BOOK OF THE PLANS OF ALL THE FORTRESSES, CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE STATE OF EAST INDIA*

[INTRODUCTION]

António Bocarro [°1594] after following studies in the Jesuit College of Santo Antão in Portugal, embarked for India in 1622. In Cochin he experienced problems with the Inquisition, in view of his Jewish origins, however he ended up benefiting from the protection of Dom Miguel de Noronha, Count of Linhares, who in 1629 took over the post of Governor of the [Portuguese] State of India and who not long after gave António Bocarro the post of "[...] cronista e guarda-mor [...]" ("[...] Chronicler-in-Chief and Inspector-General [...]") of the [State Archives of] Torre do Tombo in Goa.

In carrying out his duties, António Bocarro prepared the Década da Ásia - XIII (Decade of Asia - XIII), an extensive chronicle of the activities of those Portuguese in the Far East between 1612 and 1617, which was intended as a continuation of João de Barros' (See: Text 9 - João de Barros) and Diogo do Couto's Década da Ásia ― IV (Decade of Asia ― IV), but it remained in manuscript form at the time. Apart from this work he also wrote down a valuable Livro das Plantas de todas as Fortalezas, cidades e povoações do Estado da índia Oriental (Book of the plans of all the Fortresses, Cities and Towns of the State of East India), an enormous, concise collection intended for King Felipe IV of Spain (Filipe III of Portugal) [°1605-r.1621(P)/ r.1640(S)-†1665]. It developed into an exhaustive survey of Portuguese possessions in the Orient as well as of all sources of revenue from there. For this particular work António Bocarro had the valuable collaboration of Pedro Barreto de Resende, secretary to the Count of Linhares, who was responsible for preparing the set of drawings which illustrated the book.

25

MACAU, 1635

Description of the City of the Name of God in China

(by Antonio Bocarro, Chronicler-in-Chief of the State of India)*

The City of the Name of God is situated in latitude 22½ degrees{1} North, upon the southern extremity of a peninsula on the Coast of the Kingdom of China, upon the seashore of the province of Quantão, • one of the fifteen in which this great Kingdom of Neanpan• 1{2} is divided. This point of the aforesaid peninsula is called Machao•2 both by ourselves and the natives. {3} The peninsula is about a league round and four hundred paces across at its broadest part. The city is about half a league round, measuring fifty paces at its narrowest extremity and three hundred and fifty at its broadest, being washed by two seas on the east and west. 3 It is one of the noblest cities in the East, on account of its rich and noble traffic in all kinds of wealth to all parts; it has all kinds of precious things in great abundance, and more and wealthier citizens4 than any other in this State.

From the year 1518, in which the Portuguese first came to China with an Embassy of the most serene King Dom Manoel, 5 they trafficked in various ports of this Kingdom, and finally in the port of the island of Sanchuan, • whence the earliest beginnings of this city originated, and where St. Francis Xavier, second Apostle of India and guardian saint of this city, died in 1552. 6{4} In the year 1555, the trade was shifted to the island of Lampacão,• whence in 1557, it was transferred to this port of Machao, where a populous settlement arose through trade and commerce. In the year 1585, when Dom Francisco Mascarenhas7 was Viceroy of India, it was made a city by His Majesty, under the title of the Name of God, being granted the Cross of Christ for a coat-of-arms, and other liberties which it enjoys with the same priviliges as the city of Evora. It is the port by which the Apostle Saint Thomas8 entered China by sea from India, {5} and by which in these times the Holy Gospel is carried by the religious of the Company of Jesus into these Kingdoms, and to those of Japan and Cochin-China, with the great glory to God, and to the increase of his Church. 9

The families of this city number 850 Portuguese with their children, who are much stronger and lustier than any others in this East. These all have in average about six slaves capable of bearing arms, amongst whom the majority and the best are negroes and such like. When it is considered that these latter row small skiffs (ballões)10 in which their masters amuse themselves by cruising amongst those islands, they might very well have larger yatchs (manchuas)11 which would be very useful for their own welfare as well as for the serive of His Majesty. {6}

In addition to this number of married Portuguese, there are about as many native families, including Chinese Christians, termed jurabassas, 12{7} who form the majority, and other nations, all Christians. Both these and the Portuguese have very good weapons such as muskets, lances and so forth; and rare is the Portuguese who does not stand with 6 or 12 muskets or flintlocks, and as many lances, for these they make gilded which likewise enables them to be used as decoration for their houses{8}

Besides these, this city contains many Portuguese sailors, pilots, and masters, the majority of them married in the Kingdom (i. e. Portugal), whilst others are bachelors who sail in the voyages for Japan, Manilla, Solor, Macassar, 13 and Cochin-China. There are over 150 of these, some of them very wealthy, with capital over 50,000 xerafines, 14 and who are resolved never to go to Goa, lest they may be seized by the justices for some offence or by the Viceroys for His Majesty's service. There are also many rich unmarried merchants, to whom the same reasons apply. {9}

This city as furthermore a Captain-General who directs all military matters, 15 with 150 soldiers, including two infantry captains, and as many Ensigns, sergeants and corporals; an Adjutant; an Auditor and a Bailiff who administer Justice, the former of who draws a salary of 100,000 reis indented on the Customs-House at Malacca.

As regards Ecclesiastic dignataries, it has a Bishop, who is now dead and whose post has not yet been filled, 16 who draws a salary of 2,000 xerafines payable by the Customs at Malacca. {10}

Fortress of Santiago{11}

As regards fortifications, the City has at the very entrance to the bar, a fort called S. Thiago, which measures 150 paces by 55; thus forming a fine platform rising up five fathoms from the sea, with a wall measuring 28 spans thick at the base and 17 at the top. This aforesaid height is as far as the parapets which rise only 3 spans above the platform level, wherefore they do not afford protection to either men or guns, but it is intended to provide gabions in time of war. In the middle of this fort, there is a cistern excavated from the solid rock, which is capable of holding 3,000 tons of water, and already contains the greater part. The houses situated at the back of the landward side, are sufficient to lodge a captain and 60 men, whilst lower down, on the ground level, are buildings for munitions and food supplies. At the entrance on the side of the Chinese temple,17 is a house containing four waters (?), large and fine; {12} this fort has another house joined to it on the hillside behind, which is reached by climbing fifteen steps, and also provided with heavy cannon like the fort; the aforesaid houses for a captain and soldiers are on the top level. From this fort on the shore, a curtain wall runs up the hillside to the summit where it ends in a house, which served as a guard-room for the Captain-General when he used to live there. {13}

Bulwark of Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto

Another bulwark is that of Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto& a small bulwark in the form of a triangle, capable of mounting 10 or 12 guns, of which it has six, viz: & a bronze culverin18 of 20 1b.; a bronze cannon of 30 lb.; a demi-culverin of 10 lb.; two bronze tierce - cannon of 18 lb.; all these with iron shot, and one iron gun of 8 lbs. with iron shot. {14}

Bulwark of Nossa Senhora da Penha de França

On Nossa Senhora da Penha de França which is situated on a hill higher than the last-named bulwark, there is also a small bastion, mounted with two bronze sakers, 19 each of which fires an iron shot weighing 7 lbs. {15}

Bulwark of Sam Francisco

The bulwark of Sam Francisco, which is oval shaped, has six guns & two culverins of 20 lbs. shot; one cannon of 30 lbs.; two demi-cannons, each of 20 lbs.; one tierce-cannon of 18 lbs.; all these being bronze guns with iron shot. At the foot of this bulwark of São Francisco, there is a platform with a culverin firing 35 lb. iron shot, which is the largest piece in this city. {16}**

On the Praya Grande is a platform with a bronze tierce-cannon firing an 18 lb. iron shot. {17}

Bulwark of Nossa Senhora da Guia

The hill of Nossa Senhora da Guia is the highest in this city, wherefore a bulwark is built on the summit, containing five guns as follows, & a bastard culverin firing an 8 lb. iron shot; a swivel gun with a 6 lb. shot; 20 three sakers, eack firing a 9 lb. iron shot. All the above guns are of bronze. On the top of this hill are houses for quartering a company of soldiers, as also a water cistern; but since it commands the fort of São Paulo, it has been decided that it is better to raze it, which is already arranged for with the Chinese, who have contracted to do it for the price of 22,000 taels. 21{18}

Fortress of Sam Paullo

The stronghold of the greatest strength and importance in this city is that of Sam Paullo, dwelling of the Captain-Generals, otherwise called Madre de Deus. {19} It is on a prominent hill which dominates the whole City, on the top of which is built a wall, measuring 20 spans at its base, made of granite as far as 6 spans high above the ground, after which it is composed merely of earth mixed with straw, and beaten so strongly with pestles that it becomes exceedingly strong, and even better than stone in its ability to resist bombardment, since it does not loosen so easily, Walls made of this earth and lime are so durable, that as all the houses in the city are built of it, they have great difficulty in opening spaces for windows when they are finished, which they do by means of iron picks, with excessive toil and moil. {20} The said walls grow narrower as they slope upwards, until they are 15 spans thick at the level of the parapets. The height of this wall is 50 spans which corresponds to five fathoms. The said wall is built in a perfect square, and on top of it is a hold measuring 100 paces on each side. This length is the same as each side of the wall, which ends at each of its four corners in a pointed bastion, as shown in the plan. 22 On the upper level in the middle of the said hold (which is bounded by four rows of houses, one of the Generals to live in and the other three for the soldiers) is a Keep of three storeys, in each of which it has artillery. In the aforesaid keep and bastions are distributed 18 large bronze cannon, namely & a culverin of 12 lbs.; a demi or rather a royal culverin, firing a 35 lb. shot; another culverin which fires 20 lb. shot; two demi-culverins of 12 lbs., one demi-culverin of 10; two cannons of 30; seven demi-cannons of 20; one demi-cannon of 25; three tierce-cannon of 18 lb.; all of iron shot, and all these guns mounted on well built gun-carriages bound with iron. {21}

This fort has a guard-room on the side of the inner gate, and on both sides one can climb up the hill to the wall on top. Storehouses for munitions are hollowed out of the wall, there being sufficient supplies for any campaign but not for a protracted siege of over two years, on account of the vast quantity of gun-powder consumed by this heavy artillery; albeit there are many materials available locally for the making thereof, which is in progress.

This City is not so well furnished with food supplies, of which many and good and cheap are available in the interior, because as we obtain them from the Chinese when they have any dispute with us they immediately deprive us of them, without those citizens having any means of going to fetch them elsewhere; there are some in Cochin-China which lies 100 leagues to the southwest of Macao, and others in the many islands around the peninsula itself, the majority of which are inhabited; but what they have is only cattle, pigs, chickens and wild duck. 23

The walls of this city were almost finished by Dom Francisco Mascarenhas, its first Captain-General, who constructed most of these fortifications; however, the Chinese, who are so suspicious, made us pull down a great part of those24 which are on the landward side, and run from the said fort of Sam Paullo, thinking that they were built against them. {22} Thus there remain only those which run opposite the sea, and on the west side, besides a trench on the beach of Cacilhas where the enemy disembarked when they attacked this city. 25 The height of these walls is two fathoms, up to the parapets, where they are eight spans thick; withal the ground on which they are built is very uneven, so that the height of the wall likewise varies according as to whether it runs up or down hill. 26 It is made of the same material which we have already described, of earth mixed with lime and straw, the whole well pounded together, thus making the walls very strong. In the battery on the Praya Grande (sea-front) is a tierce-cannon of 18 lbs.; and of the two other bastions, the one called São Pedro{23} has two sakers each firing a 7 lbs. shot, and in the other called São João there is a tierce-cannon of 18 and a demi-culverin of 8 lbs., all of iron shot.

In addition to all the aforementioned artillery, there are four bronze swivel-guns, 27 each of 25 lbs.; three iron cannons of 7 lbs.; five bronze falconets; 28 three bronze falconets; 29 two iron falcons; and one iron swivel-gun, which are held in reserve to be placed wherever it may be necessary. Altogether there are seventy-three pieces of artillery in the City of Macao, apart from many iron guns which are being cast for private individuals as well as on the King's account.

For this place has one of the best gun-foundries in the world, whether of bronze, which it has had long since, or of iron, which was made by order of the Viceroy, Conde de Linhares, 30 and where artillery is being cast continually for the whole of this State, at a very reasonable price; which is what it most needs, and whence it could be entirely supplied, if the strait of Singapore was open instead of being continuously blockaded by the Hollanders during the monsoon, as has been stated previously. 31{24}

All the aforesaid artillery, fortifications and walls in this City were made at its own expense, without the Royal Exchequer contributing anything thereto, and in a time when the Japan voyage was made principally on its account; and chiefly from the proceeds from the tax called Caldeirão (lit. "Cauldron"), which is nowadays 8 per cent of all goods which are exported to Japan, and was formerly 3 to 4 per cent, and even thus the yield was high. However the expenses were so great, that in addition to the voyage which His Majesty granted the City, and which is now mortgaged for large sums of money, the latter is also entitled to the said tax, & but under strict rules, dawn up on the orders of he said Conde de Linhares, limiting the expenses to those which are absolutely necessary and enforcing an audit of the accounts as never before; in such wise, that by means of the Instruction for the Administrator of the Japan Voyage, hereafter reproduced, which the latter enforces on the city, and other orders which the said Count-Viceroy sees carried out, he has made this city very obedient to all those of His Majesty, which it formerly was not, and he has enabled it to contribute greatly to the Royal Exchequer, with the vast quantity of iron and bronze cannon which are sent to India each year. {25}

His Majesty has no other revenue of this City except that derived from the said voyages, because the King of China in whose territory it is, has deprived it of all other dues, such as the tax enforced on ships which enter the harbour with goods, which is paid according to the size of the vessel. For example, pinnaces32 of 500 or 600 candis33 pay about 500 or 600 patacas, though it should be added that there are means of bribing the measurers when they come to estimate the size of the ship, so that they greatly underestimate it; for they seek their own profit rather than the King's and do not care what the ship may be laden with.

The Export duties which are payable are those levied at Canton, ·a Chinese City, which is reached by a river some leagues up-country from Macao, where is held a great market of goods, apart from those which come in little by little. This is not a settled business, because it decreases greatly when the Chinese may resent something the Portuguese have done to them, like killing a Chinaman; this happens very often, because the Chinese exact money for everything, seizing the lantea ·34{26} or vessel in which some of the leading citizens are accustomed to fetch the goods and open the market. Herein also the Chinese vex us sorely, not least by their notorious thefts and robberies, for they are so given to these, that they always use deceitful practices with even the very smallest things they sell. {27}

This great Kingdom of the Empire of China is the last mainland of Asia. It is bounded by the Ocean on the east side, whilst on the west it confines with further India, and is separated from the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Siam by that of Cochin-China, which together with Pegu was formerly subject to it. On the north it is bounded by the Tartars and Castranios, 35{28} where it is separated from the others by some exceedingly high mountains, so steep that they seem to have been cut away with pick-axes, and other lesser ones which are continued by the Kings of China with thick and strong walls which run for many leagues, and thus they defend themselves against the Tartars. On the walls there are continuous watch-posts, and only one gate whereby to enter into China. Outside this gate there is a Mohammedan city where caravans are unloaded, and where the goods are measured and taxed, and they enter up those who are allowed to come in. From this gate to Peking, which is where the King lives, is a distance of 400 leagues. 36{29}

The said fifteen Provinces into which this Kingdom is divided could each one of them be a Kingdom by itself. They are called Peking, Fukien,· Yunnan,· Kiangsi,· Szechwan,· Shansi,· Shensi,· Hukwang,· Anhui,· Honan,· Shangtung,· Kweichow,· Chekiang,· Kwangsi· and Kwangtung.· These provinces take their names from those of the principal cities. ·{30}

Peking, Court of the Kings, has 47 cities and 150 towns, apart from numerous villages.

That of Fukien has 33 cities and 150 towns, apart from numerous villages.

That of Yunnan has 90 cities and 130 towns.

That of Kiangsi has 28 cities and 124 towns.

That of Szechwan has 44 cities and 150 towns.

That of Taiyuan· (Shansi) has 51 cities and 1233 towns.

That of Shensi has 28 cities and 112 towns.

That of Hukwang has 19 cities and 64 towns.

That of Anhui has 25 cities and 29 towns.

That of Honan has 20 cities and 102 towns.

That of Shangtung has 37 cities and 78 towns.

That of Kweichow has 45 cities and 103 towns.

That of Chekiang has 39 cities and 95 towns.

That of Kwangsi has 42 cities and 105 towns.

That of Kwangtung has 36 cities and 190 towns.

So that China has a total of 590 cities and 1,647 towns, apart from many hamlets and villages in each province, whereby one can understand the greatness thereof.

Revenues of the King

In silver, the King of China possesses revenues amounting to 3,150,000 taels.

Pearl and seed-pearls bring him in an income of over 2,630,000 taels yearly.

Precious stones yield 1,400,000 taels in dues alone apart from what the King gets from the mines.

Musk and Amber are worth 1,035,000 taels.

Porcelain yields him 90,000 taels.

Silks, when there is no disease amongst the silk-worms, give an annual yield of 36-37,000 piculs, 37 each picul, as has been said, being worth one quintal and four arrateis; of this amount, between 24-25,000 piculs are used in the country, and the remaining 12,000 are exported when there are the usual voyages to India, nowadays when these are lacking, the export is not so large, albeit Japan and Manilla take their share which is estimated at 6,000 piculs. It is not known what revenue the King derives from this city, but it must be very great.

Gold is so plentiful, that mines are not allowed to be worked, and they can take as much as they choose in merely what they get from the rivers; even so this brings in more than any other commodity, since all the business with India is in gold, on account of the ennemies in the strait. {31} A great deal is sent likewise to Japan and many other places. The King's revenue from gold is not known, but it must be more valuable than that of any other source.

This is not the place to speak of China-root, {32} which has a great sale in Japan and elsewhere, vermillion, quicksilver, zinc, the best and most malleable iron which exist in the East, and other most valuable commodities of which there is a plentiful supply in China, nor of all the varieties of foodstuffs which exist, all of them excellent and inexhaustible, for many vessels are ballasted with sugars alone.

In short, of everything that nature has produced in many Kingdoms, there is such as abundant supply in this one only, that it seems as if it alone has them. And there are never so many merchants in Canton that there are not enough available, not merely of one kind but of all varieties, and all of them vendible. So that if we could obtain freedom of trade with China only, this alone would suffice us, without any other, all this East, nay all the world, could be supplied by it alone.

The peace that we have with the King of China is as he likes it, for since it is so far from India, and since he has such vastly greater numbers of men than the utmost of the Portuguese could possibly assemble there, never did we think of breaking with him whatsoever grievances we may have had, because they have only to stop our food-supplies to ruin our City, since there is no other place nor means of obtaining any. Even though the Kingdom of Cochin-China is only the aforesaid distance from Macao, and there are always pinnaces available for navigation to different countries, yet this can only be done in the proper monsoons; and even if we had oared frigates and fustas, it would never be profitable for us to wage war on China, for merely by refusing to trade with us they can do us irreparable harm, whatever great victories we might win. This is all the more so, since the common people of this nation are greatly given to deceits, there being nothing else in their buying and selling; albeit in other matters they all greatly prize themselves on the strict justice of their judges who are called mandarins, and are noticeably grave and severe; they say it is on this account that God has preserved these heathen hitherto, for besides their being idolaters (apart from a few Mahommedans) they are greatly addicted to sodomy, 38 which is not punished nor regarded askance amongst them.

The Chinese women are so retired that the Portuguese never see them, and they are brought up from childhood with their feet so tightly bound that when they grow up they are almost dropsical in their walk; they are exceedingly chaste towards us, that is to say those of the better class and the wives of merchants which are called Quevees·39{33} and are the most esteemed amongst them. Amongst these last there are many who entrust great sums of money and goods with the Portuguese, and consequently the Portuguese with them, but it has been and still is frequently seen that these Quevees embezzle the money of the Portuguese and flee without returning it to them. And for as much as no Portuguese can go into the interior it is lost beyond recall, and even if they could do so, the land is so vast that they could never find them. This is not the case with the Portuguese as regards them, for they never seize or embezzle anything, but on the contrary pay them in full at whatever the risk.

The Chinese nowadays have no trade with foreign nations, although up till recently the Hollanders in the island of Formosa drove a very prosperous one with the province of Fukien opposite the said island, but at present they are waging a bitter war with them. 40 The Chinese are no inimical to any foreign nation entering their lands, that even though they realize the great help they have received from the Portuguese in their wars against the Tartars, 41 and the danger in which they were three years ago having compelled them to ask help from the City of Macao which sent it in the form of nearly 300 musketeers and some artillerymen, 42 yet after paying them heavily they made them return half-way, and asked for their money back because all Chinese are slaves to interest, and where this intervenes they pay heed to no other considerations. {34} And as they have a prophecy that they will one day be conquered by a people with cat's eyes, {35} and the Hollanders have them, they are all the more reluctant to admit the latter in their Kingdoms, and especially since they regard them as being piratical corsairs of the sea, a name which they greatly abominate; and thus it is a precept and law of the King of China, that none of his vassals may navigate overseas to other Kingdoms, because his own has everything in such abundance that he does not wish that they should take it away, but rather that others should come and fetch it in exchange for other things. The more so, since he does not wish his vassals to emigrate to other nations, for having formerly conquered and lorded it over many other Kingdoms of this Region, the Chinese later abandoned them all and retired to their own country on account of this precept.

The weapons which they use are of all kinds, save only muskets and artillery, for albeit they began to use these things, withal they have no skill in the handling of either of them, wherefore they rely on the Portuguese in this respect.

Christianity is beginning to flourish greatly in this vast Empire of China; not openly, lest it may be prohibited for reasons of state as in Japan (for this reason has greater force amongst this people than in any other in the world) but neither is it altogether clandestine, because there are many Christians who confess themselves to be such, and even if they are mandarins or important personages, they are not called to account for it. And since it is the fathers of the Company who are entrusted with this conversion, they live amongst them wearing Chinese clothes, speaking their own language, and conversing about Christian matters by degrees and without giving offence, wherefore those who are converted are only so after mature reflection and consideration, whence there are nowadays many Chinese Christians, amongst whom are grave personages who afford very good treatment and welcome to the Portuguese, wherever they may happen to encounter them. Two years ago one of our ships was lost off the island of Hainan,· and on the Portuguese going ashore, the local mandarin received them very kindly, showed them his Oratory, and made his children and family say the Christian doctrine, which they all knew very well. As thus there is every hope that this Christianity may greatly increase, because it is being cultivated in the manner aforesaid, and the Chinese are of a subtle understanding, and soon allow themselves to be convinced by cogent arguments, and thus the most esteemed amongst them is the most polished man of letters; albeit all their manner of conversation and persuasion is by comparisons, as likewise is the manner of speaking amongst all these peoples of the East. {36}

Of the voyages which are made from this city of the Name of God, it is clear that the chief and most important is that of Japan, whither go yearly four pinnaces laden with silks of various kinds, taking 10 or 12 days on the outward voyage, eight to ten on the return; by staying in Japan for about a month, a good market is secured for all these commodities, which include, in addition to the silk, much gold, and much China-root, all of which are exchanged for some of the mass of natural silver there is in Japan; in addition we export the aforesaid copper which is specified in the Regulations, much camphor, and furthermore many gold lacquered cabinets, for those of Japan are much better than those of China or elsewhere, many kinds of little boxes and writing-desks, which they call chorão{37} all extraordinary fine. Here it should be noted that the Japanese buy some earthen pots of a kind of keeping water in, which they are accustomed to drink boiled, flavoured with some concotions which serve to comfort their bellies: these they buy for many taels, sometimes for more that two or three hundred, whereas a single pot is not really worth half a tael, since they come from Pegu or Siam. Usually they prefer the older kind, but only Japanese can distinguish between them; if the Portuguese twit them about this caprice of them, they reply that those are still more foolish who pay many thousand ducats for a diamond or other precious stone which has no inherent virtue, whereas those pots have the redeeming one of keeping that water which is of such service to their health. {38}

The great amount of capital invested in these voyages from Macao to Japan may be easily seen from the fact that a few days ago, one of them (10 per cent of the dues being paid to the possessor of the voyage), yielded the sum of 110,000 taels gross profits. From this sum must be furnished the expenses of the pinnaces, their freightage, and the officers' pay, all which usually amounts to about 35,000 taels, and another 15,000 taels which is given to the possessor of the voyage; these two sums deducted from the 110,000 taels leave the sum of 65,000 taels for His Majesty apart from the freightage of China-root on the outward journey which is paid by the owner of the voyage, and of copper on the return voyage, it being too soon to say yet what this last will cost. However, the foregoing is with the proviso that none of the pinnaces is wrecked, lost, or loses her voyage, which frequently happens; and provided likewise that they all go fully laden and have a good market when they arrive; in which case if everything goes well, the voyage yields a gross profit of 110,000 taels. {39}

The Christianity which the Portuguese planted in this Kingdom was formerly very great and spread throughout the whole of it, including many of our people married with Japanese women, and virtually naturalized, besides sumptuous churches very richly ornamented, and not less frequented by a multitude of Japanese and Christians from the Tonos who are their Kings, {40}down to the most humble classes. All this fell into a decline and fall for many reasons which it would take too long to explain here, by an edict proclaimed many years ago by the Emperor of Japan throughout his Empire, {41} any ship which might come to Japan with a Father should be burnt together with all who came in it, and anyone who harboured them ashore would be treated in the same way and all their property seized, and the more so with the Padres themselves, and any Japanese who were known to be Christians, who would be burnt in glorious martyrdom. And in fact many have been so burnt in most years, both Padres (of the Company) and other Religious (who none the less strive in despite of all these penalties to enter in Japan as secretly as possible) as Japanese themselves, many of whom are so firm in the faith that once they receive it, they will die rather than renounce it; and even though when these undergo martyrdom there is always opportunity given them to save their lives by recanting, withal few or none have hitherto feared death sufficiently to renounce their faith. This is due, apart from the great love of God which must needs be the chief reason, likewise to the fact that these Japanese have a barbarous custom of killing themselves very swiftly and resolutely for any point of honour or other cause they fancy, making great play with plunging their catanas into themselves and ripping up their flesh until they end up by being cut to pieces. {42} When the true law of Christ Our Lord shows them the evil of such a custom, those who receive Baptism are all the gladder to do so with the love of life which is so natural, but even so, they still have this feeling of contempt for death after becoming Christians, although for a higher and better cause, such as is the service and will of God, than the hellish reason introduced by the Devil.

And this persecution of Christianity in Japan grows in such wise, that seeing that the Christians who they martyred, preached and sang the praises of Our Lord Jesus Christ in spite of the pain and suffering they underwent, whereat all the secret and avowed Christians were greatly edified; they ordered martyrs to be crucified head downwards in a deep ditch, so that nothing could be heard of what they said. {43} This was rigorously carried out, but despite this, we have the aforesaid great trade and commerce from China with them on account of vital reasons of state, for we did not take the silks to them, they would come and seek them; and although the Chinese are forbidden on pain of death to receive Japanese in China, on account of the fear they have for them, withal when they come to our City of Macao they are allowed to land, and we give them all they want, as do the Fukienese and still more the Hollanders, who strive hard to deprive us of this profitable trade. From Manilla they make many voyages to Japan with the local products and it is these ships that some Padres go disguised, in order not to risk the loss of this trade with the ships from Macao. And thus by reason of the great persecution which the native Japanese Christians endure in their own Kingdom, those of fear martyrdom seek refuge elsewhere, as do many in Siam, Cambodia and Arrakan, who are very good Christians with the Fathers who are there. {44}

The size of this Empire of Japan, albeit is not so large as that of China, can be easily gathered from the fact that it has sixty-six Kingdoms who are ruled by Kings called Tonos, subjects to the King of Japan who is called Emperor, each one of these Kingdoms is calculated at about 300,000 koku{45} of rice, each koku being worth about four Portuguese alquieres, and this amount in only what is rendered to their suzerain, who is termed tono as aforementioned, apart from what the people gather for themselves.

The wealth of these kingdoms is so great that there are mines of silver and copper which have been continuously producing these two metals for many years past, without their ever having become exhausted or less productive, thereby originating such an abundance of these two metals as can be seen from this trade in them; and thus the said Tonos are so rich that the King or Emperor, in order to prevent them amassing so much wealth as would inevitably fill them with the pride which is usually engendered as a result thereof, often orders them to move their castle-seats from one province to another at their own cost, wherein they spend so much in quarrying the granite-stone from the rocks, that they say it would be cheaper to build their castles of silver. {46}

The strength and courage of the Japanese in arms is such that there is no nation whatsoever which would dare to invade Japan; likewise their self-confidence and pride is greater than that of any other people yet discovered, wherefore wheresoever they go they are universally esteemed for their courage, and have proved it in deeds. For this reason they are highly paid as mercenaries in all of those Oriental Kingdoms, because since they always keep that contempt of death in which they are brought up, are very strong physically, and of a most daring spirit, they are justly reputed as courageous. {47}

All the provinces of Japan abound exceedingly in foodstuffs, whether of wheat, rice or vegetables, as of all kinds of flesh, no less than fruits in India and Portugal, very good waters, which they all drink hot, and which are very good for them, & in short abundance of all things necessary for a state in peace and war. I omit giving an account of their customs as it would be too long, but as regards Government polity the majority of them are excellent. They have one which detracts from the others, which is that they do not esteem virginity in their women, and so long as they are not married they care little whether they be chaste or no; in fact if on marrying they find them virgins they cast it in their teeth that hitherto they had not found anyone who desired them. {48}

The Emperor of Japan has great trade and commerce with the Hollanders, who strive by all means to carry thither the silks of China and to deprive us of the traffic in the same; but as they have no port in China and neither are they allowed herein, they can only take some which are exported from Fukien to the fortress which the said rebels have in the island of Formosa, and others which they pick up elsewhere. By order of the Emperor of Japan, so long as wee are in his ports or within sight thereof, they are prohibited from taking any of our ships, and we theirs. Some say that they are likewise forbidden to take any merchant ship bound for Java, wherever they may meet it, but this is not certain. {49}

Of the other voyages which are made from China, one is that of Manilla, because even though His Majesty forbade it on the grounds that the export of silks from China to Mexico was prejudicial to the (silk) trade of Seville, yet considering that it was impossible to prevent the citizens of Macao from sending some over clandestinely, in which the Royal Exchequer is the only loser, and that likewise the supply of munitions of His Majesty's account could only be brought to Manilla from China in a Spanish galleon, which of necessity always carried a return cargo of silks despite all prohibitions and embargoes on the contrary; in view of all this the Viceroy Conde de Linhares ordained that the said supplies should be sent annually to Manilla, according to the list sent by the Governor of Manilla, in a small pinnace from Macao, the remainder of whose cargo should consist of exceedingly valuable stuffs suitable for wearin apparel in Manilla, so that nothing could be sent to Mexico; whilst the Royal Exchequer would benefit from the freights for the payment of the garrison of the city of Macao, as is set forth at length in the said Regulations. This voyage is capable of yielding about 3,000 patacas, if managed by diligent and disinterested persons, from which sum must be deducted the expenses, which amount to between 3,500 and 4,000 patacas. {50}

The voyages from Macao to Solor, for seeking sandalwood, are nowadays of great importance. Since dues are not paid on what is imported or exported, but only on the measurements of the ship as related above, large profits are made on both, since formerly they used to fetch this sandalwood from Malacca, Goa and Cochin, and after paying some dues in Malacca and others in the said two cities, take it to China, paying further export duties both there as in Malacca, apart from freights on all these voyages, and even so there was a big profit made. Owing to the blockade of the Strait of Singapore by the Hollanders, they can no longer come and go in this way, but go direct from Macao in very well fitted-out pinnaces, which on arriving at Solor take in some native Christians soldiers, most of whom keep themselves out of their pay, with which they go to the island of Timor, thirty leagues distant from Solor, and there lade sandalwood, never failing to have frequent skirmishes by land and sea with the Hollanders, who likewise go thither to seek the same sandalwood; however the Portuguese always come off best, for since those of Macao are wealthy and not lacking in artillery, their pinnaces are very well found, whilst the soldiers they take in Solor are very good, and fight very resolutely against the Dutch. And thus with good reason the Viceroy Conde de Linhares has ordered in the afore-mentioned Regulations that these voyages of Solor should be reserved as a Royal monopoly, and that none should make them who has not bought them. {51}

The voyages from Macao to Macassar are not of such importance as any of the aforementioned, because they do not take more than some China-root, cangas and nonos, which are white cotton cloths, {52} porcelain and other small domestic utensils like brass basins from Japan, neither do they ever fail to smuggle many silk piece-goods which are bought there by the English and Danes, ― however the necessary orders have been issued to watch this. What they bring from Macassar, are all kinds of Southern spices, chiefly cloves, but also pepper, nutmegs and mace, although the two last - named are rarely found in other than Dutch hands for the reasons give above. {53}

