MACAU, EMPÓRIO MERCANTIL. POTENCIALIDADES E LIMITAÇÕES (SÉCULOS XVIII-XIX)澳门作為商貿中心之潛力與局限 (18-19 世紀)
The article analyzes Macau between the 18th and 19th centuries as a “mercantile emporium”, exploring its structural potentialities and its political and economic limitations. Starting from the city’s geographical position at the confluence of maritime routes of the South China Sea, the author discus...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
January 2009
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40029/3624 |
| Summary: | The article analyzes Macau between the 18th and 19th centuries as a “mercantile emporium”, exploring its structural potentialities and its political and economic limitations. Starting from the city’s geographical position at the confluence of maritime routes of the South China Sea, the author discusses how the natural shelter of the bays and the intermediation in the intercontinental circuit — linked to the trans-Asian route as far as Canton — favoured Luso-European and Asian trade. Methodologically, the investigation articulates historiographical reading with historical-institutional contextualization, mobilizing documented episodes concerning imperial policies, navigation constraints, and reorganizations of the Canton system.
The main conclusions indicate that, despite the relevance of Macau in the outflow of Chinese exports (silk, porcelain, and tea) and in articulating regional networks (including Bantam/Java), the viability of trade was often conditioned by capital scarcity and Luso-Chinese tensions. The first half of the 18th century is characterized by severe restrictions on the number of ships (such as the limitation imposed by Yongzheng in 1725), generating impoverishment and conflict, although diplomatic and commercial measures produced partial effects. Finally, the text argues that the definitive reorganization of the Canton guild (co-hong) in 1757 and the consequent formalization of the Canton Trade System created a more stable framework, expanding Macau’s possibilities without completely eliminating its vulnerabilities. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |