Macao
(2002 est. pop. 465,000). A Portuguese colonial outpost in southern China for more than four centuries (1557–1999), the territory of Macao (Macau), or as it is known in Chinese, Aomen, consists of a narrow peninsula in southern Guangdong Province and the islands of Tiapa and Coloane. In 1996 the population of Macao was 415,850. Coupled with the territory's minute size (23.5 square kilometers, or 9 square miles), this makes it one of the most densely populated places in the world.
The Portuguese name "Macao" was possibly derived from either the Ma Kwok (Cantonese) temple that has stood in the city since the fourteenth century or the Cantonese term "Ama-ngao" ("Bay of the Goddess A Ma," the patron of sailors and fishermen). The Portuguese first settled Macao in 1557 and named the site Provacão do Nome de Deos na China, or "Settlement in the name of God in China." It is not known why the Chinese authorities allowed the Portuguese to establish a settlement. Possible explanations are that the territory was both small and not of any value and that the presence of the foreigners would facilitate trade, or that the Portuguese were being rewarded for their perceived assistance in driving off local pirates. Regardless of the reason, the territory became an important base of operations for Portuguese merchants in East Asia from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Reporting to authorities in Goa, India, the Portuguese governor in Macao oversaw a vibrant trade with the Ming and later Qing empires, and his city was an important headquarters for the Jesuit missionary movement in East Asia.
Other European powers, particularly the Dutch, were envious of Portugal's position in Macao, and on several occasions the colony had to defend itself from attacks launched by the Dutch East India Company. The Macao colony did provide shelter for the families of Dutch and English merchants who were involved in the China trade at Guangzhou (Canton), 100 kilometers to the north; regulations there forbade merchants from permanently residing in the city and family members from accompanying them on trading missions. With the expulsion of all foreigners (except for a small number of Dutch traders) from Japan in 1635, Macao became the center of Sino-European trade until the end of the eighteenth century.
After the Opium War of 1840 and the opening of four new ports to foreign trade, Macao's importance as a point of commerce on the China coast declined. The Portuguese, however, remained in Macao, although much of the trade with the Qing empire shifted to Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1845 the governor of Macao, João Ferreira do Amaral, ended the established practice of paying the Chinese an annual rent of 500 silver taels and evicted Chinese customs officials from the colony. In 1887 Portugal and China signed a treaty that formally recognized Portuguese sovereignty over Macao. Although now a foreign-controlled possession on the China coast, Macao's economy and importance continued to decline with Hong Kong's growing importance. During the Pacific War, Macao enjoyed a brief revival as a safe haven due to Portuguese neutrality in the worldwide conflict.
In 1987 the governments of Portugal and the People's Republic of China concluded negotiations for the return of Macao to Chinese rule. The reversion of Macao to the "motherland" on 20 December 1999 was an important event for the Chinese leadership inBeijing and for many Chinese. The return of the last of the foreign-controlled territories to Chinese authority—like the earlier handover of Hong Kong in 1997—ended almost two centuries of unequal treaties that were a source of humiliation for many Chinese and signified that a new and strong China had at last come of age as an equal player on the world stage. The Beijing government hopes that successes in the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions under the "one country, two systems" banner will eventually pave the way for the reunification of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.
Apart from trade, some light manufacturing, and the local fishing industry, the economy of the Macao Special Administration Region is dominated by tourism and gambling. In the mid-1990s the colony was plagued by violence as Chinese criminal gangs, or triads, from Hong Kong moved into Macao prior to the handover of Hong Kong. These gangs fought for control of the colony's gambling establishments, prostitution, and drug trade. The Macao Special Administration Region continues to serve as a popular holiday destination for the residents of Hong Kong, and the former colony's economy is being more closely integrated into that of the neighboring Zhuhai Special Economic Zone.
Further Reading
Boxer, Charles R. (1968) Fidalgos in the Far East, 1550–1750. 2d ed. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
Cheng, Christina Miu Bing. (1999) Macau: A Cultural Janus. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Guillen-Nuñez, Cesar. (1984) Macau. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
Gunn, Geoffrey C. (1995) Macau, 1575–1999: An Economic and Political History. Nagasaki, Japan: Nagasaki tonan Ajia kenkyujo.
Porter, Jonathan. (1996) Macau the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Roberts, Elfed V., Sum Ngai Ling, and Peter Bradshaw. (1992) Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong and Macau. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
Yee, Herbert S. (2001) Macau in Transition: From Colony to Autonomous Region. New York: Palgrave.
This is the complete article, containing 862 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
