CHAPTER ONE

After the establishment of the Treaty Port, the foreign population of Shanghai grew very slowly. The number of Portuguese in that population followed the general pattern of all foreigners and grew slowly at first, stabilized at the turn of the century and then tended to decrease as the disturbances of the war between China and Japan increasingly made life in the city uncomfortable.

There were only about 200 foreign residents in the ten years after the establishment of the foreign concessions in Shanghai. According to contemporary statistics the foreign population of the city grew constantly from 1843 to 1851: in 1843 it was 25; in 1844, 50; in 1845, 90; in 1846, 120; in 1847, 134; in 1848, 159; in 1849, 175; in 1850, 210 and in 1851, 265. Among the foreigners there were merchants who came to Shanghai frequently to handle business affairs and stopped over in the city for a time.

By the time of the fall of the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1911, Shanghai’s foreign population had started to increase significantly. The numbers of both Chinese and foreigners in the city grew rapidly, and by the turn of the third decade of the 20^th century, the city had reached a population of more than three million. The foreign population was estimated at sixty thousand. In no other part of the world was there such a conglomeration of different nationals as in Shanghai. Indeed, it would have been hard to find a nation which was not represented among its residents.

THE PORTUGUESE POPULATION OF SHANGHAI

The Portuguese nationals living in Shanghai generally followed the population curve of foreigners in the city. Within five years of the opening of trade there were a number of Portuguese residents in Shanghai. The North-China Herald in 1850 listed six Portuguese nationals among the foreign population of the city:

Before the year 1865, the number of foreigners residing in, or visiting Shanghai, varied within rather wide limits. In discussing the number of Portuguese residents in Shanghai in the early years, it should be mentioned that the first official census by the Municipal Council of the Shanghai International Settlement was taken in 1865 and was repeated by every five years.

The census return for 1865 placed the total number of foreign residents at 2,757 (2,297 in the English and Hongkew Settlements and 460 in the French Concession), including 115 Portuguese in the English and Hongkew Settlements.

The census return of 1870 gave the total number of foreign residents as 1,982 (1,666 in the English and Hongkew Settlements and 316 in the French Concession) and 104 Portugese in the English and Hongkew Settlements.

A census of the foreign population was taken on June 21, 1875. It reported that there were 1,108 foreigners in the English Settlement, 563 in Hongkew, 24 in Pootung, 24 in the Hulks, foreign ships permanently anchored in the Whangpoo River or off of Woosung which were distribution points for the illegal Opium trade, and 44 persons who did not return their census questionaries but were known of. Among the 1,673 foreigners there were 878 British and 181 Americans. Portuguese nationals took third place with 168 persons, almost 10 percent of the total foreign residents of the city.

A subsequent census was taken on June 30, 1880, of the foreign population residing within the limits of the Settlements and on the Outside Roads, the area outside of the International Settlement, showed increases in all categories. There were a total of 2,197 foreigners reported: 1,171 men, 502 women, and 524 children. Thus, the foreign population had increased by 524 persons since 1876. The Portuguese had increased from 168 to 285, which meant that they were actually second in total number of nationals in the city, behind the British with 1,044 and ahead of the Americans with 230. There were 189 Portuguese who resided in the Settlement north of Soochow Creek, 92 in the Settlement south of Soochow Creek, and 4 in the Opium Ships, & C.

From the census of 1885 it is clear that from June, 1880, there had been an increase of 1,476 in the number of foreign residents: from 2,197 to 3,673. From the figures displayed in the following table it is clear that the increases were among the British with an increase of 396, the Japanese with an increase of 427, and the Portuguese with an increase of 172. All other nationalities increased 481 persons. In 1885 the total number of Portuguese was 457 or almost twelve and a one-half percent of the foreign population of Shanghai. That figure is exclusive of those living in the French Concession. The Portuguese in 1885 were in third place in the total number of nationals. The British topped the list with 1,453, and the Japanese were second with 595. The Portuguese totaled 457, and the Americans trailed with 274. 399 Portuguese resided in the Settlement north of Soochow Creek and 55 in the Settlement south of Soochow Creek. 1 Portuguese national resided in the Outside Roads and 2 lived in the Opium Hulks.

