Documental Anthology

14 DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND AND CITY OF MACAO1

On the coast of the great kingdom of China, twenty three and a half degrees north, is the city if Guangzhou, ·2 head of one of the provinces of the said Kingdom. 3 [It is] located along the shores of a navigable river which has many islands - peopled by farmers - at the mouth of its estuary, among which, eighteen leagues downriver from that city [i. e., Guangzhou] lies the island of Macao4 which is our present concern, and which is more or less seven miles in length. A large establishment of Portuguese has gradually grown at its tip, who, being exhausted by the toils and duties of war settled there with wives and families, enthralled by the abundanct richness of all there is in this region of China.

And it did not take long for this establishment to grow in such a way that it now constitutes more than two thousand households5- less than twenty years, 6because before then the Chinese would not have allowed it, neither to them [i. e., the Portuguese] nor to any other foreigners. And with the passing of time it will grow progressively as this island is an obligatory stopover point for all the merchandise taken from India to China and Japan and other regions of this Orient, and which are taken from these regions to India. 7

Because all the foreign vessels which want to gain the province of Guangdong ·are obliged to drop anchor in the harbour at this island of Macao, and to trade with the mainland from here, being given no consent to go beyond. And because of the great confluence of foreigners here, merchandise of all sorts is brought {to this place}* from other inner provinces of the land of China. For this reason this establishment at Macao is most famous for its commerce, and a variety of goods from the whole of the East are to be found here. So, due to the trade which takes place and because of its peaceful environment, it gradually grows in population and grandeur, and it is to be expected that very soon it will become one of the most prosperous and wealthy cities of these parts.

Its inhabitants are mostly Portuguese, with other Christians, mestizos and natives of the region, and in spite of the territory belonging to the king of China who has his officers collect the prescribed duties there, 8 the government {of Macao} is made in compliance to the laws and ordinances of this kingdom of Portugal, 9 and the officers mentioned below administer justice according to the provisions of this Kingdom, or the directives sent from {the Portuguese State of} India by the Viceroys.

And are provided with much adorned temples and churches where divine services are publicly officiated. And [have] a Bishop whom they call of China and who usually resides here, sent by this Kingdom to the Christendom of those regions and Japan, and confered with broad apostolic powers. 10

POSTS OF MACAO

This establishment never had a Captain in permanent residence, except for the Captain of the voyages which are yearly effected to Japan, as we will mention in due course, 11 acting as its Captain when he sojourns here, and almost as one leaves the Captain of the next [Japan] voyage arrives, and in this manner it happens that they lack a Captain for just a very little time or none at all. There is also an ouvidor (Teller), a escrivão do público, judicial e notas (Judicial and Legal Scrivener) who also acts as escrivão dos defuntos e dos órfãos (Scribe of the property of the deceased and orphans).

The Teller does not have a salary from the King's Treasury, but it is a good post, held to be the best magistrature of India and the most sought after by all. The amount be can amass will be according to his industry, 12 but for instance a moderately honest [Teller] can get more or less three to four thousand cruzados. 13in three years

In this period he can provide, more or less, a net amount14 from two thousand five hundred to three thousand cruzados. Such [an appointment] is usually renewed every three years, sometimes longer, [and given] to several people, which I think extremely unsuitable to the of praise of God and the righteouness of justice, it being an office with cartório (Registry) and papéis ([legal] bureaucracy), which requires full time competent staff. Because of this these posts should not be invested temporarily but in perpetuity. 15 And because the establishment has a large number of people and, as we have said, is continuously growing, it could well be subdivided into two sections, each provided with a life-long officer on duty, who would survive honourably in these posts. 16

MAP. FERNÃO VAZ DOURADO. 1571. In: MARQUES. Alfredo Pinheiro, A Cartografia Portuguesa do Japão (Séculos XVI-XVII), Lisboa, Casa da Moeda - Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses - Fundação Oriente - Imprensa Nacional, 1996, p.147.

