In the mid 1500s, the Ming Dynasty allowed Portuguese traders to use a small, remote and all but forgotten peninsula in Southeast China. The most distant outpost of European influence, Macau enjoyed a heyday for over 100 years as the only permanent Western access point to the region. European traders at Canton were not allowed to stay beyond the trading season and maintained permanent homes in Macau. Macau-based traders took silk from India to eager buyers in Japan. The Portuguese navy maintained a strong presence based at Macau. Jesuits and other Catholic orders used Macau as “base camp” in futile hopes of bringing Christianity to the Chinese.
Then, over a short span in the mid-17th century, the Dutch began competing with Portugal for maritime control, and Japan closed its borders to all outsiders. Left stranded by receding European colonial interests on the one hand, and all but forgotten by China on the other, Macau receded into a more minor role as a diverse scene of languid decadence that attracted pirates, gamblers, artists, and people from all over the world escaping oppression, arrest and their former lives.
Macau’s role was further diminished by the founding nearby of Hong Kong in the 1840s, a concession by China to the British as an outcome of the Opium Wars. Unlike Macau, Hong Kong offered a sheltered deep-water port, and quickly grew to dominate trade activity between China and the rest of the world. Macau slipped further into obscurity.
Long administered as a Portuguese colony, Macau was “returned” to the People’s Republic of China in 1999, much as Hong Kong had been handed over by the British in 1997. Both are maintained as Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic, a promise to leave their political and economic systems in place for 50 years.
Today, Macau is booming. Since 1960 the population has grown from 160,000 to over 500,000 today. The long-time gambling monopoly held by the Ho family was lifted in 2002. Now, ever bigger casinos are being constructed throughout Macau, particularly on what until recently were mud flats between the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Known as the Cotai Strip, it is home to the world’s largest casino (the Venetian, opened in August 2007) and an even larger GalaxyWorld Resort is under construction nearby. With several enormous casinos already, Macau has now overtaken Las Vegas in gambling revenues. Throngs of tourists from Hong Kong and mainland China visit daily. Macau also hopes to build its reputation as a destination resort with broader appeal – as a family-friendly place for relaxing, shopping and enjoying outstanding cuisine.
Macau is also a great vantage point from which to witness the rapid development of China and the Asia Pacific Rim. Over 200 years ago, Napoleon is alleged to have said: “Let China sleep, for when China awakes the world will tremble.” It is waking, the world is trembling, and the nine Susquehanna University students who are studying at the University of Macau this semester have box seats to view the rapid emergence of the region as a new world power.
Then, over a short span in the mid-17th century, the Dutch began competing with Portugal for maritime control, and Japan closed its borders to all outsiders. Left stranded by receding European colonial interests on the one hand, and all but forgotten by China on the other, Macau receded into a more minor role as a diverse scene of languid decadence that attracted pirates, gamblers, artists, and people from all over the world escaping oppression, arrest and their former lives.
Macau’s role was further diminished by the founding nearby of Hong Kong in the 1840s, a concession by China to the British as an outcome of the Opium Wars. Unlike Macau, Hong Kong offered a sheltered deep-water port, and quickly grew to dominate trade activity between China and the rest of the world. Macau slipped further into obscurity.
Long administered as a Portuguese colony, Macau was “returned” to the People’s Republic of China in 1999, much as Hong Kong had been handed over by the British in 1997. Both are maintained as Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic, a promise to leave their political and economic systems in place for 50 years.
Today, Macau is booming. Since 1960 the population has grown from 160,000 to over 500,000 today. The long-time gambling monopoly held by the Ho family was lifted in 2002. Now, ever bigger casinos are being constructed throughout Macau, particularly on what until recently were mud flats between the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Known as the Cotai Strip, it is home to the world’s largest casino (the Venetian, opened in August 2007) and an even larger GalaxyWorld Resort is under construction nearby. With several enormous casinos already, Macau has now overtaken Las Vegas in gambling revenues. Throngs of tourists from Hong Kong and mainland China visit daily. Macau also hopes to build its reputation as a destination resort with broader appeal – as a family-friendly place for relaxing, shopping and enjoying outstanding cuisine.
Macau is also a great vantage point from which to witness the rapid development of China and the Asia Pacific Rim. Over 200 years ago, Napoleon is alleged to have said: “Let China sleep, for when China awakes the world will tremble.” It is waking, the world is trembling, and the nine Susquehanna University students who are studying at the University of Macau this semester have box seats to view the rapid emergence of the region as a new world power.
