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*Armenian Footprints in Macao* analyzes the elusive presence of Armenian traders in Macao during the Canton trade era (ca. 1680s–1842), arguing that Armenians occupied a distinctive niche as private or “country” merchants who linked Macao, Canton, Manila, and India while often operating beyond the *grandes compagnies* yet within their networks. Because Armenian records from Macao are scarce or non-existent, the study reconstructs their activities from external sources—foreign (e.g., English East India Company reports) and Chinese records—tracking Armenians as ship captains, supercargoes, agents, and private merchants rather than sailors. The authors show that Armenians acted independently of, but sometimes in concert with, European and Asian powers, securing occasional privileges (e.g., 1688 EIC charter to Calcutta Armenians) that afforded an edge in trade once China reopened to foreign commerce in the late 1680s–1690s. Key case material includes the 1698 *L’Amphitrite*’s report of Armenian involvement in Macao and Canton; the 1700 presence of Ignacio Marcos in Macao aboard the *S. Juan*; Estêvão (Steven) commanding the *Sta. Maria e Sta. Ana* under a Portuguese sponsor from 1700 to 1713; and a 1722 Armenian ship anchored at Whampoa trading with Batavia. The ships were typically small (150–500 tons) with crews of 40–100; Armenians were rarely listed as sailors, instead appearing as officers or merchants. The conclusion emphasizes Armenians as a resilient, portable, and transregional trading class that shaped Macao’s periphery of the China trade, offering a corrective to Company-centered histories and highlighting the broader texture of Macao’s cultural minorities.

Armenians occupied a central place in Macao and Canton commerce by the late eighteenth century, financing capital markets, directing import–export ventures, and participating in the contraband networks that shaped regional trade. Four Armenian families are reconstructed to address a gap in Macao’s historiography and to illuminate the social, economic, and regulatory matrices underpinning the Canton trade system. The authors deploy archival methods—Macao Senate records, residency licenses, church and civil registers, and mercantile materials—to trace the biographies and networks of Armenian merchants and their kin, foregrounding the Joannes family as a longitudinal exemplar of foreign integration within a Portuguese colonial framework. A core organizing logic is the residency regime, which tied permanent or temporary settlement to Portuguese authority and to ties with Macao-based traders. Canton trade was a prerequisite for year‑round Macao residence; the trading season (roughly August to January) conditioned licenses and exemptions, with seasonal leave required unless exceptional permission was granted. Foreign women’s exclusion from Canton often left residency concentrated among men, while naturalization provided a recognized route to continuity of residence and enterprise. The Joannes case—Matheus Joannes’s naturalization in 1783, his Canton death in 1794, and his son João’s baptism—illustrates how Armenians navigated policy to sustain influence and wealth, including adaptation through kinship and partnership within Macao’s cosmopolitan economy. Collectively, these four families demonstrate how Armenian networks sustained Macao’s economy, mediated through colonial governance and cross-cultural exchange, and helped shape the course of Pearl River trade in the long eighteenth century.

This article examines the literary output of Brian Castro, one of Australia’s most prominent contemporary novelists, within the context of his multifaceted cultural heritage. Born on a ferry between Macao and Hong Kong to parents of Portuguese, Chinese, and English descent, Castro’s work is deeply informed by themes of hybridity, dislocation, and the "third space." Brookshaw argues that Castro’s preoccupation with "disinheritance" is not a source of loss but a liberating catalyst for creative reinvention. Drawing parallels between Castro and the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, the study explores how the author subverts essentialist labels and traditional notions of Australian national identity. Central to this analysis is the metaphor of "African chicken"—a Luso-tropical pastiche that embodies the "Creolising of forgetting and memory." By examining the intersection of autobiography, history, and fiction, the article demonstrates how Castro utilizes the power of imagination to fill the gaps of a fragmented past. Ultimately, Brookshaw posits that Castro’s novels offer a transformative vision of multiculturalism, where the lack of a fixed inheritance allows for the active and autonomous construction of individual identity through storytelling.