THE VOYAGE FROM CHINA TO JAPAN

Those captains alotted the voyages between China and Japan leave from Goa to China in their own ships, equipped at their own expense, with some cargos, although not many. 17 When they arrive at our city of Malacca, they must pay eight per cent customs duty on all the cargo they transport, but on departure they are levied nothing. Because they are not allowed to load either drugs or spices, or any other cargo from there to China - in other words not to harm the "voyage of the drugs" that the captains from that city make to China, by order of the Viceroys, which we will later relate, 18 - the aforesaid captains {i. e., those of the China and Japan voyages} purchase the "voyage of the drugs" from them [i. e., the Malacca Captains], thus carrying them {i. e., the drugs and spices} to China, as they are a prime merchandise of great value. 19

In the old days they went from Malacca to the Sunda Islands, 20 from whence they transported much poppy and drugs to China, enabling them to omit the purchase of the aforementioned "voyage". But since several years ago they no longer visit Sunda, leaving from Malacca directly for China, to the harbour and island of Macao, which we have already dealt with. During their time of residence {in Macao} they become Captains {of the city} empowered with civil and judicial jurisdiction over the people who inhabit it, as well as Captain-Majors of all the vessels moored in its harbour. From there [i. e., the harbour] no other vessel or carrack is allowed to depart for Japan except that of the attributed capitão-mor (Captain-Major) of this voyage. Thus, all the residents of the territory of Macao, as well as any other person who has business or trade in Japan, load their goods and merchandise on his vessel, paying him high fees both to send and to bring - fees which are so substantial that they constitute the major income and profit of these voyages.

When the Captain-Majors ship their own products, they sail to Japan in their own vessels to extract the best possible profits on their goods. But when they have no products to trade or are not interested in going, they simply send the vessels {loaded} with the goods of various parties, remaining in Macao until their return.

The harbour in Japan where these ships most commonly trade is called Nagasaki; 21 but sometimes they go to Hirado and Kuchinotsu. 22And, taking many and various goods from China, the major product they bring from Japan is silver ingots which abound there, and some earrings and woven silks. All this they sell in China on the return voyage, loading other merchandise there which they take to India.

The said Captain-Majors also act as the provedores dos defuntos (Purveyors of the property of the deceased) who have died in either the going or return voyage, or in Macao, a post which earns a generous amount. And having mentioned this post when we were discussing Macao, saying that we would describe it in detail later on, we will consider it here.

In the patents issued for these voyages it is stated that [their Captains] are also the Purveyors of the property of the deceased; and even when this is not stated explicitly the Viceroys in India entrust them with this post. This to the great harm of other parties, especially the residents of Macao, because the inheritors can never get hold of the belongings of the deceased once the captains are entrusted with them, being stored aboard their vessels and taking them to India - and if they depart from there to Portugal it becomes almost impossible to retrieve them. And so this post should be entrusted separately with a declaration to be made of all the belongings left by the deceased, which should be accounted for, upon the cessation of functions, in Goa. With such a procedure this post could be entrusted to an honourable man of honest conscience, who would heap up six or seven thousand cruzados.in three years

Returning to the subject of the voyages we were previously dealing with, I affirm that they are the best and most lucrative of all those made in the lands of India, and should therefore always be entrusted to honourable fidalgos of special merit and deeds. Each journey should bring a revenue of thirty five thousand cruzados, more or less, after deducting all expenses. And at sale, offers on the cargo are in the region of twenty thousand cruzados paid in cash, half immediately and the other half on return. 23

Translated from the Portuguese by: Fiona Clark

*Translator's note: Words or expressions between curly brackets occur only in the English translation.

For the Portuguese text, see:

(Anónimo), LOUREIRO, Rui Manuel, intro., Livro das cidades e fortalezas, in "Antologia Documental: Visões da China na Literatura Ibérica dos Séculos XVI e XVII", in "Revista de Cultura", Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, pp. 99-101 - For the Portuguese modernised version by the author of the original text, with words or expressions between square brackets added to clarify the meaning.

For the original source of the Portuguese text, see:

(Anonymous), LUZ, Francisco Paulo Mendes da, ed., Livro das cidades, e fortalezas, qve a coroa de Portugal tem nas partes da Índia, e das capitanias, e maes cargos que nelas ha, e da importancia delles, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1960, pp.157-161 -Partial transcription.

NOTES

Numeration without punctuation marks follow that in the author's anonymous original text selected in Rui Loureiro's edited text in "Revista de Cultura" (Portuguese edition), Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, p.101.

