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This article examines the construction of social and political identity among teenagers (ages 15–19) in Macau, Hong Kong, and Goa, three territories defined by their shared history of European colonization. Drawing on post-colonial and post-modern theoretical frameworks, the study interrogates how identity is shaped by historical, cultural, and administrative processes. The author distinguishes between authentic self-identification and the "immuted" identities imposed by colonial powers, arguing that identity remains a dynamic, multidimensional process influenced by the interplay of ethnicity, nationality, and class. Through a comparative lens, the research analyzes the different colonial legacies left by Portugal (in Macau and Goa) and Britain (in Hong Kong), specifically focusing on the role of educational systems and social policies in mediating the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. By exploring the experiences of youth in these three distinct contexts, the article highlights the complexities of identity formation during periods of sovereign transition and the enduring impact of colonial structures on contemporary social perceptions and the "making" of the self.

This article analyzes the origins and consolidation of the Portuguese entrepôt of Macau in the mid-sixteenth century, contextualizing its foundation within the framework of Lusitanian expansion in the Far East and the intensification of commercial exchanges with China and Japan. Starting from the premise that the genesis of the city remains frequently shrouded in romanticized narratives lacking documentary substantiation, the author resorts to the scrutiny of sixteenth-century Iberian sources to disentangle the concrete circumstances surrounding the Portuguese settlement on the peninsula. The investigation highlights the impact of the 1554 agreement between Leonel de Sousa and the authorities of Canton, as well as the transition of mercantile activity from Lampacau to the anchorage of Macau. Particular relevance is given to the testimony of the Spanish priest Gregório González, whose letters of 1573 offer crucial evidence regarding the presence of small Christian communities on the peninsula between 1555 and 1557, a period during which the site transitioned from a provisional stopover to a permanent settlement. The study concludes that the emergence of Macau resulted from a favorable regional conjuncture in the province of Guangdong and from a gradual adaptation of foreign traders, whose dynamics of permanence were ultimately tolerated by the Chinese authorities, transforming a previously inconsequential port into a pivotal hub of maritime commerce in Asia.

This article reexamines the so-called Official Opening of Macau as a Port for Foreign Trade, offering a contribution to the clarification of facts in Chinese historiography and in Sino-foreign history of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Starting from the observation that, among scholars and in modern sources, the attribution of the opening to 1535 (14th year of the reign of Jia Jing) and to a reading that benefits, above all, the Portuguese persists, the author proposes a critical evaluation of three central questions: (i) the date of the opening; (ii) the circumstances of the decision and the role of the administrative authority of the time (the transfer of the Superintendency of Merchant Ships to Haojing/Macau); and (iii) the beneficiaries of the opening (only Portuguese or merchants of all nationalities). The methodology combines a bibliographic review of canonical Chinese sources (Ming Shi, Ming Chao Shi Hua, Zhongguo Gudai Shi, Zhongguo Lishi Dashi Nianbiao) with reading of recent historiography and dictionaries of Macau and History of China's Foreign Relations, articulating primary data with historiographic interpretations. Among the main conclusions, the author argues that the date of 1535 is problematic and requires revision, and that the opening should be understood as a process of broader scope than an exclusive benefit to the Portuguese. The article, by dealing mainly with the double question of date and beneficiaries, points to the need for a historiographic reassessment based on primary sources and new readings.

This study proposes a reassessment of the idea of Macao as an administrative entity prior to its official founding, by investigating the so-called "Legend of the Villages" on the Macao Peninsula before the establishment of the territory under Ming/Qing governance. The research utilizes primary Ming and early-imperial sources, with emphasis on the Chronicle of Xiangshan District (Deng's Register) and the Ka Tcheng (26th year, 1547), cross-referenced with district maps, especially the perception of the Macao area in earlier cartography, and with relevant materials such as the Monograph of Macao (Ou Mun Kei Leok) and the Aomen Ji Lue. The approach is historical-documentary, involving critical textual analysis, toponymic reading, and spatial location of the "Macao area" and its surrounding hills. The results indicate that the Macao area did not appear on the map of Heong San District (1547) and that the subprefecture of Gong Chang administered 22 villages entirely outside what is today designated as the Macao area. District mapping, on the other hand, excluded the Macao region, treating it as unincluded islands. It is concluded that, until the Qing unification, the Macao Peninsula and nearby islands already appeared on maps as part of local governance, but they exerted no stable economic, cultural, or population influence on Chinese administration; rather, they were associated with various forces that rejected central/local authority, leading to temporary exclusions from maps. Based on this evidence, the legend of the villages remains as cultural memory, not as a pre-existing administrative entity, offering a critical reading of the historiography on the founding of Macao.