This article argues that Parsees were central to the modernization of China—notably in Canton, Hong Kong, and Macao—through mercantile networks, the opium trade, and Sino-Western relations, yet their role remains neglected in Chinese historiography and only partially treated in Western scholarship. The central claim is that this neglect stems from the instability and ambiguity of referring terms for “Parsee” in Qing-dynasty sources, which obscures by-name identifications of individuals and families across multilingual archives. To remedy this, Guo Deyan proposes a source-critical, cross-linguistic method: first examine Western-language records, then systematically sift Chinese-language materials from Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macao to identify specific Parsees and their family networks, rather than treating them as a homogeneous foreign category or as mere participants in broad events. The study emphasizes the importance of tracing proper names within Qing documents, which more reliably indicate Parsee presence than generic labels. Methodologically, the article combines Chinese archival materials with Western sources, including translations and references in British parliamentary papers, and supplements textual evidence with material-culture data (e.g., Parsee cemetery inscriptions) to illuminate the mercantile landscape. Key conclusions stress that, once names and lineages are reconstructed, Parsees appear as active agents in port-town economies, with meaningful involvement in trade, shipping, and the opium era—an insight that enlarges Macao’s minority history and calls for standardized, name-centered approaches in future research.

This article offers an attempt at a new approach to the historical origins of the Portuguese presence in Macao, seeking to displace the dominant narrative that fuels the “legend of Macao” through an analysis centered on networks, documentary sources, and diplomatic contexts. Revisiting the arguments presented in “Reframing the Origins of Macao” and articulating them with new research on the dates of the Sino-Portuguese settlement and the carta-relación of Father Gregório Gonçalves, Jin Guoping and Wu Zhiliang propose to examine, in an integrated manner, the role of ambergris in the process of Macao's foundation and the institutional bases for accommodating the Portuguese, such as the foreign quarters in Suzhou, which would offer legal precedents for Macao. The methodological approach combines the reassessment of new and difficult-to-access archival sources with a critical reading of the diplomatic practices and religious trajectories involved in the early Portuguese presence. In terms of findings, the authors present evidence that allows for a more precise dating of the carta-relación, dated as From Lisbon, 26 November 1573, and discuss its origin, location, and the nationality of its sender, situating it between 1572 and November 1573. These elements help to situate the moment and conditions of the Sino-Portuguese settlement, contributing to a reconfiguration of the historical framework. By proposing an interpretive framework that engages with diplomatic networks, the logistics of ambergris, and models of institutional accommodation, the article questions readings consecrated by tradition and offers a more complex framing of the origins of the Portuguese presence in Macao.

This article analyzes the evolution of Sino-Portuguese relations during the Qing dynasty, focusing on the study of the "Chapas Sínicas" (Macau Sino-Portuguese Archives) held at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo. The author examines the formal transition in the models of official correspondence exchanged between the government of Guangdong, representing the Qing government, and the Leal Senado of Macau, highlighting the importance of the terminological and structural changes in these documents. The study focuses primarily on the use of the *bingwen* (禀文) and its subsequent replacement by the *zhaohui* (照會). The research demonstrates that this documentary change is not merely bureaucratic but reflects a profound transformation in the political status of Macau and in the nature of diplomatic interactions. Before 1844, the predominance of the *bingwen* — a petitionary formula that presupposed a relationship of inequality and subordination on the part of the sender — evidences the recognition of Chinese imperial sovereignty and the dependent position of the Macau government. Through the qualitative and quantitative analysis of these official communications, the article exposes how administrative terminology served as a barometer for fluctuations in political power, allowing one to trace the transition from a regime of subordination to a more egalitarian model of communication after the First Opium War. In sum, the study reaffirms the historical value of the "Chapas Sínicas" for understanding the political, administrative, and legal history of Macau.

