Encountering Macau: A Portuguese City-State on the Periphery of China, 1557-1999

by Geoffrey C. Gunn

Tracing the history of this tiny peninsula perched off the coast of China, Geoffrey Gunn skillfully charts five hundred years of colonial encounter and economic relations with China, Japan, and the Asia region. For 450 years a Portuguese enclave or city-state, Macau—like Hong Kong—will revert to Chinese sovereignty at the end of the century. Macau too stands in the vortex of massive regional economic and social change, serving as a dynamic launch for China's dramatic, export-oriented growth. Yet little has been written in the West on Macau's parallel transition to a Special Administrative Region of China or, indeed, on the historical, economic, and political features that distinguish this Portuguese territory from its British counterpart.Making liberal use of historical photographs and illustrations, Gunn situates Macau in its Asian context since the sixteenth century, arguing that Macau's history has been shaped by more than its economic incorporation into a Euro-centric world system—on Chinese terms—or its survival in the twentieth century as an essentially rentier state built around gambling. The author considers the complex and ultimately doomed struggle by the Portuguese to assert sovereignty over Macau, which was reclaimed by China in the historic Sino-Portuguese Declaration of 1987, that foreshadows the end of Western rule in China. Macau's multi-faceted and fascinating saga draws out wider lessons about the nature of colonialism in Asia and the shape of the East Asian world order in the coming Pacific century.

Genres: History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Barack Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

196-Encountering Macau-Geoffrey Gunn-History-1996
Barack
2018/10/29
2020/06/1 5


—— "The resolution of a long-standing historical problem" has enabled "the Chinese people to take another big step towards the great goal of achieving the reunification of the motherland within this century." "

"Encountering Macau" was first published in Macau in 1996. It is a complete history of Macao covering the entire colonial period, spanning more than 400 years, and fascinatingly tracking the political, economic and social development of Macao.

Geoffrey Gunn (Geoffrey Gunn). He is currently an honorary professor of Nagasaki University in Japan and an adjunct professor of the Macau Studies Center of the University of Macau. Representative works: "Macao History" and so on.

Part of the catalog
1. Macau in the world economy
2. The rise of Macau's civil society
3. Macau and sovereignty issues
4. Macau's profit economy
5. Macau in the Revolutionary Era
6.Wartime Macau
7. Economic transformation after the war
8. Political development after the war
9. Towards 1999: Macau and China

" It was originally a remote fishing village on the southern coast of China, as a permanent settlement for the Portuguese on the narrow isthmus (called Ou Mun in Cantonese and Aomen in Mandarin) that leads to the Xiangshan region of Guangdong Province, China. It began in the 1550s. This is about 20 years after a Portuguese merchant ship first arrived on the coast of China and started trading activities, and it was only 100 years after the Ming Dynasty gave up the maritime adventure under Zheng He’s leadership. "

Although the Ming Dynasty conducted several overseas expeditions , the scale was far greater than that of Spain and Portugal . But because of their different goals, they led to different results. This is the same as personal development. Although two people doing the same thing, but different purposes of the two sides , will lead to different results. And sometimes , that party look more objectively occupy advantage, the resulting harvest , but not as good as the original potential weak that party.

" As early as 1535, the Ming Dynasty government built a customs office in Macau, and in 1554 it moved to Lang Bai O. Since that year, Lang Bai O has become the venue of the annual market. The Portuguese were in this market. The purchase of silk in the city was an important element of their trade with Japan. In the same year, the Portuguese also obtained permission from the Ming government to go to Guangzhou to engage in commercial activities. In 1553, the commander of sailing to Japan, Lionel de· Sosa and the Chinese authorities reached an agreement on the location of permanent transactions in this area. However, it was not until 4 years later, in 1557, that the Portuguese were allowed to reside permanently in Macau. "

China has a vast land and abundant resources, and regards agriculture as the country's foundation. Naturally, I am not so interested in border areas and coastal areas. In addition, our political and cultural center has always been in the north. South often it is regarded as the land of barbarians. Moreover , the language and culture of the South and the North are very different. It is conceivable that the South is not taken seriously. If you don't value this area , you will naturally turn a blind eye to what outsiders do on this land.