According to the census of 1890, there were 3,821 foreign residents in the Settlement and the Outside Roads. That was an increase of only 148, significantly less than the increase from 1880 to 1885 which was 1,476. The difference consisted almost exclusively of Japanese. The Portuguese population increased to 564. This placed the Portuguese second in total number of nationals behind the British with 1,574 and ahead of the Japanese with 386 and the Americans with 322. The majority of the Portuguese, 506, still lived in the Settlement north of Soochow Creek. There were 49 in the Settlement south of the creek, 6 in the Outside Roads, and 3 in the Opium Hulks.

The census of foreigners residing in Shanghai on June 24, 1895, showed an increase of 863 during the preceeding five years. There were 362 more British, 167 more Portuguese and 70 more Germans than in 1890. The Japanese decreased 136 and the Spaniards 75. The total number of Portuguese in the Settlement reached 731. The Portuguese were still second behind the British with 1,936 nationals in the city and ahead of the Americans with 328, and the Germans with 314. 706 Portuguese resided in the Hongkew Settlement with 22 in the English Settlement and 3 in the Opium Hulks. A census of the French Concession was taken on June 24, 1895. It showed 430 foreign residents, 10 of whom were Portuguese. There were thus 741 Portuguese in the Settlements and French Concession.

A census of the foreign population of Shanghai’s International Settlement was taken on May 26, 1900, which gave the following results: 2,691 British, 978 Portuguese, 736 Japanese, 562 Americans, 525 Germans etc., for a total number of 6,774. As before, there were 887 Portuguese residents in the northern district (formerly the Hongkew Settlement), 82 in the eastern district (formerly the Hongkew Settlement), only 4 in the central district (formerly the English Settlement), 2 in the western district, and 3 in the Opium Hulks. There was a total of 35 Portuguese residents in the French Concession in 1900.

The census of 1905 showed that the foreign population in the International Settlement rapidly increased to 11,497 (an increase of 4,723): of which 3,713 were British, 2,157 Japanese, 1,331 Portuguese, 991 Americans, and 785 Germans, etc. 1,047 Portuguese resided in the northern district, 254 in the eastern district, 4 in the central district, 2 in the western district, 23 in the Outside Roads and 1 in the Opium Hulks. The census also revealed that the total number of foreign residents in the French Concession was 831 persons, among them 51 were Portuguese. Thus, there were 1,382 Portuguese in Shanghai in 1905.

From the census of 1910 it appeared that there had been an increase of 164 in the number of Portuguese residents in the Settlement: from 1,331 to 1,495. However, the number of Portuguese in the French Concession had fallen from 51 to 15. With a total of 1,510 Portuguese in Shanghai in 1910 there had been an increase of 118 persons in five years.

The census of the foreign population of Shanghai’s International Settlement on October 16, 1915, showed another rapid increase. In five years the total had gone up by 4,983 persons from 13,536 to 18,519. However, the total number of Portuguese in the Settlement had fallen from 1,495 to 1,323 while the Japanese increased from 3,361 to 7,169 and the British from 4,465 to 4,822. 801 Portuguese resided in the northern district, 188 in the eastern district, 12 in the western district, 258 in the Outsides Roads, 46 in the central district and 17 in Pootung. In that community there were 417 adult males, 432 adult females, 247 boys, and 227 girls. The census of the French Concession revealed that there were 2,405 foreign residents there, 29 of whom were Portuguese. There were, therefore, a total of 1,352 Portuguese in the Settlement and Concession in 1915. The usual quinquennial census of the foreign population of the foreign settlements, both the International Settlement and the French Concession, the Outside Roads and Pootung was taken on October 16, 1920. There were 23,307 foreigners in those areas, 10,527 adult males, 7,825 adult females, and 4,955 children. Those figures were an increase of 4,788 or 25.85 percent during the five-year period. From the table of nationalities, it will be seen that the nationalities that showed an increase including the Japanese, 3,046; the British, 519; the Americans, 957; and the Russians, 905. The German population fell to a total of 875. The number of Portuguese also fell by 22 persons to a total of 1,301. 738 of them lived in the northern district, 263 in the eastern District, 246 in the Outside Roads, 33 in the western district and 21 in the central district. There were 435 adult males, 422 adult females, 233 boys, and 211 girls. The French census showed that there were 3,562 foreigners in the French Concession: 81 of them were Portuguese. There were, therefore, a total of 1,382 Portuguese in 1920, less than the Japanese, the British, the Americans, and the Russians.