This biographical chronology commemorates the life and legacy of Monsignor Manuel Teixeira (1912-2003), a leading figure in the historiography and religious life of Macau and the Portuguese-influenced Far East. The text traces his journey from his origins in Freixo de Espada à Cinta to his arrival in Macau in 1924, detailing his education at the Seminário de S. José under the influence of historians such as Régis Gervaix. The narrative highlights his multifaceted work as a parish priest, teacher, and prolific researcher, underscoring his role in revitalizing the *Boletim Eclesiástico da Diocese de Macau* and in founding titles such as *O Clarim*. It also documents his humanitarian efforts during the Pacific War, his long missionary period in Singapore and Malacca (1948-1962), and his subsequent direction of the Arquivos de Macau. By recording the safeguarding of documentary collections and the production of a vast bibliographic oeuvre, this chronology reaffirms Teixeira's foundational contribution to the preservation of the cultural memory and identity of the Portuguese presence in Asia.

This article offers a personal and intellectual tribute to Monsignor Manuel Teixeira (1912-2003), a preeminent figure in Macau’s historiography, in the context of his passing. The author, Ana Maria Amaro, employs a testimonial methodology, drawing on memories spanning decades of close friendship and an analysis of unpublished private correspondence to illuminate Teixeira’s final years. The narrative focuses centrally on his transition from an active, charismatic life in Macau to what the historian himself described as his “exile” in Chaves, Portugal. Amaro details the emotional and physical impact of his forced departure from the territory, underscoring the contrast between his vibrant intellectual presence in the East and the feelings of isolation, loneliness, and abandonment he experienced upon returning to the metropole. Through excerpts from letters written during the 1999 transition of sovereignty, the text reveals Teixeira’s critical perspectives on Macau’s political situation and his profound saudade at the loss of the missionary and academic environment that had defined him. Ultimately, the article constitutes a poignant reflection on the human dimension of an historical icon, emphasizing the importance of recognition and intellectual engagement for those who have dedicated their lives to preserving Luso-Chinese memory and heritage.

This work, presented at the tribute session for Monsignor Manuel Teixeira (1912-2003), restores to Macau a central figure of its cultural heritage. The author examines the life and work of the priest-historian, whose activity spanned nearly six decades in Macau, Singapore, and beyond, establishing him as a reference for the study of the diocese, the Portuguese presence in the East, and Macanese toponymy. The central thesis is that Teixeira is not only a prolific historian but a way of doing history of Macau: a collector of documents, a shrewd disseminator of factology, and an interpreter capable of transforming archive into encyclopedia. The analysis is based on a reading of his extensive corpus (more than a hundred books, dozens of articles, translations) and on the institutional memory of Macau, gathering testimonies from the local press and previous references (including Sena's own assessment of 1994). His merits are on an international level: recognized in 1983 as one of the four greatest active septuagenarian citizens in the world by an American television network, in addition to being a well-known figure to foreign visitors who seek him out as a guide. Among his contributions, the *Boletim Eclesiástico da Diocese de Macau*, the *Boletim do Instituto Luís de Camões*, and works such as *História da Diocese de Macau*, *Os Militares em Macau*, and *Toponímia de Macau* stand out. The article thus concludes by affirming that Teixeira is part of the cultural heritage of Macau, a living memorial that guides future research.