"The Portuguese successfully obtained permission from the Ming government to establish a permanent trading port in Macau and establish a government to manage internal affairs. This is undoubtedly due to the strategy of bribing and catering to local Chinese officials. Zhang Tianze found that the Portuguese The acquiescence of human existence is also attributed to tradition. What is mentioned here is the precedent created in the 14th century, as the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta once witnessed: In Guangzhou, there is a prosperous In addition to the mosque and the market, the Muslim quarter has its own judges and imams. However, he continued, the Chinese “recognize now that it is wise to keep foreign businessmen a safe distance instead of letting them They come to Guangzhou Port". "

" The earliest inhabitants of this area probably arrived in the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. However, it was the Fuklo boat people who, with their arrival in the 14th century, added elements of commercial activities to the Port of Macau. The Portuguese settled in Macau. At that time, or even before this, three small Chinese villages had been established here: Wangsha, Shalitou and Agate. Together with Agate Temple and Guanyin Temple, it is still a Chinese cultural and religious landscape in Macau. Characteristics. ”

"In 1630, Gonzaro Teixeira and 400 Portuguese were drafted into the army in Macau. The Ming court paid for it to help deal with the Qing army along the Great Wall. However, the main force of the Teixeira group was opposed by the Guangzhou merchants. The conspiracy was blocked in Guangxi. Fitzgerald, a scholar on China, regarded this as a typical case of the divergence of interests between Beijing and Guangzhou. Guangzhou merchants saw a huge impact in their trade with the Portuguese in Macau. interests, he fear that if the Portuguese emperor granted privileges elsewhere, they would lose their monopoly. after the 1644 Beijing fall (and 1650 bloody siege of Guangzhou), the Ming emperor once again to the Portuguese For help, the ultimate conqueror-the Qing Dynasty-did not forget this relationship. In fact, a few years later, in order to appease the Portuguese, the Qing Dynasty proposed a temporary waiver of the headache of land rent. This happened in 1651, and it was waived. rent for three years. at that time, Macao recognize the authority of the Qing Dynasty. Since some conformist behavior, the Qing government has in 1714 and 1718 once again temporarily exempt from the rent. "

When a dynasty does not even have the power to protect itself and needs to rely on the power of foreigners to help maintain the dynasty , even if it does not immediately perish, it is just barely maintained in a rigid way . Its defeat is only sooner or later. Problem .

" Macao, as the eastern fulcrum of long-distance trade, was also foretelled by the English adventurer Ralph Fitch who visited the Strait of Malacca from January to March 1588: When the Portuguese went from Macau to Japan, they always Carrying a lot of white silk, gold, musk and porcelain, they only bring back silver from Japan. They have galleons and go there every year and bring more than 600,000 silver coins from there. All these Japanese silver coins, plus they every year The more than 200,000 silver coins earned from India are all used to seek greater interests in China and other valuable things. When the Portuguese go to Guangzhou, China to do business, they can only stay there for a few days. When they enter the city gate, they must register their names in a record book, and when they leave the city at night, they must cross out their names. They cannot spend the night in the city, but must sleep on their boat outside the city At the end of their stipulated days, if they stay there, they are committing a crime and will be imprisoned. "

In the long run, economic benefits are far more powerful than political factors . These businessmen are urged to endure all kinds of inconveniences, and they are exhausted after years of traveling in foreign countries . Its core motivation does not come from the authority of the Portuguese royal family, but from rich interests.

" Bokser wrote in the 1620s that although the scope of trade activities between Australia and Japan was gradually changing and the Portuguese became increasingly dependent on wealthy Chinese and Japanese businessmen to provide them with capital, it was still the huge profits of the precarious Portuguese Asian Empire. Origin. Especially in the period after the Dutch blocked the route to Goa, the trade with Japan (which was made possible by the Kyushu trade name) maintained the Portuguese's commercial share in China's coastal trade. From Japan From a point of view, the big ship from Macau and the coveted Chinese silk it carried were the single most important factor in Japan’s foreign trade during this period. The first edict to expel missionaries was issued in 1587 (this As a result of the Portuguese losing control of Nagasaki) and the promulgation of a ban on Christianity in 1614, Portuguese trade with Japan (via Nagasaki) was increasingly restricted. In 1636, the Japanese drove the Portuguese to the lower Important trading port: Dejima. Tolerance ended dramatically in 1638-1639. At that time, the Tokugawa shogunate used bloody means to promote their retreat policy, persecuting Christian converts. However, by this period, the Portuguese monopolized The status has been eroded by Japanese businessmen, the Dutch, and especially the Chinese. Regardless of some beginnings, the Portuguese never came back. Five years later, the Dutch intrusion on Portuguese commerce led to the strait of Malacca. Occupation. "

" Since 1599 (or about 45 years after the Portuguese settled in Macau), Dutch merchant ships began to appear in this waters. Hu Jilun said that this activity must be viewed in such a context: for decades, the Dutch And the British launched a series of naval attacks on Iberian ships and coastal towns in Europe, America and the Far East. The Dutch wanted to seize Macau, the Strait of Malacca and Nagasaki, with the purpose of intercepting the highly profitable silver trade. . "

The rise of new forces. More profits must be robbed from the current world order. It usually starts with force . The weakening of established forces also began with defeat . A country with powerful force may not be able to sustain it for long. But a country without strong force can certainly not control its own destiny .

