Hong Kong History

For many years Macau dominated trade in the Far East but Macau was handicapped by its shallow port. When the British established a colony in Hong Kong, with its magnificent harbour, Macau lost trade to Hong Kong and many Portuguese sought careers there and in Shanghai.

When the Second World war broke out in the Pacific, large numbers sheltered in neutral Macau but men who had fought in the Battle of Hong Kong were incarcerated in Prisoner of War camps.
After the war there was mass migration from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Macau to other countries.

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CHAPTER V Dutch and English envious of Portuguese trade No account of international relations in the East can overlook the fact that the death of King Sebastian of Portugal in 1580 leaving no issue, and the usurpation of the Portuguese Throne by the King of Spain, involved the Portuguese colonies in the quarrels between Spain […]

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CHAPTER VI Recourse to Macao during the Anglo-Chinese War – Captain Elliot’s Memorable Proclamation Shortly before 1839 a series of incidents in Canton, with and without official connivance, were shaping events of far-reaching consequence. These events finally resolved themselves into the establishment of a British settlement at Hongkong and, as it proved in later years,

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CHAPTER VII Early Hongkong from Portuguese and other records – Departure of Captain Elliot For close on three hundred years, from the year 1557, Macao had been the “home from home” not only of Portuguese nationals but also of subjects of other countries who came seeking commercial relations with the Chinese. It was as much

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CHAPTER VIII The Rise of Hongkong – Early Portuguese Settlers The ill favour with which the early British residents of Hongkong viewed the prospects of the new settlement was reflected in despatches to the British Government in London, and can also be gathered from newspaper reports by men who doubted that the island of Hongkong

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CHAPTER IX Growth of the Portuguese Community in Hongkong – The Portuguese as Interpreters The strength of British colonial enterprise was demonstrated in the case of Hongkong in less than a decade after the founding of the settlement. There were disabilities, misunderstandings, recriminations, and criticisms, it is true, but Hongkong was taking shape as an

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Braga_JP Intro

THE PORTUGUESE IN HONG KONG AND CHINA By J. P. Braga First published in 1944 and reprinted in 1978 and 1998; published on the internet circa 2009. Editorial Note: This is the 1944 version. J.P. Braga did not complete this booklet before his death. J.M. “Jack” Braga edited and published this work after his father’s

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Calamity

‘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

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Goodbye To All That

GOODBYE TO ALL THATFilomeno “Meno” Baptista, March 2010Japan surrendered unconditionally on August 15th 1945 and soon the rush to return to Hong Kong began. In early September our heroes arrived in Macau onboard a British frigate HMS Parret to reunite with their families; through them we learned that the prisoners who had been sent to Japan to

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HK Almanacks Portuguese

Hong Kong Almanacks – List of Portuguese The 1846 and 1850 Hong Kong Almanacks show the names of hundreds of Portuguese and their occupations. These were extracted and listed here, with attempted matches to individuals in the database. Where possible, links have been made so that clicking on a name or an ID number will

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HK Jurors

Hong Kong Jurors List List of Portuguese Lists of people in Hong Kong who were eligible to be jurors have been published in the internet, for the years 1855 onwards. These include over 300 Portuguese and give valuable records of names, occupations and addresses. Apparent Portuguese names have been extracted from the lists for the

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