This article analyzes the function of Macau in the work of the Dutch writer Jan Jacob Slauerhoff (1898-1936), arguing that the city serves as a point of refuge and inspiration within an aesthetic of the decline of Western culture between the two world wars. The approach is historical-literary and biographical: it reads Slauerhoff’s itinerary—from his contact with Macau in 1927–1930 to the incorporation of the city into the genesis of *Het verboden rijk* (*The Forbidden Kingdom*, 1932), including the dedication and prologue of the novel—in relation to Portuguese sources on Macau (*Historic Macao*) and to the biography of Camões as a repertoire of historical images. The analysis situates the work within a current of interwar cultural thought that, influenced by Oswald Spengler, reads Western history as an organism subject to birth, peak, decline, and death; and that, through Reinhold Schneider (*Das Leiden des Camões*), associates Camões with the figure of an empire in decay. Slauerhoff invokes Camões, the great explorers, and the geography of Macau to sustain a literary identity that resists civilizational dissolution. Macau thus emerges as a locus for reflection on the Orientalization of Portuguese culture and, at the same time, as a source of poetic identities and fictional plots. The article concludes that the refuge/inspiration of Macau makes it possible to understand the interface between historical critique, imperial memory, and aesthetic creation in the author’s work.

This article analyzes the influence of Romanticism and the emergence of sporting and recreational practices in Macau and Goa during the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Situating the study within the context of British hegemony in the East, the author examines how these Portuguese colonies absorbed European trends and habits, driven by the revolution in transport and communications. Through an approach anchored in history and the anthropology of the body, the text explores the impact of romantic idealism — particularly the search for a synthesis between East and West and the fascination with the exotic — on the formation of a new sociability. The author highlights the importance of recreational travel, such as the journeys of the Macanese elite to Shanghai, and the cult of nature as elements of a propaedeutic of the gaze aimed at enriching individual experience in the face of the political and economic crises of the time. It concludes that the introduction of "sport" and worldly experiences represented more than a simple adoption of external fashions; it constituted a complex cultural response that conferred enduring identity traits on the societies of Macau and Goa, enabling them to navigate the transformations of colonial modernity with a renewed sense of cosmopolitanism.

在此书评中，David Brookshaw审视了当代澳大利亚著名作家Brian Castro的《上海之舞》（2003）。Brookshaw将该作品定位为一部雄心勃勃的“虚构自传”，记述了Castro家族自20世纪30年代至60年代间跨越上海、香港与澳门的错综历史，并上溯至17世纪的葡荷冲突。书评着重强调了Castro的后现代手法，尤其是他将档案照片与家族记忆相融合、从而消解历史事实与虚构创作之间界限的精湛技艺。 Brookshaw深入探讨了小说在葡亚散居语境下的核心主题：去根化、混杂性以及身份认同的流动性。分析中相当篇幅聚焦于“舞蹈”这一隐喻，书评者将其解读为多层面的象征——既是存在意义上的庆典，也是一种过渡仪式，同时还是作者祖先所面临的“困缚之仪”。最终，Brookshaw将该小说视为一部“杰作”，是对葡人在东亚经历的罕见文学书写。通过将个人谱系与更广阔的历史变迁——包括日本占领及1997年香港回归——交织在一起，Castro被呈现为一位通过流散与永恒重生之叙事成功重塑自身历史的作家。

This article explores the historical origins of the deep-seated cultural and religious ties between the Philippines and East Timor, as observed during the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the early 21st century. Beginning with the contemporary presence of Filipino military personnel and clergy in Timor-Leste, the author investigates why a unique fraternal bond exists between these two populations in contrast to other Southeast Asian neighbors. Through an analysis of material culture—specifically the historical prevalence of Spanish silver reales in traditional Timorese jewelry and royal regalia (kaibauk)—the research traces these connections back to the era of the Iberian Union (1580–1640). Under the reign of Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal), the administrative and economic boundaries between the Spanish Philippines and Portuguese Timor became porous. The article argues that the circulation of American silver via the Manila Galleon trade and the shared networks of Catholic missionary orders established a foundation for trans-regional interaction. By examining these early modern Iberian relations in East Asia, the study demonstrates how the Union of the Crowns facilitated a long-lasting socio-cultural framework that continues to influence Timorese identity and its perceptions of Filipino "brotherhood" today.

