A Macao Narrative

by Austin Coates, César Guillén-Núñez (Foreword)

Macao, 40 miles west of Hong Kong, became a place of Portuguese residence between 1555–57. In this short, lively and affectionate book, Austin Coates explains how and why the Portuguese came to the Far East, and how they peacefully settled in Macao with tacit Chinese goodwill. Macao’s golden age, from 1557 to the disastrous collapse of 1641, is vividly reconstructed. There follows the cuckoo-in-the-nest situation of the late eighteenth century when the British in Macao were a law unto themselves, until the foundation of Hong Kong and the opening of Shanghai gave wider scope for their energies. Portugal’s subsequent struggle to obtain full sovereignty in Macao, and the extraordinary outcome in 1975, brings this account to a close. Special tribute is paid to the risks Macao gallantly undertook in harbouring Hong Kong’s starving and destitute during World War II.

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[SlowRain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct.

Never before has one word so perfectly summed up a book, but there you have it. In a mere 140 pages, Austin Coates has given us the prelude to Portuguese exploration in Asia in the early 15th century to Macau achieving a form of sovereignty at the end of the 19th century, with a slight coda regarding World War II. With very elegant sentences, he narrates the history of Macau from its formation, through the heyday of the Japan trade, and its decline as other European countries entered the area. It's an excellent introduction for anyone looking for a good place to start reading about old Macao. Every major city in the world should have a book like this written about it. The only knock I have against it is the price for such a thin book, but hopefully you can find it in a library or used bookstore. Highly recommended.

[James Porteous · Rating 3 out of 5]

a short, fairly slight, but useful history of Macau

[John Mcpheat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it did a very good job of describing the history of Macau and placing it in the overall context of both China's (and Japan's) relationship with the 'west' and the history of Portugal.