Portuguese Macau: The History and Legacy of the Autonomous Chinese Territory that Became the Last European Colony in Asia

ISBN: 9781721621453
$9.99
*Includes pictures
*Includes contemporary accounts
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
The Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares visited the Chinese coast in 1513 and was the first European to do so via the sea. Shortly after, more Portuguese visited around the Tunmen Inlet, which is believed to have been somewhere around the Pearl River Delta, and an establishment was set up there in 1514. At this time the Chinese knew nothing of the Portuguese other than their violent takeover of Malacca, a tributary to the Chinese Empire, so the Portuguese were treated with caution.
In 1516, Rafael Perestrello was dispatched from Malacca to the islands of Guangdong where his people were well received. Due to this favorable reception, more ships and trading vessels were sent the following year under the command of Perez de Andrade. The fleet anchored on the island Shang-chuan and was at first viewed with suspicion, given the frequent raids from Japanese pirates around the Guangdong region. However, Andrade was peaceful in his dealings with the Chinese and the Chinese allowed two of his ships to proceed to Guangzhou (Canton), while the others returned to Malacca or sailed up the coast with Chinese junks to other merchant factories. The peaceful interactions with the Portuguese was not to last for very long thanks to Andrade’s brother, Simão de Andrade, also known as Simon (Brinkley 1904: 170-142).
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