This article argues that 16th-century Portuguese chronicles offer essential, yet underutilized, perspectives on Portugal’s relations with the Philippines, a field largely dominated by Spanish sources. It contends that a systematic reading of the principal Portuguese narrators—Fernão Lopes de Castanheda, João de Barros, Gaspar Correia, António Galvão, and Diogo do Couto—reveals a richer, more nuanced chronology of Lusophone presence and influence in the Philippine archipelago during the early contact period. Employing a documentary-historiographical method, the study synthesizes key passages and episodes from these authors, with particular attention to Magellan’s voyage (1521) and its framing within Portuguese involvement, the naming of the islands as São Lázaro, and the broader dissemination of knowledge about Luzon, Mindanao, and surrounding waters. The article also scrutinizes Simão de Abreu’s 1523 voyage in collaboration with D. Jorge de Meneses, reconstructing the route between the Moluccas and Malacca via Borneo and the implications of sightings near Mindanao, Basilan, and the Sulu archipelago. Findings suggest that Portuguese navigators may have been the first to sail Filipino waters in the early 1520s, predating other European narratives and shaping early Lusophone engagement with local polities and geographies. Concluding, the piece argues for integrating these chronicles into Philippine historiography to reassess the nature, timing, and scope of Iberian expansion in East Asia.

This study examines the evolving power, social relations, and commercial links between Macao and the Philippines from the 16th to the 18th centuries, within the framework of Iberian Asia and the period of the Iberian dual monarchy (1580–1640). The author argues that, although Lisbon, Goa, and Madrid pursued centralized control, the Macao–Manila axis developed largely through informal, market-driven exchanges that fused Philippine access to Chinese silk with the influx of American silver. Using archival and documentary sources from Macao, Manila, and imperial centers, the article reconstructs the logistics of this trade: Manila’s emergence as a major recipient of silver from Peru and Mexico; the circulation of Canton silks and luxury goods through Macao to Manila; and the payment in reales that sustained this exchange, enabling Macao to weather disruptions such as the 1639 Japanese market closure. Initially marked by official antagonism, the relationship between Iberian traders in Macao and Manila progressively shifted toward mutual commercial dependence, even as central authorities suppressed or contested China trade. The piece also situates these networks within broader geopolitical friction, including Dutch and English competition, showing how local Iberian commerce navigated imperial rivalry. Concluding, the author highlights Macao’s crucial role as a broker tying Manila, Canton, and regional Asian commerce, thereby shaping Iberian power, society, and trade across two centuries.

This article examines the symbiotic relationship between the Portuguese Crown and the Catholic Church during the sixteenth-century expansion in the East, focusing specifically on the instrumental role of the Dominican Order. The author argues that exploration and evangelization were viewed as inseparable components of the Iberian enterprise, a framework in which the missionary functioned as a conqueror and the conqueror as an apostle. Utilizing historical analysis of early Portuguese missionary activity, the study traces Dominican involvement from the arrival of the first friars in 1503 under the leadership of Domingo de Sousa. Key findings highlight the order’s foundational contributions to the establishment of the Church in India, including the pastoral care of the first church in Cochin and the appointment of Dominicans to significant ecclesiastical posts, such as the Vicar-General for the East. Furthermore, the article explores the Order’s involvement in colonial social policy, particularly the controversial strategy—promoted alongside Afonso de Albuquerque—of encouraging and subsidizing marriages between Portuguese settlers and native women to stabilize the overseas dominions. Ultimately, the Dominicans are presented as central agents in the juridical-religious framework of the Portuguese Padroado, navigating the complexities of colonial administration, the geopolitical struggle against Islam, and the spiritual conquest of newly incorporated territories across Asia.