By 1925, the foreign residents of Shanghai had continued to increase in number. By that year, there were 29,947 foreigners: 13,804 Japanese, 5,879 British, 2,766 Russians and 1,942 Americans, etc. The Portuguese numbered 1,391. That number was 90 more than in 1920, and most of them, 641, still lived in the northern district. 267 lived in the eastern district, 299 in the Outside Roads (153 more than in 1920), 68 in the western district, 15 in the central district, and 1 in Pootung. There were 450 adult males, 531 adult females, 192 boys and 218 girls. The foreign population of the French Concession also increased from 3,562 to 7,811, an increase of more than 100 percent. 115 were Portuguese. Thus, there were a total of 1,506 Portuguese residents of Shanghai in 1925, 128 more than in 1920.

The census of the foreign population of Shanghai’s International Settlement on October 22, 1930, indicated that during the previous five years there had been another rapid increase. The total was 26,471, an increased of 6,524: 4,674 were Japanese, 351 British, 721 Russian, and 688 Indian, etc. The number of American residents decreased from 1,942 to 1,608. The number of Portuguese slightly deceased from 1,391 to 1,332. 501 lived in the northern district, 485 in the outside roads, 291 in the eastern district, 50 in the western district, and 5 in the central district. There were 430 adult males, 504 adult females, 189 boys, and 209 girls. Censuses in the French Concession in both 1928 and 1930 showed a steady increase in the number of Portuguese in the Concession. The totals were 248 in 1928 and 267 in 1930. Thus, the total number of Portuguese residents of Shanghai in 1930 was 1,599. That was 93 more than in 1925.

The most important and the last quinquennial census before the Second World War of the Shanghai International Settlement began on October 23, 1935, and was finished on January 16, 1936. Four different languages had been used in Declaration forms: Chinese, English, Japanese, and Russian. The previously used forms were revised in order to give a wider scope to the census. The International Municipal Council decided that the cooperation of the French Municipal Administration and the Shanghai City Government authorities might be invited, with a view toward providing coordinated census data on the three municipal areas, particularly in regard to age groups and density of population per unit of area. An accord in principle was arrived at with the French Municipal Administration on all points except the taking of the French Concession census in 1935, instead of 1936. The French authorities agreed, however, to take their 1936 census at the latter-end of October of that year. The City Government agreed to collaborate on the desired lines when taking their census in 1935.

The tabulation of the foreign population of the Settlement and Outside Roads according to nationality was prepared. It showed 51 nationalities by gender, adults and children and the various districts of residence. Present-day national nomenclatures were used and the practice of indicating small nationalities as "sundries" was discontinued and replaced by a fully detailed nationality count.

The data revealed a foreign population increase in the Settlement of 1,618 individuals. In the Outside Roads the increase was 826 for a total jump of 3,891 persons. The nationality breakdown was Japanese, 20,242; British, 6,595; Russian, 3,017; Indian, 2,341; American, 2,017; German, 1,113; and Portuguese, 1,020. There were 400 Portuguese residents in the Northern District: 145 adult males, 188 adult females, 37 boys, and 30 girls; 58 in the Western District: 19 adult males, 23 adult females, 7 boys, and 9 girls; 13 in the Central District: 6 adult males and 7 adult females; and 263 in the Outside Roads: 87 adult males, 110 adult females, 36 boys, and 30 girls. The totals for the Portuguese in the Settlement were 330 adult males, 399 adult females, 161 boys, and 130 girls. The figures reveal a decrease of Portuguese in the Settlement, but apparently more and more of that nationality were moving into the French Concession. According to the French census there were 303 Portuguese residents in the concession in 1931, 452 in 1932, 400 in 1933, 412 in 1934, and 500 in 1936. Age cohorts broke down in the following way: Males: 16, less than 5 years of age; 38, 5 to 15 years; 50, 15 to 25 years; 97, 25 to 45 years; 34, 45 and more years. Females: 15 less than 5 years of age; 64, 5 to 15 years; 48, 15 to 25 years; 88, 25 to 45 years; and 50, 45 and more years. Those 500 Portuguese resided in various districts of the French Concessions: 49 in Poste Mallet, 13 males and 36 females; 70 in Poste Joffre, 29 males and 41 females; 196 in Poste Central, 93 males and 103 females; 153 in Poste Foch, 88 males and 65 females; and 32 in Poste P_tain, 12 males and 20 females. Thus the total number of Portuguese residents in Shanghai in 1935 was about 1,500 persons.