The spelling of Rui Loureiro's edited text [Port.] is indicated between quotation marks and in italics 《" "》 - unless the spelling of the original Portuguese text is indicated.

1 There are two mistakes in the title of this section of the manuscript: neither Macao did not have the status of "city" at the time nor has it ever been an "island" - but a peninsula.

The first issue only becomes validated after 1585, thus attributing a later date to the manuscript. The second issue was common in contemporary writings which frequently mention the "island" of Macao.

2 The latitude of Guangzhou• is 23° 5' North.

3 The city of Catam• [original Port.] or 'Cantão'• [Port.] = Guangzhou• [Chin.], in the province of 'Cantão'• [Port.] = Guangdong[Chin.]. Contemporary texts by Portuguese writers rarely mention the apellation of "província"("province"), more frequently using the words "reino"("kingdom") or"governança"("governance").

4 "Machao"• [original Port.] or 'Macao'[Port.]: ("Macao") = Aomen• [Chin.].

5 The references to the establishment of the Portuguese in Macao date from 1 555.

6 That is, between eight and ten thousand people.

7 Macao truly was one of the most important mercantile emporia of the South China Sea.

8 The author emphasises Chinese sovereignty upon the territory of Macao, based in the existence of a Chinese customs post.

9 This section of the manuscript proves that the text was elaborated in metroplitan Portugal.

10 Dom Melchior Carneiro, Bishop of Nicea and Apostolic Vicar in China and Japan, arrived in Macao in 1568. In spite of never having been appointed as'Bishop of Macao', he was the first prelate to exercise these functions in the Portuguese Colony. Most probably the author is making reference to Dom Leonardo de Sá, specifically elected in 1579 as the first Tutelary Bishop of the Macao Diocese, reaching the Colony in 1581.

The establishment of Macao was an important stopover of the Jesuit missionaries on their way to Japan, where the Catholic faith was increasingly spreading fostered by favourable political and cultural conditions there.

11 The author mentions the 'voyages' from China to Japan in a later section of his manuscript not included in the present extract.

12 Which means that the earnings the magistrature was dependent on from the ingeniuosnes and (dis)honesty of the ouvidor (Teller).

13 The author mentions in another section of the manuscript that the ouvidor geral (General-Teller) of the [Portuguese] State in India, settled in Goa, earned on an average a salary of about eight thousand cruz. ados during his eight year appointment.

14 "forro[s]"(lit.: 'exempt' or 'free'): meaning, 'líquido[s]'("net").

15 "[...] mas em vida."('[...] but during one's life.'): meaning, 'perpetuamente' ("[...] in perpetuity [...]").

16 Considering the involved manner in which the author comments on government posts it is not unlikely that the might have been a civil servant of the [Portuguese] State of India.

17 The Portuguese Crown yearly awarded the Japan. 'voyage' annualy - considered one of the most profitable of the whole East - to one of its most meritorious subjects. As it is stated by the author, the beneficiary had to be wealthy enough to fully equip the ship at his own costs.

18 In another section of the manuscript it is explained that the Malacca [presently Melaka] captains held a special licence issued by the Viceroys of the [Portuguese] State of India to order the enterprise of certain 'voyages' during the period of their appointment, one of those being the "[...] "voyage of the drugs" [...]" which warranted to the Malacca captains the monopoly of the trade of drugs and spices to and from China.

19 Pepper was the most important of all traded products between Malacca and China.

20 Sunda [presently Sunda Selat] was an important port of trade on the eastern coast of Java [presently Jawa], where the Portuguese acquired pepper.

21 The Portuguese started trading at Nagasaki around 1571, year when the settlement had been 'given' to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus by the Japanese daimyō Omura Sumitada, also known in Portuguese by the Catholic name of Dom Bartolomeu (lit.: Lord Bartholomew).

22 "Firando" ("Hirado") and "Cochinocho" ("Kuchinotsu"): two coastal settlements in Japan.

23 It was not uncommon for the awarded recipient of the 'China voyage' to sub-allocate the concession [or sell his rights] to someone he trusted, the more so as the 'voyage' involved considerable risks.

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