The voyages made to Cochin-China from China are likewise of little importance, because they take nothing beyond some cangas, which is a sort of China cotton-cloth, and nonos, which is a linen of a finer texture. As there is a Church with a Jesuit Father to serve the Christian community in Cochin-China, this commerce is prosecuted mainly for this reason, nor do they ever fail to take some silk piece-goods which are brought by the Japanese who ordinarily frequent this port. What is brought from thence is the said yellow silk, very good and cheap, some eagle-wood, and sometimes calambac, though very rarely, and a little benzoin - all this being local produce & and a lot of copper which is brought there by the Japanese. The King who is a heathen, has given leave for as many of his vassals to become Christians as wish to do so, they being idolaters likewise. Some have been converted in this way, but the women are very licentious. All kinds of provision can be had in this Kingdom. {54}

The roadstead of this City of Macao was formerly very capacious; but the Portuguese inhabitants thereof have filled up the greater part of it, to prevent the Hollanders being able to enter in their ships, save for a channel which runs past the fort of Santiago, a matter of six fathoms wide and three deep; the inner part of the harbour from the bar to Green Island is much deeper. Off the bar there are always six armed Chinese wankans43{55} which are the ships which they keep there to watch and observe the actions of the Portuguese and to see if any foreigners enter, which is what they fear and guard against most.

This is reached after passing through a numerous and almost infinite number of islands, most of them inhabited, as aforesaid. The coast of this Kingdom does not run in a due North-East - South-West line, because it has large bays and never runs straight in one direction. Of the winds which blow on this coast the most common is the East which is the prevailing one here and gives rise to great storms. From October to the middle of March, North, and North-East winds blow, with which one sails to Malacca and wherever else this wind serves for, and for Japan from mid-May to the end of August with South-West and South-East winds, and for Manilla all the year round, these being the prevailing monsoon and sailing winds along this coast. Formerly there used to be great wind storms called typhoons, which uprooted large trees and hurled men violently to the ground; but since an arm of the glorious Saint Francis Xavier was taken there, they now occur far less often.

[BOCARRO, António], BOXER, Charles Ralph, Macau na Época da Restauração (Macao Three Hundred Years Ago), in "Obra completa de / CHARLES RALPH BOXER", Lisboa, Fundação Oriente, 1993, vol.2, pp. 19-47 [Portuguese/English bilingual text], pp. 27-47.

First English edition: BOCARRO, António, Three Hundred Years Ago as described by Antonio Bocarro in 1635 and now translated with an introduction and notes, 2 vols., [t.n.n.], [p.n.n.], 1838, vol.2, pp. 281-315.

First Portuguese edition: [BOCARRO, António], Descrição de Macau, em 1635, por António Bocarro, in BOXER, (Major) Charles Ralph, "Macau na Época da Restauração (Macao Three Hundred Years Ago)", Macau, Imprensa Nacional de Macau, 1942, pp. 19-47. [Portuguese/English bilingual text]

For the Portuguese translation see:

BOCARRO, António, LOUREIRO, Rui Manuel, intro., Livro das Plantas de todas as Fortalezas, in "Antologia Documental: Visões da China na Literatura Ibérica dos Séculos XVI e XVII", in "Revista d e Cultura", Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, pp. 170-177-For the Portuguese modernised version by the author of the original text, with words or expressions in square brackets added to clarify the meaning.

For the original source of the Portuguese translation, see: BOCARRO, António, CID, Isabel Cid ed., O Livro das plantas de todas as fortalezas, cidades e povoações do Estado da Índia Oriental, 3 vols., Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional / Casa da Moeda, 1992, vol.2, pp. 260-272 - Partial transcription.

NOTES

* Editor's note: António Bocarro's original text is herewith presented in full with Rui Loureiro's exceptionally fragmented selection of edited passages in normal script.

** Editor's note: The location of note {16} is omitted in the English original printed text.

The numeration of these notes specifically refer to the section of António Bocarro's original text selected in Rui Loureiro's edited text in "Revista de Cultura" (Portuguese edition), Macau, 31 (2)Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, pp. 1786-177.

The prevailing numeration of these notes is indicated between curly brackets 《 { } 》 and is cross-referenced to Charles Ralph Boxer's English translation [CRB] of Duarte Barbosa's original text, indicated immediately after, in between flat brackets 《 [ ] 》.

The contents of these notes have been transferred in their entirety exactly as they appear in Charles Ralph Boxer's English translation [CRB] of António Bocarro's text, and do not follow the standardized formatting of the "Review of Culture".

Whenever followed by a superciliary asterix《 * 》, these notes' bibliographic references are alphabetically repertoried according to their author's name in this issue's SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY following the standardized formatting of the "Review of Culture".

{1}[CRB, p.27, n.5] Latitude 25°30' N. according to the Rezende* version

{2}[CRB, p.27, n.6] Niaynocan· in the Rezende version. I can suggest no identification except the admittedly most improbable one of <>•

{3}[CRB, p.27, n.7] Traditionally explained as a transliteration of the Chinese 阿妈澳 A-ma-ngao·(Ama Bay, or Bay of the Goddess Ama). The usual Chinese name is 澳门Ngao-men·(Port of the Bay).

{4}[CRB, p.27, n.8] Bocarro's chronology is a trifle loose in places. The first Portuguese to visit China, so far as is known, was a certain Jorge Alvares who receted a padrão, or stone pillar, commemorating his visit at Lintin· Island (T'un-mên· 屯门) in the Canton River delta in 1513 (Jack Braga; - The Tamão of Portuguese pioneers).* The Embassy referred to by Bocarro, is of course that of Thomé Pires who came with Fernão Peres d'Andrade in 1517.

{5}[CRB, p.28, n.9] An interesting tradition, which I cannot recall having read elsewhere. For the legend of St. Thomas and his missionary wanderings in India and China see Yule; & The Book of Ser Marco Polo. *

{6}[CRB, p.28, n.10] This last paragraph is highly confused and obscure in both the Evora and British Museum Mss. It hardly follows on logically from the observations on the negro slaves, and it is probable there are some words or lines missing. For definition of the Indo-Portuguese craft known as Balão and Manchua see Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson* (1903 ed.) p.53, 549-550, and Dalgado, Glossário Luso-Asiático,* I. p.85, II p. 19. Peter Mundy's description of these handy little craft is reproduced in his account also printed later in the present work.

{7}[CRB, p.28, n.11] Literally Interpreters. <>. (Hobson-Jobson, p.474).

{8} [CRB, p.28, n.12] Still the custom in some old families.

{9} [CRB, p.29, n.13] Another reason, not mentioned by Bocarro, but frequently cited by the Viceroys at Goa, was the freedom from the attentions of the Inquisition which was enjoyed by the inhabitants of Macao, where it was obviously impossible to hold autos-da-fé on account of the Chinese. Macao was thus a haven of refuge for many persons suspected by or afraid of the Holy Office.

{10} [CRB, p.29, n.14] The lately deceased Bishop was D. Diogo Correa Valente, S. J., who had died in 1633. Not until 1692 was the post filled by the appointment of the long-lived D. Fr. João do Casal, who held it till his death in 1735 at the age of 94.

{11} [CRB, p.29, n.15] The old forts and artillery of Macao are ably dealt with in various articles by J. Lima Carmona and J. F. Marques Pereira in the review Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo * (Lisboa, 1899-1901), Vol. I, pp. 213-223; 369-380, Vol. II, p.411-435. To the facts given therein may be added a very detailed list of the cannon distributed throughout all the fortifications of Macao in 1636, which was found by the Dutch in a Portuguese vessel taken in 1637, and the full Dutch translation of which is printed on pp. 65-70 of the Dagh-Register gehouden int Casteel Batavia * ('s Gravenhage, 1889) under the date 3 March 1637. The measurements, weight and calibre of these cannon is here set forth in the greatest detail. They differ in some instances from the corresponding figures given by Pe. José Montanha, S. J. in his list printed on pp. 46-421 of the Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo.*

{12} [CRB, p.30, n.16] There is evidently some error on the part of the copyist, as this sentence does not make sense in either the Bocarro or Rezende Mss.