This article presents a new assessment of Wang Bo and the first Sino-Portuguese agreement in the context of the founding of Macau, challenging the traditional image of the mandarin as corrupt and villainous. Drawing on available primary biographical and official sources (Wang Bo Zhuan, Jiangxi Tong Zhi Gao) and a critical reading of recent historiography, Tan Shibao and Cao Guoqing reconstruct Wang Bo’s public career, his moral and intellectual attributes, as well as the political-military contexts of Guangdong and Zhejiang that preceded the negotiation with Leonel de Sousa. The authors argue that the Portuguese entry into Macau did not result from the corruption of mandarins, but from a political decision of the Ming dynasty, based on mutual knowledge and a cost-benefit assessment. The analysis focuses specifically on three central questions: (1) Wang Bo’s personality, highlighting traits of integrity and diligence; (2) the agreement between Wang Bo and Leonel de Sousa, understood as a means of establishing orderly coexistence between Chinese laws and foreign commercial activity; (3) doubts about corruption and the sale of Macau, presenting data that contest earlier readings and suggest the need for still under-explored materials. It concludes by advocating a historiographical revaluation of Wang Bo and his role in the founding of Macau, encouraging collaborative research for a more positive and evolutionary reading of the subject.

This article questions the reissue of the *Cartas* (Letters) of José Inácio de Andrade, focusing on the nature of the edition announced as the first and the editorial choices that shape the volume in circulation. Starting from a contextualization of the didactic and moralizing epistolary tradition, Sena situates the *Cartas* (1815–1835; originally published in Lisbon, 1843) as a document aimed at making certain "truths" public to friends and, by extension, to his children. The study employs a critical bibliographic reading, comparing editions from 1843, 1847, and the contemporary edition published in Macao (1998), and examining paratexts, the dedication, and the inclusion of additional texts—including panegyrics, an Epistle by J. M. da Costa e Silva, and the Improvised Ode by J. M. H. Leal de Gusmão—as well as the correspondence between Andrade and the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon regarding the publication. Methodology: collation between editions, reading of prefaces, editorial notes, and analysis of the work's circulation (distribution among friends, disappearance from libraries) to understand the editorial choices. Main results: the changes between editions are not substantial; the current edition omits the original dedication and uses materials from the 1847 edition without indication, which raises questions about the qualification of "first edition" and textual fidelity. It concludes by pointing to the need for greater editorial transparency and an explicit discussion of editorial criteria, in order to preserve the educational and philosophical-political function of the *Cartas* in the Luso-Macaense context.

This study offers a historical reading of the period of Macau's establishment, framing it within the dynamics of fiscal policy and border defense of the Ming Empire and the trajectories of maritime trade between China and the outside world. Using Chinese primary sources—especially the General Registers of Taxes and Services of Guangdong (Guangdong Fu Yi Quan Shu), the work Guangdong Xin Yu, notes on the catastrophe of 1550, and official accounts of pirate control—combined with narratives on the granting of "peitas" and the authorization for the lease of Macau, the article reconstructs a sequence of events from the initial Portuguese presence (1535–1553) in Haojing'ao, Shizimen, and adjacent islands, to the consolidation, in 1557, of the port monopoly through payment to Wang Bo, and the formal affirmation of Macau as a leased territory with legal basis in the 1st year of Wan Li (1573). The author argues that the foundation of Macau results from a dialectic between fiscal and national defense interests, the commercial opening pursued by local authorities in Guangdong, and the strategy of controlling smuggling and piracy, rather than a simple Portuguese colonial initiative. The conclusions locate the formal milestone of the foundation within the imperial framework of Wan Li, offering an integrated reading of politics, economics, and port practice in southern China in the sixteenth century.

In the mid 19th century the Spanish diplomat Sinibaldo de Más, after spending a period in the territory of Macao where he formulated his theories about the Iberian Peninsula, wrote a book which is considered to be a decisive contribution for the diffusion of the Iberian issue. This work that supported a peaceful union between Portugal and Spain under a common monarchy, was published five times in Spain and three times in Portugal. Latino Coelho and Carlos José Caldeira played an important role in the co-ordination of the Portuguese editions of the Ibéria, as well as in the organisation of other activities promoting the association of the two Iberian States, events in which Sinibaldo de Más was also involved.

Trade between Manila and Macao in silks and other products in exchange for American Japanese silver had repercussions around the world. Commerce on the Macao-Manila route (1580–1642) represented a remarkable coming together of old adversaries to distribute luxury products throughout the Spanish and Portuguese empires. The present study examines Iberian competition, war, and trade with the Netherlands, England and the opening of China to European trade. Despite frequent attempts to keep Portuguese and Spanish imperial holdings separate, their merchants shared economic and strategic interests that surpassed imperial regulations. Attracted to wealth and the retention of imperial holdings, the merchants of the Macao-Manila trade route made the voyage a viable link between China and the Iberian Empire. This commerce connected not only the two Asian port cities, but it also linked their global imperial networks, opening the world to the riches of the Orient.