiny port at the mouth of the Pearl River　overlooked by a temple dedicated to A-Ma from which the city’s Western name was　derived.
　　Macau became the anchor for constant, profitable trade with the Far East, serving as the　gateway into China and generating trade between China and Japan which lasted for around one　hundred years (1543-1639). Portugal has left a cultural and civilisational imprint on this part of　the world through commerce, technology, gunpowder and Iove. Help carne ata very early　stage from the representatives of the the Catholic Church. The Jesuits in particular were responsible not only for a large part of the task of spreadin8 Christianity in the Orient but also for　propagating Western culture and civilisation. They made Macau the centre of their sphere of　operations in which the College of St. Paul played an especially important role. Proof of this　still stands today in the forro of the imposing façade (dating from around 1640), ali that remains of the Church of the Mother of God, commonly called St. Paul’s, built between 1601　and 1602 and razed to the ground on the 26th of January 1835.
　　At first, the Portuguese were the only Westerners and from the beginning of the sixteenth　century until the end of the nineteenth, Portuguese was the lingua franca throughout the East. From the early seventeenth century they fought, first with the Dutch, who had taken power in　Malacca in 1641, and then the English, to protect the profitable commercial monopoly which　had brought goods such as tea, porcelain, furniture and silk from a distant, exotic and refined　Orient onto the markets of Europe in particular. This made Macau the target of successive attacks from the Dutch from 1603 onwards. The most violent attack carne on the 24th of June.The Portuguese victory is still celebrated as the Day of the City. The English used Macau as the　gateway into China in their gradual monopolisation of the empire’s foreign trade starting in the　early nineteenth century until they came out the Victors in the 1842 Opium War.
　　The colonisation of Hong Kong in 1841 and the expansion of the imperialist economy had　major, negative repercussions on Macau’s economy and the stability of the society just as　what had happened two centuries previously when Japan forbade the foreign trade, which had　been the basis of the presence of Portuguese in Macau and the growth of the territory.
　　By 1887 Iong negotiations resulted in the signing of the Lisbon Agreement which was ratified　the following year by the Treaty of Commerce and Friendship signed by Portugal and China. The Treaty allowed for the Portugese to occupy Macau in perpetuity thanks to the international　situation mentioned above.
　　However, the inherent problems of Macau’s territorial limits still had to be solved. These　were problems which had existed since 1573 when the portas do cerco or border gates were　built, a clear indication of China’s interest in maintaining this trading port under controlled　conditions.
　　From the late eighteenth century onwards, the city started to expand as never before. Sitting and land reclamation increased the territory’s surface area while massive influxes of　people, mostly from China, meant that the population boomed. This occurred most acutely in　1937 following the Japanese invasion of China and during the Second World War when Hong　Kong was captured by the Japanese in 1941.
　　Between 1968 to 1974 the city was linked to the neighbouring islands of Taipa and Coloane. Over the course of this century, Macau has become an international tourist spot. The growth　in the gambling sector and the annual Formula Ⅲ Grand Prix have changed the face of the city　which, in 1892, had received Sun Yat Sen, the man who would proclaim the founding of the　Chinese Republic in 1911.
　　Macau is proof of ali this. Behind lie four hundred years during which Macau has managed to　maintain a unique, if somewhat ambiguous status. Ahead lies the transition which the territory　has been preparing for since 1985, and which will culminate in the year 2409 with Macau’s full　integration into the People’s Republic of China.
　　Macau is a little-Known city where three hundred and fifty thousand people (3 -4% of them　Portuguese or of Portuguese origin) live, which, nevertheless, enjoys an absolutely unique position in the world.
　　Since 1979 it has been designated as Chinese territory to be administrated by the Protuguese　until the 19th of December, 1999. On this date - as you know-it will pass into the People’s　Republic of China at the beginning of a transition period which will last for fifty years. During　this time, both the Protuguese language and laws will remain in force at the same rime, of　course, as their Chinese counterparts.
　　This situation, the result of diplomatic talks and agreements signed by both countries, also　reflects the profound changes which have taken place in both countries since the 1970’s. In　Portugal, one of the main consequences of the 25th of April Revolution in 1974 was to bring to　a close an inadequate colonial policy in its African and Asian territories. This facilitated a more　open dialogue with the other nations of the world, particularly with China with whom diplomatic relations were re-initiated on the 8th of February, 1979. The internal changes taking　place in China itself, which led, in 1983, to Deng Xiaoping’s policy of one country, two systems aimed at the reintegration of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, created an atmosphere in　which the complex issue of Macau’s sovereignty could be resolved. This was formally settled　with the signing of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Agreement on the 26th March 1987 and ratified in　the following year.
