Your search

Live from the Armando Cortez Theatre at Casa do Artista, the third part of the programme dedicated to the Portuguese Language, with a debate moderated by journalist Fátima Campos Ferreira among the guests on the main panel: Eduardo Marçal Grilo, former Minister of Education; Eduardo Prado Coelho, from the Organising Committee of the Conference "The Portuguese Language: Present and Future"; Simonetta Luz Afonso, President of the Camões Institute; Diogo Feio, Secretary of State for Education; and interventions from the audience by Armandina Soares, a 2nd Cycle Basic Education teacher; Solange Parvaux, from the General Inspectorate for Portuguese Language Teaching in Paris; and Reginaldo Almeida, a university professor.

First part of the programme presented by António Louça about Macau, illustrated with archive images, and studio interview with General Lopes dos Santos, former Governor of Macau, and Fernando Brito, former Director of the Naval Workshops of Macau.

Second part of the programme presented by António Louça about Macau, illustrated with archive footage, and a studio interview with General Lopes dos Santos, former Governor of Macau, and Fernando Brito, former Director of the Naval Workshops of Macau.

Interview conducted by Raquel Santos with Graça Pacheco Jorge, author of the cookbook "A Cozinha de Macau da Casa do Meu Avô".

Interview conducted by Raquel Santos with the musician Rão Kyao.

First part of the program presented by journalist Helena Balsa, using archive images, with the guest in the studio, Jorge Rangel, President of the International Institute of Macau, who discusses the topic "Macau, Bridge between Civilizations and Cultures".

Second part of the programme presented by journalist Helena Balsa, using archive footage, with the guest in the studio, Jorge Rangel, President of the International Institute of Macau, who debates the theme "Macau, Bridge between Civilizations and Cultures".

Raquel Santos presents the documentary "Commemorations of the 150 Years of Wenceslau de Moraes" about the life and work of the military man, writer, and diplomat, in the year that marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of this great promoter of Japanese culture in the West.

Interview conducted by Raquel Santos with painter Teresa Magalhães.

Interview conducted by Raquel Santos with visual artist Eduardo Nery, about his public art works, with emphasis on the tiles, stained glass, and Portuguese pavement of his authorship.

Interview conducted by Francisco Sarsfield Cabral, director of Rádio Renascença, and by Ana Sá Lopes, political editor of the newspaper "Público", with Lieutenant-General Garcia Leandro, director of the National Defense Institute and professor of military strategy, on the invasion of Iraq and the issue of torture practiced there by coalition forces, the role of NATO and the UN in the world context, and national defense policy.

Interview conducted by Graça Franco, deputy director of Rádio Renascença, and by José Manuel Fernandes, director of the newspaper "Público", with Fernando Pinto, CEO of TAP, on the economic and social situation at the company, and its relationship with the oversight authority.

Interview conducted by Raquel Santos at the Oriente Foundation with Carlos Monjardino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.

This chronology details the key milestones of European expansion towards East Asia between 1474 and 1642, focusing on the diplomatic, maritime, and commercial competition between the crowns of Portugal and Castile. The text systematizes the historical trajectory from Toscanelli’s theoretical proposals and the early explorations of the African coast to the consolidation of the “Estado da Índia” and the subsequent penetration into the Far East. Through a sequential analysis, the author highlights crucial events such as the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the opening of the maritime route by Vasco da Gama (1498), and the strategic assertion of figures like Afonso de Albuquerque. The work explores the inherent tensions in this process of expansion, namely the conflict between the ideal of the Crusade and the dynamics of free trade, as well as the importance of key entrepôts such as Malacca, Hormuz, and Goa. By contextualizing the European "race," the chronology provides an essential documentary basis for understanding the process of early globalization and the complex encounters and misunderstandings in the South China Sea. This survey serves as a reference instrument for the study of logistics, foreign policy, and the network of intercultural contacts that enabled the establishment of the Portuguese presence in China and Japan.

The article presents a bilingual **Glossary** (Portuguese/English) integrated into the dossier "**European Encounters and Missed Encounters in the South China Sea** (II)", dedicated to the history of the Luso-Dutch system in the Asian context. Its central contribution lies in **compiling, standardizing, and clarifying** toponymic names, functional ethnonyms, offices, vessels, and recurring textual references found in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century sources (e.g., ports, dynasties, sultanates, and cartographic designations). Methodologically, the text operates as a mediating tool between the language of chronicles, cartographies, and historical documents, on the one hand, and contemporary academic usage, on the other: it identifies equivalences (e.g., alternative forms and transliterations), defines technical-institutional terms, and provides approximate locations, while also indicating semantic meanings where relevant (such as descriptive categories of people and types of weapons). As a result, the glossary facilitates the **cross-interpretation** of heterogeneous materials—particularly those pertaining to maritime expansion and political confrontations in southern China and Southeast Asia—thereby reducing terminological ambiguities. Thus, the article implicitly concludes that lexical densification and conceptual normalization are indispensable conditions for consistent historical analyses of European encounters in the Asian maritime space.

This article analyzes the relationship of Dutch power in the East in 1621, based on the detailed report prepared by André Coelho, a Portuguese captain active in the region. Employing a methodology of documentary analysis, the text retrieves and modernizes the unpublished manuscript, currently preserved at the National Library of Lisbon, to understand Portuguese strategies and perceptions in the face of Dutch expansion in the South China Sea and the Moluccas. Coelho's report reveals a thorough assessment of Dutch occupation across various islands and fortresses, as well as the growing threat to Portuguese interests in the region, highlighting the complexity of the maritime conflict between the two colonial powers. The military plans outlined, although unrealized, reflect an attempt at organized resistance through a powerful armada assembled in Manila with the objective of eliminating the Dutch presence and regaining control of trade routes and strategic islands. The analysis underscores the perception of the weakening of the Portuguese empire and the importance of a structured military response to the rise of the Dutch. It concludes by emphasizing the document's relevance for understanding the power struggles in Iberian and Dutch maritime expansion in Asia during the early seventeenth century.

This article presents an English translation of a historical account detailing the early maritime expeditions of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to East Asia following its formation in 1602. Extracted from the 1725 French collection by René-Auguste Constantin de Reneville—which drew from the earlier works of the De Bry brothers and Isaac Commelin—the text chronicles the 1603 mission of Cornelis van Veen. Dispatched by Admiral Wybrand van Warwijck from Bantam to establish trade with China, Van Veen commanded the ships *Nassau* and *Erasmus* on a voyage that culminated in a significant confrontation with Portuguese interests in the Pearl River Delta. The narrative focuses on the Dutch flotilla’s arrival in Macao in July 1603, where they encountered the "Black Ship," a Portuguese carrack heavily laden with silk and gold destined for Nagasaki. The account details the strategic capture of this vessel, the subsequent transfer of its valuable cargo, and its destruction by fire. By documenting this early instance of Dutch-Portuguese conflict, the article highlights the VOC’s aggressive initial efforts to dismantle the Portuguese maritime monopoly and penetrate the lucrative Sino-Japanese trade routes. This primary source provides critical insights into the "encounters and clashes" that defined European expansion and competition in the South China Sea during the early seventeenth century.

This article presents an English translation of a seminal primary source documenting Olivier van Noort’s 1600 expedition to Manila and Brunei. Extracted from Isaac Commelin’s 1645 collection *Begin ende Voortgang*, the narrative details the Dutch perspective of the naval conflict between Van Noort’s fleet and the Spanish forces commanded by Antonio de Morga. This engagement marks the initiation of protracted Dutch-Spanish hostilities in the Philippines aimed at destabilizing the Manila-Acapulco galleon route—a conflict that persisted until the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Beyond the military confrontation, the account chronicles Van Noort’s subsequent arrival in Borneo. This landfall proved strategically significant, offering the Dutch critical insights into the commercial networks of Southeast Asia, particularly those involving Chinese and Japanese maritime circuits. A notable highlight of the narrative is the documentation of a Japanese "red seal" vessel captained by a Portuguese mariner, underscoring the cross-cultural and multi-ethnic nature of early seventeenth-century Asian maritime trade. By providing this translated excerpt, the text offers valuable primary-source evidence regarding early European competition in the South China Sea and the complex socio-economic landscape of the region during the transition to Dutch maritime expansion.

This article presents a translated excerpt from the 1645 "Relation d’un voyage aux Indes orientales par un gentilhomme français," a rare primary source document written by an anonymous French soldier serving the Dutch East India Company (VOC). As one of only two known 17th-century French accounts of travel through the South China Sea in the service of the VOC, the text provides a unique non-Dutch European perspective on the company’s maritime and colonial operations. The narrative focuses specifically on the rise of the Chinese corsair and admiral Iquan (Zheng Zhilong), tracing his trajectory from a humble merchant at the Dutch fort in Formosa (Taiwan) to the commander of a formidable pirate fleet of over eight hundred junks. The author details the complex geopolitical dynamics of the region, illustrating Iquan’s shifting alliances with Dutch authorities, his eventual appointment as a Ming imperial admiral, and the subsequent diplomatic and financial tensions with VOC officials like General Hendrik Brouwer. Ultimately, this account serves as a significant historical record of the socio-political volatility and cross-cultural "encounters and clashes" that defined the 17th-century maritime frontier in East Asia.

This article presents a primary source account, translated into English, detailing Admiral Wybrand van Warwijck’s 1604 expedition to China—a pivotal moment in the early history of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Asia. Following the establishment of the first VOC settlement in Bantam, Van Warwijck sought to initiate formal trade relations with the Ming Empire, leveraging the diplomatic influence of the Siamese Kingdom. The narrative, excerpted from seventeenth-century travelogues by Cornelis van Veen and Sebaldt de Weert, documents the strategic and military tensions between the nascent Dutch presence and the established Portuguese interests in Macao. Key findings highlight the multifaceted resistance the Dutch encountered: the Portuguese actively sabotaged Dutch diplomatic efforts in Canton through misinformation and political pressure, while the Chinese authorities ultimately rebuffed Van Warwijck’s overtures with a significant naval show of force in Fujian. Furthermore, the text provides historical context for the escalating hostilities in the South China Sea, including the capture of the Portuguese “Black Ship” in 1603 and the subsequent seizure of the *Santo António* in 1605. Ultimately, the account offers a critical perspective on the geopolitical complexities and the "clash of empires" that defined European maritime expansion and trade competition in East Asia during the early seventeenth century.