{13} [CRB, p.30, n.17] Bocarro omits the particulars of the cannon mounted in the fort of Santiago da Barra, but they are reproduced in the intercepted list of 1636 printed in the Batavian Dagh-Register for that year q. v. The fort of Santiago was constructed in 1616-29, and is now little more than half of its original size.

{14} [CRB, p.30, n.18] The intercepted list of 1636 gives the particulars of the cannon in this battery in full. The date of the construction of this battery is uncertain, but it was in existence at the time of the Dutch attack in 1622. It was dismantled in 1892, and later pulled down altogether.

{15} [CRB, p.30, n.19] The intercepted list agrees in giving the weight of shot as 7 lbs., and adds the guns weighed 24 quintals each. This bulwark was demolished before the middle of the XIXth century.

{16} [CRB, p.30, n.20] The particulars given above agree with those in the intercepted list of 1636, quoted above. This battery (or part of it) was already in existence at the time of the Dutch attack in 1622, and one wall of it still remains to attest its former strength.

{17} [CRB, p.30, n.21] Battery of the bulwark of São Pedro. Now demolished. The intercepted list gives this gun as a bronze tierce-cannon named Justiça (?), weight 47 quintal with a shot of 18 lbs.

{18} [CRB, p.31, n.22] The swivel-gun referred to above was named Nossa Senhora da Vitória, and was so called because it was a trophy captured from the Dutch on the memorable 24th June 1622. Marques Pereira and other authorities give the date of the erection of this fortress as 1637-38, and a still existing lapidar inscription attests that it was completed in that year. ESTE FORTE MANDOU FAZER A CIDADE A SUA CUSTA PELO CAPITÃO D'ARTELHARIA ANT. RIBRAIA COMEÇOU-SE EM SETBRO DE 1637 ACABOUSE EM MARÇO DE 1638 SENDO GERAL DA CAMARA DE NORONHA. There must, however, be some mistake, as Bocarro's description of 1635, and the Dutch intercepted list of 1636, clearly prove that a battery of some kind was already in existence then. Probably instead of razing the fort as Bocarro's text implies, it was later decided to extend and enlarge it, which would explain the inscription of 1637-8. The fortress still exists in an excellent state of preservation.

{19} [CRB, p.31, n.23] An interesting indication that it was originally built & at least in part & by the Jesuits, and connected with their Collegial Church of Madre de Deus.

{20} [CRB, p.31, n.24] The strength of these old walls of well-beaten earth, straw and lime, is strikingly attested by the fact that to blow up a section of 130 metres it was necessary 1800 lbs. of gunpowder (nearly 14 lbs. for each metre) in the middle of the century (vide: & Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo, p.418 n (I).

{21} [CRB, p.32, n.25] The 1636 intercepted list gives the names and measurements of these bronze cannon in full. The Dutch list of 1636 presents some minor variations with that of Pe. José Montanha, S. J., printed on pp. 416-8 of the Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo (Lisboa, 1901).

{22} [CRB, p.33, n.26] The story of the building of the city wall by D. Francisco Mascarenhas, the demand of the Chinese that it should be razed, his refusal to do so and the resultant disputes with the Senate, resulting in a mutiny against his authority, are all related in detail in the Papéis de D. Francisco Mascarenhas preserved in the Bibliotheca Publica of Evora (Códice CXVI/2-5).* Here are to be found all the original documents relating to the affair which have not as yet been utilized by any writer on Macao, although they are more informative and complete than any of the subsequent accounts given by J. F. M. Marques Pereira, Montalto de Jesus, and others. To give some idea of their importance, we reproduce a few headings from Cunha Rivara's Catalogo Col. 178 - Chapa do Aitão para que os Portugueses de Macao desmanchem o muro de taipa, e baluarte, ou fortaleza, em que está a artelharia,* (This List is attested officially by Anrique Borges de Macedo, Ouvidor de Macao, on 20-IX-1625). fol. 179. Traslado do Memorial, e mais despachos, que na Côrte de China se deram contra a Cidade de Macao, sôbre os muros e baluartes, que os Portugueses levantaram * (Março, 1625). fol. 186. Protesto da Cidade ao Capitão Geral * (Both these papers are dated 26-Ⅲ-1625). fol. 190. Cópia da Chapa do Aitão de Cantão porque quita dez mil taes cada ano aos Portugueses, visto que êles derrubaram os muros, e recolheram os chins.* fol. 192. Protesto do Capitão Geral D. Francisco Mascarenhas à Câmara contra o consentimento, que a cidade deu a derrubarem-se os muros, em virtude do que se assentou na junta de S. Francisco, o 1° de Abril * (4-Ⅳ-1625). fol. 195. Certidão dos escrivães dos Juízes Ordinários em como a Cidade, Povo, e Autoridades, aos 31 de Março dêste ano de 1625, foram ao muro e o começaram a derrubar, e mandaram desmanchar * (3-Ⅳ-1625). It seems however that in the end the Portuguese bribed the local Chinese authorities to allow them to build up the section of the wall demolished in 1625.

{23} [CRB, p.38, n.27] It appears that this bastion was later called São Jerónimo, the name S. Pedro being transferred to the bastion in the centre of the Praya Grande. The details of the guns agree with those given in the intercepted list of 1636.

{24} [CRB, p.34, n.28] It was to prevent this much needed artillery from Macao being intercepted by the Dutch blockading vessels in the straits of Malacca, that induced the Portuguese to freight English ships from Goa to Macao on several occasions, in the hopes (not always fulfilled) that the Dutch would not interfere with neutral bottoms. The first of the vessels so freighted was the London, which visited Macao in the same year Bocarro wrote (1635), thus inaugurating English trade with China. Cf. my article* in Transactions of the Japan Society of London, Vol. XXXI, p.60 (1934).

{25} [CRB, p.34, n.29] For the revision of the regulations governing the Japan Voyage by the Conde de Linhares, see C. R. Boxer,- Portuguese commercial voyages to Japan three hundred years ago (1630-1639) * in Transactions of the Japan Society of London, Vol. XXXI, pp. 27-75, and especially, pp. 60-65.

{26} [CRB, p.35, n.30] Yule and Burnell (Hobson-Jobson* in voce Lantea) declare themselves unable to identify the word, which Dalgado (Glossdário Luso-Asiático) * suggests is derived from the Malay lantey. In any case 'Lighter' or 'Barge' would seem a better English equivalent than the <> which is the best the former authorities can suggest.

{27} [CRB, p.35, n.31] Doubtless the faults were not all on one side, and Captain Bornford on the London who visited Macao in 1635, blames the Portuguese for <> towards the Chinese, tough he admits the Macanese merchants were <> as far as the English were concerned.

{28} [CRB, p.35, n.32] I cannot identify this word, unless, as seems probable, it is a mistake for 'Koreans'.

{29} [CRB, p.36, n.33] Apparently Kia-Yu-Kuan· (嘉峪关) the western termination of the Great Wall of China, is meant. At this town was situated the Customs Barrier which controlled the trade of the overland route.

{30} [CRB, p.37, n.34] Several of the Portuguese equivalents are so bastardized that it is impossible to recognize the original Chinese names. The identifications are therefore tentative only, and except for the first, second, fifth, eighth, and last six named, are open to dispute. For example Tolanchia • is here identified with Shansi on the admittedly slender grounds that the name is an attempt to render the provincial capital of Taiyuanfu.• Similarly the identification of Anchoo • as Anhui is very dubious, as in Ming• times the present Anhui• was combined with Kiangsu• in the province of Nanking.• It was in the Ming period that the present arrangement and names of the provinces took their origin, but there were 15 instead of the later 18 as established by the Manchus who separated Kansu• from Shensi,• split Nanking from Kiangsu and Anhui as noted above, and Hukwang• into Hunan• and Hupei.• Bocarro's total of 15 is thus correct, but his statement that the provinces derived their names from those of their capitals does not apply to all of them. Bocarro's statistics of towns and cities are presumably based on some older Chinese sources, but they are probably second or third-hand only, and should not be treated seriously.

{31} [CRB, p.37, n.35] i. e. The Dutch blockade of the straits of Malacca, where they had ships stationed off Singapore in the monsoon to intercept Portuguese vessels bound from Macao to Goa, and in this way picked up many rich prizes.

{32} [CRB, p.37, n.36] Pau da China or China-root (Radix China), a once famous drug especially prized in the East as a cure for syphillis. For further details see Yule & Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, and Dalgado, Glossdário Luso-Asiático, Ⅱ. p. 196.

{33} [CRB, p.38, n.37] Also spelt Quene,• Queye• &c. Apparently derived from the Cantonese term King-ki • (经 纪) a broker.

{34} [CRB, p.39, n.38] For the History of this and other Portuguese military expeditions see my article Military Expeditions in aid of the Mings against the Manchus 1621-1647 * (T'ien Sha Monthly, Vol. VII, pp. 24-36). The particular expedition referred to by Bocarro was that led by Captain Gonçalves Teixeira in 1630.

{35} [CRB, p.39, n.39] This curious story is found in several Portuguese accounts of China in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries, originally as being applied to them, lately transferred to the Dutch, but I have not been able to trace the alledged Chinese source. The same objection was made to the English at the time of their first arrival in 1637.

{36} [CRB, p.40, n.40] Bocarro's version of the reason for the Jesuits' success is correct enough, and held good until their methods were undermined by the fateful Rites Controversy (1704-1742) about which so much has been written elsewhere.

{37} [CRB, p.40, n.41] I cannot identify this word, but the first part may be something to do with the Japanese word sho ( ) which has the meaning of "writing"; "to write". Mr. J. M. Braga of Macao informs me that the term is still used to distinguish polished as opposed to unvarnished lacquer.

{38} [CRB, p.40, n.42] Bocarro is referring to Chawan (茶碗) tea-bowls used in the celebrated Japanese ritual pastime of Cha-no-Yu (茶汤) or Ceremonial Tea. In Hideyoshi's time, most of the bowls so highly prized came from the Philippines, and it is interesting to note that in later years the earthenware of Indo-China was more in favour. Bocarro's anecdote about the Japanese Tu Quoque, recalls a similar observation by the Christian Daimyō, Otomo Sórin (大友宗麟) alias D. Francisco of Bungo, who when twitted by one of his Jesuit friends for spending vast sums of money on old sword-blades retorted that at any rate they were of far more practical use than the jewels on which Europeans were accustomed to lavish their money.

{39} [CRB, p.41, n.43] For details of the voyages between Macao and Japan at this period see C. R. Boxer,& Portuguese Commercial Voyages to Japan three hundred years ago (1630-1639) * { sic } in Trans. Japan Society, Vol. XXXI, pp. 27-77 (London, 1934). Readers who can read Japanese, may further consult the additional detail given by Mr. K. Shiba (柴谦郎) study Nagegin Shomo in Keizai shi no kenkvu, Vol. XVII nos. 1 and 2. (经济之研究), Tōkyō, 1937. Bocarro's opening sentence in this paragraph is far from clear, and I am not sure if I have got the sense of it.

{40} [CRB, p.41, n.44] Japanese Tomo (殿), a feudal ord or suzerain; now used as a suffix like "Mr", for military men and others. Neddless to say, Bocarro's description is not entirely acurate, as these feudal Lords of the Old Japan (Daimyō) were not Kings in the strict sense of the term, though within the limits of their own domains they possessed virtually absolute powers.

{41} [CRB, p.41, n.45] This apparently refers to the original edict of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, banishing all missionaries from Japan, in 1587. But this edict was never strictly enforced, and the effective prohibition of Christianity really dates from subsequent edicts issued by the Tokugawa Shōguns in 1614,1624,1628 (whereby sailors carrying missionaries were to be put to death) and 1634, which were in an ascending scale of severity, and included the penalties cited by Bocarro.

{42} [CRB, p.42, n.46] Bocarro is of course describing the Japanese ceremonial suicide known as seppuku or harakiri (lit. Bellyslitting). The gory method he describes was indeed sometimes used by exceptionally hardy spirits, who crowned their achievement by flinging their entrails in the face of the opponent(s); but the more usual and decorous course, was for the victim to have a second standing behind him with a drawn sword, who cut off his head at the same time as he plunged the knife into his stomach. The Japanese word katana, sword, was taken over by the Portuguese, and is also found in seventeenth century English documents as cattan or kattan.

{43} [CRB, p.42, n.47] This refers to the dreaded torture of the fosse, supposed to have been invented by the anti-Christian Chief Inquisitor, Inouye, Chikugo-nokami (井上筑后守政重) who by this means caused the apostacy of the aged Jesuit Provincial, Pe. Cristóvão Ferreira in 1633, which did so much harm to Christianity in Japan.

{44} [CRB, p.43, n.48] This statement is confirmed by the testimony of Frei Sebastião Manrique (Itinerario)* and other contemporary writers. The Japanese Christian colony in Siam was a particularly flourishing one, and traces of it remained down to the eighteenth century. By Arrakan (Arracão) is meant a kingdom which formerly existed, with fluctuating boundaries, in what is now Bengal and Burma.

{45} [CRB, p.43, n.49] A koku ( ) or rice is about 5 bushels or 180 litres. The Portuguese alquier was a measure of about 13 litres. Bocarro's estimate of 300,000 koku as the revenue of the average fief is an exaggeration, though the largest individual fief was rated at nearly 2 million.

{46} [CRB, p.43, n.50] Japan was at this period a great exporter of copper and silver bullion, though Bocarro's optimistic account of the mines' capacity is of course exaggerated. His statements about Daimyō being arbitrarily moved from one fief to another, and involved in expensive building and corvée works by the Tokugawa Shōgunate, are quite correct. For typical instances of the practice see Murdoch, History,* III, pp. 18-23; and for remarks on the production of silver and copper, Takekoshi - Economic Aspects of the History of Japan,* II, pp. 31-9, especially pp. 38-9. (London, 1930).

{47} [CRB, p.44, n.51] This is confirmed by all contemporary European writers, and we find that Japanese mercenaries were widely employed over Eastern Asia, by the Portuguese at Malacca, by the Spaniards in the Philippines, and by the rulers of Siam, Cambodia and Arrakan. For some concrete instances cf. Transactions Japan Society, Vol. XXXIII, pp. 20-21. (London, 1936) {sic}.

{48} [CRB, p.44, n.52] This is an undoubted libel on the honour of the Japanese fair sex and was probably derived from the experiences of Portuguese mariners in the teahouses and brothels frequented by the lowest classes of women only.

{49} [CRB, p.44, n.53] Correct. For further details see C. R. Boxer, - Portuguese Commercial Voyages to Japan three hundred years ago 1630-1639 { sic } (in Trans. Jap. Soc., Vol. XXXI) pp. 30-1, 44-5. The Dutch Fort in Formosa referred to is Casteel Zeelandia·(now Anping) ·for which they held from 1624 till 1662.

{50} [CRB, p.45, n.54] By the terms of the Treaty uniting Portugal with the Spanish monarchy in 1580, all commerce between the colonial dominions of the two crowns had been absolutely prohibited. This prohibition had always been a dead letter in so far as the trade between Macao and Manilla was concerned, and repeated royal orders for its cessation never produced the slightest effect. Even the restoration of Portuguese independence in 1640, and the resultant war with Spain which lasted until 1668, only interrupted the direct trade for a few years, and even then an indirect commerce was carried on via Macassar. Peter Mundy gives an account of the Manilla galleon he met at Macao in 1637 (Travels,* III, p.249).

{51} [CRB, p.46, n.55] The voyages from Macao to Timor and Solor, became even more profitable after the cessation of the Japan trade, and were the mainstay of Macao during the late XVIIth and early XVIIIth centuries. For sandalwood and its uses see Hobson-Jobson, pp. 789-790 and Dalgado, Glossdário Luso-Asiático, II. pp. 280-1. The Conde de Linhares' scheme to make the voyage a Royal Monopoly and sell it to the highest bidder in the same way as the Japan and Manilla voyages, was not a success, as the Macanese refused to recognize the monopolistic rights of the first buyer, Lopo Sarmento de Carvalho, who had likewise purchased the Japan and Manilla voyages for the years 1632-4 inclusive. (Cf. Marco Avalo's account of Macao in the Begin ende Voortgangh,* II. pp. 76-83, Amsterdam, 1646, which is reproduced infra).

{52} [CRB, p.46, n.56] For a definition of Canga, or Ganga see Dalgado, Glossário Luso-Asiático, II. p.421. Neither Dalgado nor Hobson-Jobson record nonos; it is clear from Bocarro's text, that they were a similar but slightly superior type of piece-goods to Canga. Mr. J. M. Braga informs me that nuno is still used in Macao, to designate a light muslin, much used for mosquito-netting, whilst Ganga is nowadays applied locally to a blue dungaree material.