　　Why, however, is Macau’s administration Portuguese?
　　Here we risk getting entangled in a complex historiographical issue unless we can refrain　from falling in with preconceptions and centralized and-or politically based explanations. Even　if we take a more academic approach, which in my opinion is also fruitless, and try to base　our argument on concrete proof which could clarify the issues for once and for ali, it is highly　unlikely that there is (or ever has been) any written document stating that Macau was　donated, or even rented, to the Portuguese by China in the sixteenth century.
　　We only have accounts, both Chinese and Portuguese, dating from a relatively late date　(seventeenth and eighteenth centuries).
　　Obviously I do not dismiss the value or evidence contained in documental sources. However, we ali know that the sixteenth century when the Portuguese settled in Macau (and　until much later on) chronicles and even reports were produced with a strong political, religious, even national bias both in the East and the West. That is to say, the chroniclers, travellers, administrators, missionaries, and mandarins did not keep themselves to the task of　simply reporting the facts. They fiavoured their accounts with their own values, opinions and　explanations, in line with their mentalities, customs, civilizational rules and the intentions of　their countries and/or religions.
　　Ler us take a Iook ar José Mattoso:
　　“Until the emergence of structural history, and especially after the appearance of the history　of mentalities, historians were not aware that archives had this function of operating a selective work from the materiais left to posterity. Until fairly recently, historians were still perceiving the contents of archives as being legitimate documentary tests. In other words, they　were seen as satisfying the needs of current intercommunication and were not in fact understood to be monumental tests produced by the powers-that-be to perpetuate memorable events　in an attempt to perpetuate that same power. Consequently, there were no doubts raised as to　the veracity of the documents from archives so Iong theyhad been shown to be genuine…
　　There was no notion that archives themselves were a tool for moulding the memory, a tool wielded by the powers-that-be.”⁽¹⁾
　　Rocha Pinto also discusses this point with regard to travel literature:
　　“The overwhelming majority of written material does not correspond to the Iogic historical　construction as informed by the hegemonic ideology of the chronicles. It uses narrative as a　structure and tries to preserve history for future generations (as in official chronicles) even　though these documents were no longer merely passive receptacles for national sagas because, by now, their authors were aware of personal experience and extended their vision of the　world through personal and emotional perspectives, providing a background social commentaries even though the reports were often commissioned by third parties. None of the above　prevents the majority of written material from becoming, from the outset, an enemy to be defeated through scholasticism and the dominant classes.”⁽²⁾

　　“Look now to the sages of the Scriptures/ which secrets are these from nature?”
　　Luis de Camões, in Os Lusíadas(1572)
　　On the other hand, the Humanist movement, in its early stages in the West, and which was　to culminate in the universalisation of Man which marks the trends of our own century, was　still lar from being a given, assumed fact.
　　In Europe, Catholics and Protestants sparred against each other in religious squabbles; the　inquisition was persecuting Jews and defenders of ‘outrageous’ ideas which opposed the truth　as proclaimed by kings and popes. At the same time, the voyages of Portuguese and Spanish　navigators were opening the eyes of the west to a new perception of the world. They gazed in　amazement, respect and curiosity at the new (synonymous with different) peoples about　whom, until then, they had only heard legends and fantastic tales. Similarly in China, an empire with an ancient civilisation and culture which had been reluctant to let foreign influence　permeate its borders (not least because of the barrier created by that ideographic, monosyllabic, and equally impermeable language), these barbarians were regarded as　strange. Their encroachments were rejected because their behaviours, culture, modes of　thinking and acting were disturbing elements far from the standardised civilisational habits and　social, political and philosophical principles of the prevailing Confucianism which guided and　upheld the traditional values of China.
　　These, then, were the patterns of thought in place at the time of the first contacts between　the Portuguese and the Chinese in the early sixteenth century. By this point, Western man had　already passed, in Rocha Pinto’s words, “from an absolute to a relative position in space, at　the expense of a mythical space”. ⁽³⁾
　　The Portuguese carne from a small, under-populated country with few financiai resources. Located in the westernmost point of Europe and the Iberian Peninsula which it shared with the recently unified Kingdom of Castile, Portugal had long been trying to gain control of the seas. After ali, half of Portugal’s borders are on the sea. The Portuguese were pioneers in Europe　and they did succeed in fending off Castile in taking charge of the seas. They were motivated, it is true, by commercial and religious purposes, but they also responded to the draw of adventure and curiosity. They reached the furthest point known to Europe since Antiquity, Cathay, which until then had been as mythical as it was fascinating. Then they travelled on to　the Lequias (Kingdom of Ryuku) in Japan of whose culture, civilisation, organisation and government they reallY knew little or nothing at ali. At the same time, they were involved in dismembering the powerful commercial and religious rule of Islam.
