Guia – fortress, chapel and lighthouseby Stuart Braga Macau in 1835. This picture appeared in Anders Ljungstedt’s book. The three hills are Guia on the right, Monte Fort in the centre and Penha on the left.More than 300 years ago as mariners approached Macau the first glimpse they had of this tiny European outpost in […]
‘An Unexampled Calamity’ The Hong Kong Plague of 1894 by Stuart BragaArticle originally published in Casa de Macau Australia Bulletin‘Without exaggeration I may assert that so far as trade and commerce are concerned the plague has assumed the importance of an unexampled calamity. So stated the dispatch of the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William
The great typhoon of 1874by Stuart BragaEdited version of an article published in the Casa Down Under Newsletter, vol 20 Issue 4, Sept 2008A grande calamidade. So begins the report of the session of the Leal Senado (the Macau Council) of 29 September 1874, quoted by the prolific Macau historian, Father Manuel Teixeira. Writing in 1974 on the
MONTE FORT by Dr Stuart BragaOriginally published in Casa de Macau Australia News, April 2014, Vol 27 Issue 3The original name of the fort was Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora do Monte de São Paulo, in English: Fortress of Our Lady of the Mount of St. Paul. The name suggests a religious origin. So indeed it
By the Skin of its Teethby Stuart BragaArticle originally published in Casa de Macau BulletinThe Portuguese authorities in Macau between September and December 1808 faced the most serious challenge to Portuguese rule since the Dutch attack in 1622. This time, a powerful British force landed and remained for three months, though, curiously, the Portuguese flag
Surrender, or we’ll flatten MacauStuart BragaArticle originally published in Casa de Macau Australia Bulletin of 10 July 2009A little over two centuries ago, little Macau, remote and isolated from world affairs, narrowly escaped being caught up in the worldwide struggle between Britain and France under Napoleon. Fearing that the French might get there first, the
The Governor from HellDom Sebastião Lobo da Silveira, Governor of Macau, 1638-1644by Stuart BragaEdited version of an article first published in the Australian Casa de Macau NewsletterIf you thought our political leaders leave something to desired, then think again. Quite apart from the appalling dictators of 20th-century Europe and the cruel tyrants of contemporary Africa, 17th-century Macau
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The great days of Macau1557-1640by Stuart BragaFirst published in the Casa de Macau (Australia) BulletinThe first Portuguese attempts to trade with China in the early 16th century ended in disaster when an embassy was despatched to the Imperial Court at Peking, led by Tomé Pires whose book Suma Oriental was an important reference work describing the Portuguese
The Border Gate, or Portas do Cercoby Dr Stuart BragaOriginally published in the Casa de Macau Australia News Vol 28 Issue 3, July 2014Click on an image to see it in full size. The boundary between Macau and what is commonly called the Mainland is now defined by tall buildings and a well-organised border post, some 3 km
Chivit Boca Sujo e mas Pastro-Pastro Macaísta Luis Felipe Baptista, PhDoriginally published in the UMA News Bulletin UMA News Bulletin, Sep-Oct 1999, pp.12-15At Professor Armando (Pinky) Silva’s suggestion and encouragement I wrote an essay on common Hong Kong birds that I remembered from my childhood days with the main goal of preserving for posterity the Macaísta names for
