AS ORIGENS DE MACAU NAS FONTES IBÉRICAS
This article analyzes the origins and consolidation of the Portuguese entrepôt of Macau in the mid-sixteenth century, contextualizing its foundation within the framework of Lusitanian expansion in the Far East and the intensification of commercial exchanges with China and Japan. Starting from the pr...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
January 2002
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40001/2656 |
| Summary: | This article analyzes the origins and consolidation of the Portuguese entrepôt of Macau in the mid-sixteenth century, contextualizing its foundation within the framework of Lusitanian expansion in the Far East and the intensification of commercial exchanges with China and Japan. Starting from the premise that the genesis of the city remains frequently shrouded in romanticized narratives lacking documentary substantiation, the author resorts to the scrutiny of sixteenth-century Iberian sources to disentangle the concrete circumstances surrounding the Portuguese settlement on the peninsula.
The investigation highlights the impact of the 1554 agreement between Leonel de Sousa and the authorities of Canton, as well as the transition of mercantile activity from Lampacau to the anchorage of Macau. Particular relevance is given to the testimony of the Spanish priest Gregório González, whose letters of 1573 offer crucial evidence regarding the presence of small Christian communities on the peninsula between 1555 and 1557, a period during which the site transitioned from a provisional stopover to a permanent settlement. The study concludes that the emergence of Macau resulted from a favorable regional conjuncture in the province of Guangdong and from a gradual adaptation of foreign traders, whose dynamics of permanence were ultimately tolerated by the Chinese authorities, transforming a previously inconsequential port into a pivotal hub of maritime commerce in Asia. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |