Macau

A Brief Maritime History

Michael L Ward
11/28/2011

Nau 103-1

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China (United States of America) and functions in a similar autonomous fashion to Hong Kong. The city is on a peninsula and two neighboring islands connected by bridges. It is on the coast of China and is on the bay where the Pearl River dumps into the South China Sea. Between its founding and the 19th century, Macau was an important port in the global trade and maritime industry. Macaus history as a maritime trade center started in the early 16th century. In 1516, Portuguese merchants established themselves in the port thereby creating the oldest European outpost in the Far East (United States of America). The use of the port was minimal at first. Macau was just one small port to stop at on the long and arduous trek between Europe and the Far East. Despite the lack of direct trade at the beginning of Macaus history, the founding of Macau was a crucial step allowing European and Japanese trade with China. All non Chinese ships had to moore in Macau and await word from Chinese officials that they could proceed further into China (Abend 8). During this time, China was in the midst of a foreign policy of isolationism so Macau was a critical point in allowing some outside trade into China. Another reason Macau was a critical step in getting outside trade into China is that Macau was the base for Chinese pilots that were able to take vessels up the shoaled Pearl River and its delta(Abend 8). Having a pilot system in waters that have potential to be tricky to outsiders is key in allowing the local maritime industry to prosper. Because Macau was the home port for the Pearl River and bay pilots, it allowed it to maintain its position as an important part in Chinese maritime trade.

By being the first European port on the Chinese Coast, it opened up some very lucrative trades. Officially the Chinese had banned trade with Japan but Macau acted as a proxy to allow trade between the two nations to happen. As a result of being under Portuguese control, Macau was the port that facilitated the trade of silver and silk between Japan and China (Ptak 32). Macau was also a major player in the opium plague that was brought upon the Chinese. Macau was the main port for the importation of Malwa opium into China (Beeching 36). As a result of not being directly controlled by the Chinese, importers could skirt the ban and get opium to the coast of China and smuggle it in from Macau. As time went on after the opium wars, Macaus importance as a port diminished. One reason Macau faded from the maritime scene was that there was another large port opened across the bay from it. The British officially secured Hong Kong from Chinese control in 1842 and immediately afterwards Macaus maritime importance decreased and the city was turned into gambling center and smuggler hang out (Abend 8). Victoria Harbor, Hong Kongs harbor, is a deep water port and because of this, it stole much of Macaus traffic. Macau was a major port for the American Navy from 1844 to 1853 but because it is too shallow for modern large ships, the American Navy moved to Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong (Abend 8-9). Hong Kong had overtaken Macau in volume of trade by the middle of the 19th century and within a few years, traders completely abandoned Macau. Macau never regained its status as a major entrept (Macau).

Macau spent centuries as a player on the world maritime scene. It ran the gamut from its humble beginnings as a small European outpost on the vast China coast to a center in the illicit and lucrative trades coming into China from outside the country. As important as Macau was in

some aspects of maritime history, it faded off the global maritime stage because it could not keep up with the rapidly moving maritime world.

Works Cited

Abend, Hallet. Treaty Ports. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1944. Print. Beeching, Jack. The Chinese Opium Wars. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1975. Print. Macau. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/353700/Macau>. Ptak, Roderich. China, the Portuguese, and the Nanyung. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2004. Print. United States of America. U.S. Department of State. Background Note: Macau. 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.