I hope that residents of both Hong Kong and Macao would agree with me that they are facing a most Historical moment in the entire History of both Communities. As you all know, we are already in the transitional period towards 1997 and 1999 when Hong and Macao will become two Special Administrative Regions of China respectively. But we are still left with the daunting task of finding ways to convince the World that the Hong Kong and Macao formula is going to work.
The study of Macao's History carries a special meaning at this most Historical moment, for our findings about the past will help to formulate guidelines for us today to help implement the formula for the future of the Macao Special Administrative Region. The late Sir Winston Churchill, an historian as well as a man of action, is often quoted in justification of the study of History:
"Unless we know where we have been, we cannot know which path to follow in the future!"
Indeed, a stable, peaceful and prosperous future for Macao will depend to a great extent on the next generation's understanding of the formula of success of Colonial Macao on Chinese soil, in the past. It is especially important that they learn from the past interactions between the two European Colonies, on the one hand, and Sino-Macao and Sino-Hong Kong interactions, on the other. As a local historian, I have often deemed it my responsibility to try to explain, through concrete examples, Hong Kong and Macao's importance in the larger issues of modem Asian-Pacific History and their Cultural, Political and Economic link with China in the past. 1 Now I find that the exceedingly important theme of the triangular relations of Macao, Hong Kong and China, in the Modern Period has been grossly neglected in our historical histories of Macao and Hong Kong. In view of a rather urgent need for such studies, this Paper seeks to arouse the greater interests of historians towards the future studies feasible by introducing to them some significant Records in the Hong Kong Archives.
The most important series of Records in the Hong Kong Archives is the Colonial Office 129 Original Correspondence (CO 129). It consists of despatches exchanged between the Governors of Hong Kong and the Secretaries of State for the Colonies during the Period 1841-1950, together with their enclosures, Colonial Office minutes, memoranda and correspondence regarding Hong Kong between the Colonial Office and other ministries, institutions and private individuals. Even though these materials contain valuable information about most important events related to nineteenth century Macao, it is the intention of the author to select just a few events on which these materials give first-hand and penetrating information so as to illustrate their importance for the study of nineteenth-century Macao.
The first Historical issue selected is the so-called"Macau Coolie Trade" or "Macau Coolie Emigration". The CO 129 contains quite a few Documents which can help to reconstruct a fairly clear picture of the genesis, development, abuses and discontinuance of this important nineteenth century episode. 2 The same Documents also provide us with some inside stories into the ethos and pathos of this Chinese epic of human movement. These CO 129 Documents are all records of correspondence between the Hong Kong Government and the Colonial Office or the Foreign Office about the "Macau Coolie Trade". The "Macau Coolie Trade" has been a topic of much debate between Chinese and Portuguese historians, each basing their studies and interpretation on Records of their own Archives. 3 As an interested third party, the Hong Kong Governor, in these Reports to his superior in the Home Government, often gave us a fair, impartial but highly reliable account of the many facets of the trade. These CO 129 Documents, no doubt, serve as valuable supplements to those Chinese and Portuguese Documents which relate to the same episode.
In one Document for example, the Hong Kong Governor reported and commented on the observations of the Portuguese Government on the coolie emigration from Hong Kong compared with that from Macao. 4 In another Document, he forwarded a Memorial from the Chinese community of Hong Kong deprecating the evil results of emigration from Macao. 5 In yet another Document, he objectively discussed the abuses connected with the coolie emigration from Macao. 6 The CO 129 Documents thus preserve for us some contemporary insiders' opinions on the Historical issue. At the same time they also offer the historian some penetrating insight in his search for a more truthful account of the event.
The next issue chosen for illustration is the very well-known episode referred to by historians as the "Hong Kong Blockade" leading to the establishment of Chinese Customs stations, in Hong Kong and Macao Territories. The "Hong Kong Blockade" lasted from 1867 to 1886 and seriously affected Hong Kong's trade with China. According to the British Government, the Colony of Hong Kong was founded mainly for commercial interests and for that reason, the "Hong Kong Blockade" was often discussed in great detail in the despatches exchanged between the various Governors of Hong Kong and the Secretaries of State for the Colonies as recorded in the same CO 129 series. Since the establishment of Customs stations, in Macao, by Chinese Authorities is part and parcel of the whole episode, the CO 129 series also includes rather detailed Reports of the Hong Kong Governor on such Chinese activities and Portugal and Macao's response to them. 7 Closely related to the establishment of Customs stations in the vicinity of Macao is the prohibition of importation of arms from Hong Kong into Macao by the Chinese Authorities. There are, therefore, also quite a few important CO 129 Documents referring to this controversial issue which involved the interactions of Macao with both Hong Kong and China. 8
What is more interesting is the fact that quite often in these Documents the most controversial question of the time, the Sovereignty of Macao, was raised. Two Documents in particular give us revealing insight into Great Britain's attitude towards this 'thorny' problem in her relations with Portugal.
The first Document is a despatch originally sent by the Foreign Office to the Colonial Office which in turn was directed the attention of the Hong Kong Governor to a proposed joint action of the Portuguese and British Governments against China's decision to set up Customs stations near Macao and Hong Kong. The Document was dated the 22nd of December, 1876. 9 The proposal for joint action was in fact forwarded to the Foreign Office by the Portuguese Minister, Duke of Saldanha. From this despatch it is quite clear that the Portuguese Government was anxious to obtain the cooperation of the British Government in resisting the measures contemplated by the Chinese Authorities on the ground that:
"Macao and Hong Kong are in similar circumstances, their interests alike, and the views and principles maintained by the Governments of Portugal and of Great Britain identical in regard to their relations with China."10
But the Foreign Office totally dissented from this view:
"China has never recognised Macao as belonging to Portugal, and the dispute as to its tenure has prevented the conclusion of a Treaty between the two countries. On the other hand, Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain by Treaty and is treated, by China, in the matter of Customs duties as a foreign port." 11
In the end, the British Government decided that:
"[...] since the tenure of Macao and Hong Kong are entirely different, joint action would be undesirable." 12
It is interesting to point out that up to 1876, the British Government clearly considered China as having full Sovereignty over Macao.
The second Document was sent by Governor Hennessy to the Colonial Office, on the 24th of August 1878, in regard to the protest of the Macao Governor, Correa da Silva, against an interpretation given in a Hong Kong Government letter concerning the Sovereignty of Macao. 13 What actually happened was that the Chinese Customs Officers at the Capsingmun Station discovered that large quantities of contraband gunpowder were conveyed, in Chinese junks, from Hong Kong to Macao. These junks were therefore ordered to return to Hong Kong. It turned out that the contraband goods belonged to some German merchants in Hong Kong who complained to the Hong Kong Government and urged Hennessy to interfere on their behalf. Realizing that this would inevitably raise the question of the Sovereignty of Macao with which he had no desire to involve the Hong Kong Government, Hennessy decided not to handle the matter himself. He thus instructed the Acting Colonial Secretary to inform the merchants in writing, that the Governor could not interfere in the matter because the Guangdong Authorities considered Macao to be part of China and the import of munitions of war into China was subject to stringent regulations. 14 The German merchants were not satisfied with such an answer and the Acting Colonial Secretary' s letter in one of the daily English newspapers, with a view to putting pressure on Hennessy to take some positive action on their behalf. Instead, this was brought to the notice of the Governor of Macao who immediately wrote to Hennessy to protest against the interpretation of Macao's Sovereignty in the Acting Colonial Secretary's letter, which: "manifested acquiescense to the supposed pretentions of the Chinese Government"15 thus re-vindicating the rights vested in the King of Portugal as the Sovereign of Macao. Correa da Silva added that he considered such unfavourable inferences "extremely disagreable" to him. 16
This Document reveals important information on Macao-Hong Kong relations in several ways. First, Correa da Silva put up an argument of Portuguese Sovereignty in Macao in his letter to Hennessy. To start with he tried to appeal to the right of Dominion:
"In our relationship with the Imperial Court in Peking we have been given the right of dominion and possession since the beginning and this has been without dispute for three centuries." 17
He then related to a few historical facts which showed that the Western Nations never contested the rights of Sovereignty of the King of Portugal over Macao. It was upon this general European accord to the rights of the Portuguese Crown over the Colony that Correa da Silva made his claim for his Country. 18 Second, despite the fact that Hennessy could not see eye to eye with Correa da Silva over the Sovereignty of Macao, Hennessy emphasised in his Report to the Colonial Office that:
"[...] the relations between the Government of Macao and his Government are of the most friendly kind."19
As a matter of fact, the Governors of the two places often visited and played host to each other. In matters of mutual interests they also consulted each other. Hennessy even showed considerable admiration over the Macao Government's success in maintaining a relatively peaceful Administration over its Chinese residents for over threehundred years:
"Indeed I could not but feel that in the judicious treatment of the Chinese population and in the way in which the Portuguese Government have gained their confidence, the Hong Kong Administration has something to learn from the accumulate experience of the Macao Authorities."20
Some tentative conclusions may perhaps be drawn from a brief survey over some important CO 129 Documents related to Macao's interactions with Hong Kong and China in the second half of the nineteenth century. It seemed that before the Opium War, under the principle of "Mutual Assistance and Mutual Benefit", the Portuguese Government, in Macao, remained relatively compliant with the wishes of the Chinese Authorities and showed sufficient respect to China's Sovereignty. However, after the British took over Hong Kong there is increasing evidence to show that the Macao Government was encouraged to challenge China's Sovereignty and therefore very anxious to enlist the support of the British Government, in Hong Kong. However, it proved in several instances that the British would not provoke the anger of China for no good cause thereby jeopardizing her interests in China and so we find the British Government staying aloof on the issue of Macao's Sovereignty. And yet, in other matters and on occasions when it served well the interests of Hong Kong and Great Britain, the British were found to be more willing to lend a supportive hand to the Portuguese in Macao. For example, soon after the First Anglo-Chinese War, The British ran into a long period of hostilities with the Guangdong Authorities. They were thus anxious to secure the cooperation and alliance of the Macao Government. Accordingly they ensured the right of the Macao Government to British protection in the event of their becoming involved in a war with China. 21 Again during the time of the Arrow War when Sino-British relations were severely strained, Governor Bowring used to go repeatedly to Macao to confer with the Macao Governor:
"[...] relative to the measures which it would be expedient to adopt in consequence of the struggle between China, France and England."22
Judging from the above revelations based on confidential Documents, it is unwise for historians to look at nineteenth century Macao's interactions with Hong Kong and China on the ideological lines of anti-Imperialism and Nationalism and over-generalize that, as Colonists, the British and Portuguese were bound to adopt an identical policy against China. It is equally unwise to argue arbitrarily about Portugal's Sovereignty over Macao before the 1880s. While the feelings and emotions of some historians are understandable, they serve to obscure the historian from the important fact that Macao's relations with Hong Kong and with China, in Modern History, were dictated, more often than not, by the principle of "Mutual Interests and Mutual Benefits". It is important, therefore, for historians of Macao to collate as much information from as many sources as possible and analyze it objectively and free from any patriotic or nationalistic nuances. Only in this manner will historians produce as truthful an account of Macao's past interactions with Hong Kong and China as is available for the beneficial reference of present day and future Administrators of the two communities.