" As evidenced in the "City Fort Book", by the last few decades of the 16th century, Macau had emerged as the main destination and meeting point for the trade of exotic tropical products, keeping pace with the Strait of Malacca. The scope of trade voyages was from the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh, Madaba, Delindaye and Joan Kalaw, extending to the eastern archipelago of Cambodia, Sunda, Borneo, Solow and Timor. Patan, Siam, Sunda and Solow. And Timor Island was selected as the target of China’s special voyages. These voyages are all in Macau earning thousands of cruzados for the Portuguese government every year. "

“ Just as Mangouan said when commenting on the role played by Macao people in Southeast Asia’s trade: “They have long-term economic symbiosis with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, and their adaptation to Asian business habits and practices often makes them become Southeast Asians. A partner favored by monarchs. "As described below, although Macau’s pioneering firearms foundries remain in people’s memory, those merchants based in Macau were still able (until the 18th and 19th centuries) to provide Western-made cannons to the Asian powers. , Rifles and ammunition. Mangouan claims that this factor often gives them a greater advantage over their Chinese competitors, who follow the same Asian route and do the same business. "

I have a great interest in business activities , especially when the object of business is high-tech products. The era of guarding the land behind closed doors has become obsolete. In the 2 1 century , in order to prosperity , we must be firmly in the grasp of technology and trade and two basic points.

" In 1685, the emperor issued a decree, deciding to open Guangzhou Port to foreigners at least once a year. During the annual trade fair, Macau is no longer the only center of China’s foreign trade, and the Portuguese are no longer the only ones. It is clear that this measure changed the conditions of Macao’s economic role in trade with China, especially when some foreign companies built warehouses on Shamian Island. It is worth noting that in 1699, the first A British factory was built in Guangzhou. However, in 1688, the Chinese established a customs (or "hubei") in Macau’s South Bay, which was supervised by a Qing official. This meant that it was in control Macau is also destined to play a key role in the official design of foreign ships entering the Pearl River Delta. Despite this, the Chinese authorities still do not allow foreigners to live in Macau. "

" With the relaxation of restrictions on the residence and trade of foreigners in 1760, the city used intermediaries to extract profits from commerce. Consistent with this new system, Macau became all business with China (all through Guangzhou). ) Is a natural residence or transit point for foreigners. Because European companies have to establish a headquarters in this Portuguese residence, this has brought Macau business profits. In the words of Coates, Macau has become the whole Europe in China. Outpost. At the end of each trade season, the British, French, Danes, Swedes and Spaniards head to Macau. This is definitely a worldwide community, although the governor and bishop have set some breathtaking for them. Even so, Macau businessmen still have to be cautious and walk on thin ice. They are always vulnerable to the unpredictable and unexpected events of the market-especially shipwrecks, and they are always forced to adjust their trade linkages in response to this The political and economic realities of the region. "

" In the last few years of the 18th century, "Hong Kong foot trade" became almost synonymous with trade between Macau and Calcutta. The Portuguese traded spices, cotton, and opium there, trading Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain. For example, 1797 In 1991, Bangladesh and Goa emerged as the main destinations for Macau merchant ships. In this adventure, Macau-based Hong Kong merchants worked hand in hand with the British East India Company instead of competing with each other. The Portuguese also competed with the French. Close and complex trade ties have developed along the Indian coast. In 1798, Borneo and Timor played the role of secondary trading destinations after India. At the same time, in 1799, Malacca, Penang, Colombo and Coromandel also Was added to this list. However, by the end of this century, there were 8-12 merchant ships based in Macau, most of which were engaged in trade with Siam, and one or two sailed to Lisbon or Brazil. Just like Xu Sa As Si wrote: "In a word, Macao's trade is completely finished. " "

"If a region wants to integrate into a European-centric capitalist world economic system, the test it has to pass is whether the region can respond to the "changing'market environment' of the world economy". Failed to pass the test, It also indicates that there is a commodity chain that connects a region with the capitalist center. As shown earlier, the role of Macau in a primitive capitalist world economic system has been achieved by its trade with Japan. Peak.

[二六 侯 · Rating 3 out of 5]

西方視點的簡史，中譯本放上了一堆未標來源的插圖。有點好奇最後三章的原文如何，翻譯時有沒有經過「修改」……港澳無論是從西方或PRC觀點來詮釋，對ROC而言都不堪回首（誤）