Because of the complicated situation after the beginning of the Second World War, the last official census of the International Settlement and the French Concession was taken in 1942 and the final report only gave nationality numbers. There were 33,345 Japanese in the Settlement and 1,162 in the Concession; 10,788 Germans in the Settlement and 2,272 in the Concession; 4,202 Russians in the Settlement and 13,897 in the Concession; 2,779 British in the Settlement and 2,090 in the Concession, 1,478 Indians in the Settlement and 118 in the Concession; 879 Portuguese in the Settlement and 1,100 in the Concession: thus 55.6 percent of the Portuguese resided in the French Concession in 1942. According to the registration of foreigners in August 1942, there were 1,217 Portuguese residents in the French Concessions, of whom 425 were adult males, 485 were adult females, and 307 were children.

After the Second World War, all foreign residents in Shanghai were registered in the Public Bureau of Shanghai’s Municipal Government. According to that Bureau’s statistics, 2,043 Portuguese lived in Shanghai at the end of December 1945. There were 787 families consisting of 939 males and 1,104 females. The Portuguese amounted to 1.7 percent of the foreign population of the city and ranked fifth; the Japanese numbered 72,654 or 59.2 percent, those classified as "stateless" (who were without passports or held passports from a country which no longer existed) numbered 31,811 or 25.9 percent, Germans, 2,251 or 1.8 percent and French, 2,109 or 1.7 percent.

From the statistics of 1946, it is evident that there had been a rapid increase of 237 in the number of Portuguese residents in Shanghai, that is from 2,043 to 2,281. That number constituted 3.4 percent of the foreign population of the city and it was number ten in relation to other nationalities of foreigners. The "stateless" were the largest number with 11,468 or 17.5 percent; Americans were 9,775 or 14.9 percent; Soviet citizens were 8,834 or 13.5 percent; White Russians numbered 7,017 or 10.7 percent; French were 3,872 or 5.9 percent; Austrians were 3,453 or 5.3 percent; British were 3,103, or 4.8 percent; Koreans were 2,381 or 3.6 percent, and Annamites numbered 2,350 or 3.6 percent.

The table of foreign occupational count showed that there were 2,255 Portugese residents in 1946, of whom 1,171 were males and 1,084 were females.

Probably reflecting the growing instability in the country, the foreign population of Shanghai fell rapidly. By 1947 there were 41,219 foreigners in the city which compared to 65,409 the year before. The Portuguese numbered 2,099: 1,013 males and 1,086 females. That number of residents meant that the Portuguese were number six in the nationality ranks behind the Austrians with 5,829, the Soviet citizens at 5,440, the White Russians at 5,091, the "stateless" at 4,841, the British at 4,424 and the Americans at 2,757. By the middle of the next year, the total foreign residents of Shanghai had dropped to 40,546 with a Portuguese population of 863 males and 1,015 females. In 1949 the foreign population of the city fell to 28,683. Among that number, 1,402 were Portuguese, making them the sixth largest nationality group in the city at the time. The number of foreign residents in Shanghai at the time certainly reflected the politics of the moment. There were 6,740 Soviet citizens, 5,066 "stateless" Russians (generally subjects of the late Russian Tsar who did not agree to accept a Soviet passport), 3,226 British subjects, 2,393 "stateless" people, and 1,720 Americans.