　　China had recently closed her doors following a period of equally glorious maritime expansion and adventure under the Ming dynasty emperor Yung-le(1403-1424). During this period　his most outstanding navigator Zheng He(1371-1433) had reached the eastern coast of Africa. Yung-le’s reign was also marked by the increased prosperity arising from foreign trade activities in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The main features of this was polarisation, imperial monopolism anda policy of paying tribute. From the fifteenth century onwards, however, China　turned towards restructuring and stabilizing within its own borders, demonstrating great concern with defence and taxing of the coastal areas. In the absence of a uniform policy (for policy read ‘desire’) on foreign trade, China would Iong vacillate between permission and　prohibition. The truth remains that the interests of the coastal areas, which were traditionally　involved in this trade (which was carried on illegally) were closely connected with this　movement, particularly because these regions had been in conflict with the Chinese hinterland　which was traditionally agricultural.
　　In my opinion, it is precisely because of this situation, and because of the Portuguese abilitY　to adapt to and communicate with their surroundings - in other words the sometimes tacit, sometimes explicit understanding between the Portuguese and the Chinese - which has allowed　Macau to continue for over four hundred years. Macau is perhaps one of only a handful of　places in the world which have borne witness to the coexistence of two entirely different cultures which have managed to retain their own identities over the centuries. It may be that the　secret of this plural history lies in the parallel legal and institutional entitlements which, although they have been adapted, have existed within the same territory for so long.
　　“You shall ask for the Chins, and from whence they come”
　　D. Manuel, King of Portugal (1508)
　　Once they had managed to get massive obstacle presented by the Cape of Good Hope　(which the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias succeeded in doing in 1487) and on to the　coasts of India with Vasco da Gama’s armada of 1498, adventurers tried to set up commercial　contacts along the China coast. The king of Portugal, Dom Manuel, was extremely interested in making contact with China as can be seen in the instructions which be handed to　Diogo Lopes in 1508 for the first Portuguese expedition to Malacca:
　　“ltem. You shall ask for the Chins, from whence they come and how far off 〔it lies〕, how　often they visit Malacca and the other places where they trade, the goods they carry, how　many ships come each year, how are they made, if they will come next year, if they have factories of houses in Malacca or any other land, if they are wealthy merchants, if they are weak　men or warriors, if they have weapons or artillery, what they wear, if they are corpulent, and　any other information about them, whether they are pagans or Christians, if their land is great, if they have more than one king, if any Moors or other people who do not share their laws or　beliefs live amongst them, if they are not Christians, what is their faith, what customs they　follow, where their land lies and which are its boundaries”.⁽⁴⁾
　　As early as 1513, Jorge Álvares set off for Malacca, strategic port which was extremely important for trade in the Far East. Formerly Malacca had paid tribute to the Kingdom of Great　Clarity but it had been conquered by the Portuguese in 1511. By the time he dropped anchor in　Taman, where he was to die and be buried some years later, Alvares must have been the first　of many Portuguese to travei to China in the sixteenth century.
　　What is known about this period, between then and the 1550s when the first western references were made to Macau and the Portuguese began to establish a settlement between 1552　and 1557 on the little peninsula known as Hoi-Keang (Hao Ching Ao) at the mouth of the Pearl　River, is real ly very vague and diffuse despite the fact that there are references to Tomé Pires’ s embassy to China and the accounts written by Fernão Mendes Pinto. Tomé Pires disappeared　without trace after having failed to establish commercial and diplomatic contacts between Portugal and the Celestial Empire. As was to happen with the next embassy in 1521, this rime led　by Martim Afonso de Melo Coutinho who came from Lisbon and not India, Tomé Pires was unable to make contact with the emperor although he had lengthy, comfortable stay in Canton.
　　Those were long years of journeying, adventures, violence, clashes, personal voyages　which lay below the surface, of these pioneering activities. They were years of clandestine, unlawful contacts (and because of this there are so few documents) with a power which was　only roo aware and proud of its ancient political institutional social and cultural values, China　was divided between those who supported foreign trade (particularly the Province of Canton) and those who supported total isolation for the country. In the end, this situation resulted in　not only allowing the Portuguese to settle in this tiny spot on the edge of the vast Chinese　empire, but also managing the way in which they lived there, a move which was sparked off　by China’s own interests, both on a regional and national levei.