{53} [CRB, p.46, n.57] The Macao-Macassar trade received a great impetus after the capture of Malacca by the Dutch in 1641, and the temporary cessation of direct trade with Manilla in the following year. Under the auspices of Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo, a wealthy merchant with vast interests in the Celebes, Timor, Solor, Macao and India, who was a personal friend of the ruling chief, Karaeng Patingallowang, Portuguese commercial and political influence at Macassar increased to such an extent that it threatened to disrupt the virtual monopoly of the Dutch over the spice trade in the East Indies. Serious alarmed, the Hollanders dispatched two powerful expeditions to Macassar in 1660, and 1668-9, the first of which partially, and the latter completely, broke the power of that state and compelled the Rajah to expel the Portuguese traders and missionaries (Cf. my article* in Boletim Eclesiástico de Macau, Ano 36, num. 434, pp. 727-741).

{54} [CRB, p.47, n.58] Macao's trade with Cochin-China became increasingly important in later years. For an account of Portuguese influence at this period and the subsequent decade see Pe. Cristoforo Borri, S. J., Cochin-China* (London 1633), translated from the original Italian edition of 1631, and Pe. Francisco Cardim, S. J., - Batalhas da Companhia de Jesus* (Lisboa, 1894).

{55} [CRB, p.47, n.59] From the Malay vankan, a small junk. Cf. Dalgado, Glossário Luso-Asiático, II. p. 402.

Numeration without punctuation marks follow that in António Bocarro's original text selected in Rui Loureiro's edited text in "Revista de Cultura" (Portuguese edition), Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, pp. 176-177.

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 & followed by the spelling of Charles Ralph Boxer's English translation [CRB], indicated immediately after, between quotation marks within parentheses << (" ") >>.

1 "Noanxan"• [original Port.] ("Neanpan"): the author seems to have been the first Portuguese to use such an appelation to designate the Empire of China.

2 "Machao" [original Port.] ("Machao" or "Macao")·= Aomen• [Chin].

3 The author might be erroneously implying that the city was at the same time bathed by the Indian and the Pacific oceans.

4 "casado[s] " ("citizen[s] "): Crown soldiers from the 'motherland' who settled in one of the Portuguese possessions in the Orient, commonly marrying Asian women and constitutiting families.

5 The Portuguese first set foot in China in 1513. The embassy of Tomé Pires took place in 1517. (See: Text 1 & Tomé Pires + Text 4 & Cristóvão Vieira)

6 St. Thomaz is believed to be the first Apostle to evangelize in India.

7 Dom Francisco de Mascarenhas, Count of Vila da Horta, was the thirteenth Viceroy of the [Portuguese] State of India, 1581-1584; his successor being Dom Duarte de Menezes, [Count of Tarouca], fourteenth Viceroy, 1584-1588

8 The geographical area covered by the evangelizing periples of St. Thomaz the Apostle has yet to be defined but it is extremely unlikely that he might have reached China contrary to sixteenth and seventeenth centuries common belief.

9 Besides rapidly growing to become a trade emporium of great importance, Macao also become since its early days a strategic base to the expansion of to the China and Japan missions, mostly controlled by the Society of Jesus.

10 "balões" [original Port.] [singular: 'balão'] (skiff[s] ("ballões")): a small boat propelled by oars which bottom is made by a single board.

11 "manchua[s] " [original Port.] (yatch[s] ("manchua[s] ")): a small boat, sometimes fitted with a rectangular sail.

12 "jurubaça[s] " [original Port.] ("jurubassa[s]"): a term of Malay origin meaning, 'an interpreter'.

13 "Macáçar" [Port.] ("Macassar", 'Macasar' or 'Makasar') {presently Ujung Pandang}: an important port in the southern coast of the Celebes Island {presently Sulawesi}, where an important Portuguese community thrived until the second half of the seventeenth century. (See: Text 28, Note 21)

14 "xerafins" [Port.] [singular: 'xerafim'] ("xerafine[s]"): a gold or silver coin worth three hundred réis.

15Dom Francisco Mascarenhas, was the first Governor of Macao from 1623-1626.

16 After the death of Dom Diogo Correa Valente, S. J., Administrador Apostólico da Sé (General Administrator of the See) and Governador do Bispado (Governor of the Bishophry) of Macao (1626-1633) noone was elected 'Bishop of Macao' for several decades [until 1692].

17 "varela" [original Port.] ([...] the Chinese temple, [...]"): a pagoda or a Buddhist temple.

18 "colubrina" [Port.] ("culverin"): an early form of cannon of great length, generally an 18-pounder, weighting 50 cwt.

19 "sagres" [original Port.] ("saker[s]"): an antiquated [obsolete] small cannon. Also called 'falcão' ('falcon').

20 "pedreiro " [original Port.] ([...] a swivel gun [...]"): high caliber cannon able to throw stone balls at considerable distance.

21 "taéis" [Port.] [singular: 'tael'] ("tael[s]"): Chinese silver coin worth about five hundred and forty réis.

22 A reference to the illustration which accompanies this section of the text.

23 "marreca" [original Port.] ("duck"): a palmipede bird.

24 (See: Text 23 & Diogo Caldeira Rego + Text 24 & Adriano de las Cortes)

25 A reference to the Dutch of attack to Macao in 1622. (See: Text 23 & Diogo Caldeira Rego)

26 "[...] mais menos, [...] " (lit.: 'more less'): meaning, 'mais abaixo' ('further down' or "[...] down hill.").

27 "trabuco[s]" [original Port.] ("swivel-gun[s]"): a contemporary kind of cannon. {Not a 'trebuchet' or a 'blunderbuss'}

28 "falcão " [original Port.] ("falcon"): a contemporary small cannon.

29 "berço[s]" [original Port.] ("falconet[s]"): a contemporary kind of cannon, or "[...] a small field-gun in use till the 16th century."

30 The author is making reference to the famous foundry of Manuel Tavares Bocarro [active during the second quarter of the seventeenth century].

31 Those days, the Dutch relentlessly attacked all Portuguese vessels in the maritime routes of the Far East. Although the Dutch attempt to conquer Macao in 1622 ended as a failure, they successfully managed to take over Malacca in 1641. The author is making reference to the Dutch systematic sea blockade of the Strait of Singapore thus controlling all maritime traffic between the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea and preventing the crossing of Portuguese vessels.

32 "patacho[s] " [original Port.] ("pinnace[s]"): vessel with two or three masts similar in structure to the Portuguese nao [Port.: 'nau']. {sic}

33 "candis " [original Port.] [singular: 'candil'] ("candis ") : a unit of liquid volume which varied between two-hundred eighteen and two-hundred and forty five litres.

34 "lanteia " [original Port.] ("lantea"): a particular kind of Chinese barge with six or seven oars mainly used to carry goods.

35 "castrânio[s] " ("Castranio[s]"): a curious anthroponym most probably refering to those who live in castras (primitive encampments).

36 The author seems to have collected from Juan González de Mendoza's Historia De Las Cosas Mas Notables, Ritos Y Costumbres Del gran reYno de La China [...] (The Historic of the Great and Mightie Kingdom of China [...]) most of his informations on China. (See: Text 16 & Juan Gonzàlez de Mendoza)

37 "pico[s]" [original Port.] ("picul[s]"): an Oriental (Malay and Javanese) and Chinese unit of weight of approximately sixty kilograms.

38 "[...] pecado mau, [...]" (lit.: 'evil sin'): meaning, 'sodomia' ("sodomy'").

39 "queve[s]" [original Port.]("Quevee[s]"): the big Chinese traders of Guangdong· province - according to Portuguese seventeenth century documental and literary sources. A word of controversial etimology possibly deriving from Guanghang• [Chin.].

40 After seeing their attempts to conquer Macao frustrated, the Dutch established themselves in Formosa (presently called Taiwan).

41 The author infers that the Tartars attempted at the time to achieve a homogeneous control of the entire Empire of China.

42 Macao sent a military contigent of musketeers and gunners in 1630 to assist the Ming government in their armed resistence struggle against the increasingly menacing Tartars who, in those days, frequently made predatory incursions across the northern borders of the Middle Kingdom.

43 "banções" [original Port.][singular: 'bancão'] ("wankan[s] ") : a small boat which long oars are manoeuvered by two standing men.

* MS., Goa, 1635.