Translated from the Chinese by: Sheilah Cardno
Revised by: Ana Pinto de Almeida
NOTES
1 See, for example:
FOK, Kai Cheong [HUO Qichang] 霍启昌, The Macau Formula: A Study of Chinese Management of Westerners from the Mid-Sixteenth Century to the Opium War Period, Hawaii, University of Hawaii, 1978--Unpublished Ph. D Dissertation; Early Ming Images of the Portuguese, in: Ed. PTAK, R., "Portuguese Asia Aspects in History and Economic History (Sixteenth and Seventeeth Centuries)", Heidelberg, Heildelberg University Press, 1987, pp. 143-155; Lectures on Hong Kong History: Hong Kong's Role in Modem Chinese History, The Commercial Press (H. K.), 1990; The Ming Debate on How to Accommodate the Portuguese and the Emergence of the Macao Formula: The Portuguese Settlement and Early Chinese Reactions, in: "RC: Revista de Cultura" [Portuguese Edition], Macau, (13-14), 1991, pp. 328-344; Xiang Gang Yu Jin Dai Zhong Guo (Hong Kong and Modem China) 香港与近代中国, The Commercial Press (H. K.), 1992.; Hong Kong and the Asian Pacific - An Index of Source Materials(1840-1900), Hong Kong, Joint Publishing Co. Ltd., 1993.
2 See, for example:
HKA: Colonial Office, CO 129/123; CO 129/133; CO 129/134; CO 129/137; CO 129/156; CO 129/161; CO 129/164; CO 129/164; CO 129/165; CO 129/166; CO 129/169; CO 129/170; CO 129/172.
3 See, for example:
Deng Kaisong 邓开颂, Aomen kuli maoyi ji qi dui shijie jingjide yingxiang 澳门苦力贸易及其对世界经济的影响, in: Qingdai Quyu Shehui Jingji Yanjiu 清代区域社会经济研究, Beijing, 1992, pp. 619-632; TEIXEIRA, Manuel, O Comércio de Escravos em Macau, Macau, Imprensa Nacional, 1976.
4 HKA: Colonial Office,, CO 129/156, pp. 2-25.
5 Ibidem., CO 129/161, pp. 247-282.
6 Ibidem., CO 129/158, pp. 17-38.
7 See, for example:
Ibidem., CO 129/176, pp. 197-201; 349-356.
8 HKA: Colonial Office, CO 129/187, pp. 308-318; CO 129/ 294, pp. 582-593; CO 129/302, pp. 398-402, 626-628.
9 Ibidem., CO 129/176, pp. 238-249.
10 Ibidem., CO 129/176, p.20
11 Idem.
12 Idem.
13 HKA: Colonial Office, CO 129/181, pp. 556-580.
14 Ibidem., CO 129/181, p.559.
15 Ibidem., CO 129/181, p.560.
16 Ibidem., CO 129/181, p.573.
17 Ibidem., CO 129/181, p.567.
18 Idem.
19 HKA: Colonial Office, CO 129/181, p.561.
20 Ibidem., CO 129/181, p.562.
21 Ibidem., CO 129/5, pp. 333-342.
22 Ibidem., CO 129/181, pp. 566-567.
*Ph. D in History, by the University of Hawaii (Hawaii). Thesis dissertation -- The Macau Formula: A Study of Chinese Management of Westerners from the Mid-Sixteenth Century to the Opium War Period. Bursar from the East-West Center, Hawaii. Lecturer in the Department of History, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) and in the University of Oriental Asia (Macao). Advisor and Consultant of Antiquities and Honorary Advisor of the Museum of History, Hong Kong. Researcher and Historian in trhe role of Hong Kong and Macao in the Contemporary History of China.
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