This article analyzes the initial processes of integrating the Spanish presence into the Philippines (1565-1593) within the context of the dynamic geopolitical and commercial networks of East Asia. Using the concept of the "Asian Mediterranean," the author argues that Hispanic colonization did not occur in a vacuum, but rather in a pre-existing and vibrant regional space, characterized by urban cosmopolitanism and intense maritime exchanges involving China, Japan, and the Islamic sultanates of Southeast Asia. The investigation highlights that the subsistence economy of the archipelago and the absence of immediate surpluses—such as gold, silver, or spices—forced the colonial administration to adapt its original model, focusing on interaction with external mercantile communities, especially traders from Fujian. This scenario of scarce internal fiscal margin culminated in the rapid consolidation of the Manila Galleon route and the formation of a dual colonial model: on the one hand, the territorial and agrarian control exercised by religious orders in the interior, and on the other, the emergence of Manila as a cosmopolitan mercantile metropolis, transformed into a "Chinese city" under a Castilian ruling elite. The study also addresses the Hispanic projection toward Borneo, the Moluccas, and the Portuguese enclaves, evidencing the complex web of Iberian relations in the Far East during the sixteenth century.

This article analyzes the dynamics of Iberian relations in East Asia during the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing on the central role played by Macau and Manila as strategic connecting hubs to the Chinese market. Starting from a historical contextualization that traces back to the trade routes established between the Philippine archipelago and China since the Song dynasty, the author examines how the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish intensified and transformed these pre-existing mercantile networks. The research highlights the Spanish strategy of using silver from the Americas to access the lucrative Chinese silk and porcelain production, positioning China as the main global pole of absorption of white metal. At the same time, the text discusses the consolidation of Macau as a vital entrepôt for Luso-Indian trade and the impact of Dutch threats on the stability of the Lisbon-Goa-Macau route. Through an analysis based on documentary and historiographical sources, the study demonstrates how the Macau-Manila route was configured as a space of competition and economic pragmatism, integrating East Asia into the flows of the first globalization. The author concludes by emphasizing the importance of interdependence between the two empires and the prominence of local merchants in maintaining European presence in the face of the economic hegemony of the Ming empire.

This article critically analyzes the relationship between Luís de Camões and the Far East, focusing specifically on the episodes of the poet’s shipwreck and his alleged stay in Macao during the mid-16th century. The author argues that these events, although widely disseminated in historiographical tradition and popular culture, lack solid documentary basis, instead constituting “historiographical myths” constructed from exegetical interpretations of Camões’s literary work. Through a rigorous review of biographical and literary sources, Rui Manuel Loureiro examines the references to China in *Os Lusíadas*, demonstrating that the geographical information contained therein was common knowledge in Portuguese circles in Goa and does not prove a direct visit to the Chinese coast. The study deconstructs three central pillars of the poet’s oriental biography: his appointment to the post of Ombudsman of the Deceased, the miraculous rescue of the epic manuscript during a shipwreck at the mouth of the Mekong, and his residence in the mythical “Grotto of Camões” in Macao. It concludes that the scarcity of contemporary records led later historians to fill biographical gaps with imaginative narratives, underscoring the need to distinguish between documented historical reality and the mythical construction surrounding the figure of the national epic poet.

This article analyzes Iberian contacts with the Philippine archipelago during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, adopting a historiographical and bibliographic perspective. The author begins by documenting the early Portuguese knowledge of the "islands of the Luções," recorded shortly after the conquest of Malacca in 1511 by figures such as Tomé Pires and the cartographer Francisco Rodrigues. However, it is demonstrated that Portugal's initial interest was minimal due to the perceived scarcity of luxury goods in the region. The focus of the study then shifts to the Spanish presence, initiated with the expedition of Fernão de Magalhães in 1521, analyzing the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta and other contemporary chroniclers. Through a survey of primary sources, the text examines the successive Spanish exploratory attempts and the subsequent integration of the Philippines into global trade routes. The author argues that the analysis of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century bibliographic sources is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of competition and cooperation between the Iberian powers in Southeast Asia. The article concludes that these sources not only map geographical exploration but also reflect the economic priorities and cultural perceptions that shaped the destiny of the archipelago within the context of European expansion and its relationship with centers such as Macau.