In search of a better world:
a social history of the Macaenses in China
Candidate: B. H. M. Koo
Degree: MA Honours
Year of Submission: 2000
University of Western Sydney
© Barney Koo, Sydney Australia
Barney.Koo@Gmail.com
Contents
Content page
1 Introduction
The Macaenses – Survival techniques and skills – The contributions of the communities – Literature Review – Aims and scope of the Thesis – Approaches to the topic – Research method – Definitions and terminology –
Inappropriate Labels: Portuguese, Macanese – Community – Diaspora
2 In the wake of the early pioneers
The early pioneers – The officials – Convicts and other deportees – The settlers – The solteiro merchants – The women – Priests and missionaries – The Jesuits’ contribution to cultural understanding – Ethnic origins of the Macaenses – The ethnicity debate – Shortcomings of the debate
3 Uncharted seas and inhospitable lands
Inhospitable lands – Ningbo – Macau – Part of the vast Portuguese presence in Asia – Macau’s “golden century”(1550’s to 1640’s) – Rise and demise of the Japan trade – Century of belt-tightening and decline (1650’s to 1750’s) – Arrival of the British, 1635 – Century of rejuvenation (1750’s to 1842) – The Canton factory system – Consequences for Macau and the Macaenses – The Opium War 1839-1842 (impact on Macau)
4 Macaense communities in China – Macau, Shanghai, Shantou, Shameen – from the Opium War to the Cold War (1842 – 1952)
Treaty aftermath – a survey of the early decades – Canton –Macau – Shanghai – Macaense communities in China – Macau – Shantou – Shameen – The Macaenses in Shanghai – Crimes and Misdemeanours – Defending Shanghai (Portuguese Company SVC) – A Macaense’s life in Shanghai 1920-1951 – Macaenses in Shanghai – post 1949
5 Hong Kong Macaenses – from the Opium War to the Cold War
(1842 – 1952)
Hong Kong Macaenses – British– and best – Recognition and Imperial awards – Career mobility – Land and housing schemes – Active in commerce – Macaense institutions in Hong Kong – Portuguese newspapers in Hong Kong – Club Lusitano – Club de Recreio and sports – Associação Portuguesa de Socorros Mutuos – Civil defence volunteers –Comparisons between the various places
6 The decade of war: retreat and integration of the Macaense communities
Retreat and integration of the Macaense communities – 1937 – Macaense refugees from Shanghai – World War II – 1949 – Driven out of mainland China –
Retreat to a precarious existence – The Cold War
7 In search of a better world
Common features of the communities – Patronage – Localisation debate – the struggle for relevancy – Multiple identities – an identity crisis – The empire strikes back – Crushing the Macaense settler mentality – From settlers to émigrés –
The Macaense diaspora – The last bastion
8 Conclusion – some reflections
One country, two systems – The realities of history
Appendix 1: Shanghai refugees in Macau circa 1955
Appendix 2: Letters of condolence on J.P. Braga‘s death
Bibliography
Summary
The return of Hong Kong and Macau to China at the end of the nineteen nineties heralded the end of Western colonisation on the China coast. These momentous events marked a period of anxiety and uncertainty for those who had grown accustomed to colonial living and ways of governing. One such group is the thousands of Macaenses, descendants of the Portuguese pioneers. When their forebears arrived in China around 1513, they were the first group of Westerners to make a sustained impact through their settlement in Macau. After the Portuguese empire had all but ended in the Far East, their descendants served the interests of other Western nations until political circumstance forced their retreat to Hong Kong and Macau – some away from China altogether.
Their story and their significant contribution to East – West understanding had been under-assessed. At the beginning of the twenty-first century when China will achieve “super power” status, an appreciation of the Macaenses and their history enriches our appreciation of how far China had come since those beginnings. While interactions with the West will continue to be awkward, how she deals with her many minorities remain a challenge in the years ahead.
Acknowledgements
My interest in the history of the Macaenses began in the early 1990s as a result of conversations with my friend Daniel Francisco Castro in Hong Kong about his community and his life story. Through him, I saw Macau and the Macaenses in a new light. As opportunity availed, he introduced me to some of its local identities such as Father Lancelote Rodrigues, Julie de Senna Fernandes and many of the interviewees involved in this project. In the United States, J. M. (Jojo) Basto of Connecticut and Flavia Collaço of Seattle were extremely helpful and hospitable. In Australia, J.B. (Bosco) Correa, Mickey Sousa, Stuart Braga and Alfred Barros were generous with their time, stories and further introductions. In particular, Bosco Correa, provided me with unhindered access to his extensive library, without which it is doubtful whether this project would see the light of day. I wish also to thank J. B. (Bosco) da Silva from São Paulo, Brazil, Gloria P. M. (de Souza) Neale and the other interviewees who wished to remain anonymous for giving up valuable time during the International Reunion of the Macaense Communities (III Encontro das Comunidades Macaenses) in Macau during March 1999 – the last before retrocession to China. In Hong Kong and Macau, Benjamin P. Wong and Edward P. H. Woo assisted with contacts while Professor K. C. Fok and Dr. Gary M. C. Ngai, both from the Fundação Sino-Latino Macau, provided helpful insight into recent Macau history.
The staff of the Manuscript Reading Room at the National Library of Australia deserved special mention for their helpfulness and courtesy extended over the many weeks of research conducted there. Above all, I wish to acknowledge the help and encouragement received from my principal supervisor, Professor Edmund S. K. Fung who gave generously of his time to make comments and helpful suggestions during the course of this project. Without his input, this thesis would have been messier and very long. Lastly I wish to thank my wife, Lorraine J. Koo, for the many hours of transcribing the interview tapes, for setting out the lists for the refugee camps in Macau and for her encouragement and personal sacrifices made in the course of the project.
Abbreviations used
| BAAG | British Army Aid Group |
| NLA-BMC | National Library of Australia – Braga Manuscript Collection |
| HKVC | Hong Kong Volunteer Corps |
| SVC | Shanghai Volunteer Corps |
| VRC | Victoria Recreation Club |