Conspiracy in Canton
This abstract describes a confidential diplomatic dispatch dated 9 November 1885, issued by M.º J. Gomes of the Portuguese Consulate in Canton (No. 6), with supplementary annotations and signatories including J. L. Meirinhos, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and João António Calçado Cruz. The...
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| Format: | Documents |
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| Language: | pt-PT |
| Published: |
1895
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| Subjects: |
Anti-colonial conspiracy in Canton
;
British gunboat Pigmy
;
Canton Conspiracy 1895
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Decapitations
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Diplomatic Despatches
;
Dynamite bombs
;
Guangzhou security measures
;
Macau Governor
;
Portuguese Consulate in Canton
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Portuguese colonial intelligence
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Qing Dynasty uprising
;
Suppressed revolutionary movement
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Suspected Chinese participants
;
Viceroy of Canton
;
ammunition seizure
;
anti-insurrection suppression
;
cross-border intelligence
;
gambling houses
;
spring-guns
;
Documents
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| Online Access: | https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/UFFVSQ4D/viewer_UFFVSQ4D.html |
| Summary: | This abstract describes a confidential diplomatic dispatch dated 9 November 1885, issued by M.º J. Gomes of the Portuguese Consulate in Canton (No. 6), with supplementary annotations and signatories including J. L. Meirinhos, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and João António Calçado Cruz. The document reports on a suppressed anti-colonial conspiracy uncovered in Canton, involving approximately 500–1,000 suspected Chinese participants, with arrests, executions—including decapitation—and seizures of explosives, munitions, dynamite, grenades, ornamental chests (*barrica*), liturgical vestment trimmings (*lângue*), and flour at the customs house. It references connections to an earlier uprising led by ‘Tacão’ in the north and notes the arrival of demobilised soldiers from Formosa following Japanese occupation. The text records heightened military activity, rumours of arson and revolution, suspicions implicating Houyhoun and Macau as coordination sites, and administrative concerns regarding gambling houses (*casas de jogo*) under Portuguese colonial administration. Marginalia cite archival references to earlier reports from 1759, though these pertain to contextual annotation rather than the 1885 event. The document reflects Portuguese colonial administrative anxieties, intelligence assessments, and inter-jurisdictional concerns involving Canton, Macau, Hong Kong, and Formosa during a period of regional instability. |
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