　　The Portuguese settlement gradually took on a more permanent nature and became what is　now known as Macau, City of the Name of God in China even though ali trade with Westerners had been prohibited in 1522.
　　The way in which this change occurred, a change which resulted in the Portuguese being al-lowed to remain for over four hundred years on land belonging to the Celestial Empire, is another story which gives rise to controversy and never-ending discussions.
　　Because there is an absence of documentary material - as we had seen-, it is impossible to　reconcile the differing versions proffered by and even within each country. Some people insist　that Macau was donated in perpetuity to the Portuguese as a reward for having aided the　Guangdong authorities in ridding the coastal waters of the pirates which had, for so long, been　wreaking havoc in the area. This event took place when the Captain-major of China voyage　managed to establish trading links and peaceful relations with China in 1554. Others claim that　the Portuguese were allowed to stay because they paid an annual rent while yet others, particularly Chinese writers from the middle of this century are of the opinion that what happened　was a case of territorial usurpation. These views are, naturally, coloured by the different interpretations given to facts in different historical periods and also by the variations in nationality and convictions of those who defend them.
　　“The fat-long-kei were then able to come in a disorderly fashion… As time went on, their　presence became a recognised fact”
　　Tcheong-U-Lam and lan-Kuong-lam, in Ou-Mun
　　Kei-Leok (18th. century)
　　What we know for certain is that the Portuguese did come and settle in this little harbour　near a temple dedicated to the goddess Neong-Ma (Neang-Ma, Tin Hau or A-Ma). The area　was known as the Bay of A-Ma; changing to A-Ma-ao or A-Ma-ngao from which some experts　think it gained its western name, not, it must be said, without some controversy.
　　Once in Macau, the Portuguese laid the foundations for a Ionglasting, profitable trading relationship with the Far East. They slowly made their way into China and traded between China　and Japan for almost a century (1543-1639). These activities left a cultural and civilisational　mark on this part of the world through commerce, religion, technology, gun-powder and　love. They were helped from a very early stage by the representatives of the Catholic Church　which had made Macau a diocese in 1576. It was thanks to the Jesuits, in particular, that　Catholicism spread so widely throughout the Orient, including Japan and China, in addition to　the contribution made by Western culture and civilisation in themselves. The Jesuits made　Macau the centre of their activities, with the focal point being what is commonly referred to　as the College of St. Paul. The famous façade which dates from a later period (around 1640) than the construction of the Church of the Mother of God itself (built between 1601 and 1602) still stands witness to their actions. The main section of the church was destroyed in a fire on　the 26th of January, 1835. The extent of their contribution can easily be seen when we look at　figures such as St. Francis Xavier who died in Sanchuan, China in 1552, Matthew Ricci, the　distinguished mathematician and cartographer who gained acceptance in the inner sanctuary ofthe imperial court of China.
　　In the very beginning, the Portuguese were the only Westerners in this region and their language was adopted as the lingua franca of the Orient. This Portuguese was a simplified, variable version of the mother tongue because it was combined with other languages of the　region, particularly Malayan and Indian languages from coastal areas, for instance Gujerati, Marathi and Konkani. Portuguese was not only used for writing official documents concerning　contacts between peoples in the East and the West, but it was also employed in communication between the latter, in other words between the Dutch, the English, the Danes, Spaniards　and so on. Portuguese was current from India to the Mauritius Islands, from Sunatra to Japan, Batavia to Sri Lanka, Celebes to Nicobar and even within China, not forgetting Thailand and　Burma as well.
　　From the seventeenth century onwards, the Portuguese were involved in conflicts with the　Dutch (who had taken in Malacca in 1641) and the English over the profitable monopoly on　trading silk for silver. There was great competition for the chance to take products ranging　from tea, porcelain and furniture to silk and even in later years manpower from a distant, exotic and refined Orient to European markets. Macau thus became the target of successive attacks by the Dutch. The most violent attack came on the 24th of June, 1622, and the Portuguese victory is still celebrated on this day. In turn, the English, who held the reins of technological progress which, with introduction of the steam engine, gave them the opportunity to　revolutionise transportation and production across the world, began to monopolise China’s　foreign trade. They used Macau, taking advantage of the old alliance with Portugal, to gain　entry to the empire. This was the situation in the early nineteenth century, a situation in which　they would be the victors of the Opium War of 1842.
　　As early as 1808, when they were engaged in above-mentioned disputes with China, the　English had tried to set up a military post in the small harbour under the pretext that a French　boat had been given shelter in Macau. Later, and once they had won, the English, closely followed by almost ali the foreign powers, installed themselves on the Yangtse River in Shanghai　and other cities in the South of China. They were to further increase their imperialist economy　in 1841 with the creation of Hong Kong, a city which would become one of the world’s most　important financiai markets. The presence of this other European power in the Far East, had a　major effect on the economy stability and society of Macau. This was what had already happened two centuries earlier as a result of Japan’s prohibition on the foreign trade which had　been the reason for Macau’s existence, growth and the presence of the Portuguese there.
　　This blow to Macau was followed by a period in which China demanded increasing control　and monetary compensations which lasted until the introduction of a more assertive colonial　rule, symbolised by Governor Ferreira do Amarai and facilitated by the international situation　and the dependence created by military defeat in China. One of the more flagrant examples of　this was the creation ofa Chinese customs house in Macau, the Ho-pu in 1688, and the order for a mandarin, the Tso-tang, to be stationed in Macau in 1736. These measures led not only　to a heavier financiai burden for both the Portuguese and locais living in Macau, but also to　political, economic, social, racial and even religious conflicts. In an attempt to bring this situation to a peaceful conclusion by negotiating, clarifying and regulating it, Portugal sent three　embassies to Peking. The first one went in 1667 led by Manuel de Saldanha, the next in 1726　led by Metelo de Sousa e Menezes, and the third in 1752 led by Pacheco de Sampaio. None of　these was successful. It was only in 1887, after over two decades of negotiations, that the　Lisbon Protocol Agreement was signed, agreed and ratified in the Treaty of Commerce and　Friendship signed by Portugal and China on the 28th of August of the following year. This　Treaty recognises the Portuguese occupation of the territory of Macau in perpetuity but, as it　was done on the basis of the international situation with which China was confronted, both this　and other treaties were later to be denounced.
　　Even so, the issues inherent to the territorial boundaries of Macau which had first been　raised with the building of the Portas do Cerco border gate in 1573 (a clear indication from　China of the interest in keeping the trading post open but tightly controlled), would remain unsolved until our own century. Of most significance is the fact that it was common law which　ruled both this and other issues.
　　This lack of definition did not in any way prevent Macau (classed as a city in 1586) from　adopting markedly Portuguese forms of government and sovereignty. This was obvious in the　organisation of municipal power with the city council, the Senado da Camara, later called the　Leal Senado which was established in 1583. Judicial powers were appointed in 1587 and there　was a progressive strengthening of central control in the form ofa Captain-General, and later　the governor. Macau was part of the Estado da índia, the representative of the Crown, until　the 20th of April 1844. From then on, Macau, along with Timor and Solor, became one of　Portugal’s overseas provinces.
　　From the late eighteenth century onwards, the city expanded until it gained its present　shape. The boundaries of the city have changed due to constant land reclamation and also because of the huge influx of people (mostly from China) which has increased the population　significantly. This has led to a change in the appearance architecture, daily life, customs, atmosphere and most importantly the economy of the city. This trend became most obvious in　1937 with the Japanese invasion of China and during the Second World War when Hong Kong　was captured by the Japanese in 1941.
　　The city of Macau grows day by day at an astonishing rate. Since 1974, the city has been　linked to the island of Taipa by the Nobre de Carvalho Bridge and Coloane was joined to Taipa　by a causeway in 1968. The territory, which now attracts tourists from ali over the world who　come to gamble and, from 1954, to see the Formula Ⅲ Grand Prix, is hardly the same quiet　little place where Sun Yat Sun took refuge before announcing the formation of the Chinese Republic on the 10th of October, 1911 and becoming the first provisional president when it was officially proclaimed on the Ist of January, 1912.
　　Macau has borne witness to ali of this because, under the Portuguese administration, it has　managed to resist the mercantile, imperialistic trends which had conquered and dominated　new markets. It has managed to resist the upheavals which have taken place this century and　the internal changes on China’s own political stage. Naturally, there have been　reverberations, and Macau has had to change with the times, times which have generated　their own changes at every levei, not least to Macau’s unique status in the world.
　　The territory is now preparing for the transition procedure which was started in 1985. The　definitive hand-over will take place in the year 2049 when Macau will be absorbed into China　once and for all.

　　(1)“Os Arquivos Oficiais e a Construção Social do Passado”, in A Escrita da História. Teoria e Métodos, LX., Editorial Estampa, 1988, p. 91.
　　(2)A Viagem. Memória e Espaço, Cadernos da Revista de História Económica e Social, 11-12, LX. Sá da Costa, 1989, p.91.
　　(3)Op. Cit., p.51.
　　(4)António da Silva Rego, A Presença de Portugal em Maoau, LX., Agência Geral das Colónias, 1946, pp. 1-2.