On the second day of the heritage tour in Macau, I visited the Moorish Barracks first, and then headed over to the Monte Fort and the Guia Lighthouse before going home. It was a very hot October day and the walking did amount to a hike.

The Moorish Barracks

I marveled at the unique architecture of the Moorish Barracks when I arrived. It is really nothing close to what I had seen thus far in Macau at that point. The antique buildings of Macau are very beautiful with heavy colonial influence. The Moorish Barracks is really quite another species.

Moorish Barracks, in Portuguese Quartel dos Mouros, is a UNESCO heritage site. This structure of 1874 was intended for the accommodation of the Indian regiment of the police force. These Indian policemen were coming from Goa for law and order missions in Macau.

Perhaps then it is no surprise that the building shows architectural elements of Moghul influence, the creative vision of architect António Alexandrino de Melo. An arched verandah surrounds the structure in neoclassical design. You won’t miss it when you arrive at Barra Hill, its yellow and white colors stand proud and glorious upon its granite foundation on the street level.

It takes just about ten minutes to do a quick walk-around and take photographs of the building. However, it is certainly worth a stop.

The Moorish Barracks is now the Headquarters Building of the Marine and Water Bureau.

The PRC National Day Fireworks

The previous night, I was pleasantly surprised by the PRC National Day Fireworks, which could be viewed at the public deck area at the Riviera Hotel. The fireworks were held at Nam Van, with the beautiful night-lit Sai Van Bridge as its backdrop. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Perhaps it is worth a few words to briefly mention the relationship between Macau and China over its history. In the few centuries of Macau’s founding as a Portuguese city, China and Macau coexisted, mostly peacefully. China engaged in a “carrot and stick” policy toward Macau, “the carrot in the Chinese policy on Macau was the right for the Portuguese to conduct their trade undisrupted. The stick came in the various demands to which the Chinese authorities felt entitled, including the charging of customs by running customs posts, the charging of ground rent, and the ability to ‘call all the Chinese workers back to Canton’ at their whim. On a day-to-day basis, it was the Chinese watch force that maintained law and order in Macau.”

In Portuguese Asia (4), I discussed the fantastic battle that the Macanese waged against China to mark its territory in 1849, (and also to avenge the brutal murder of Governor Captain Amaral), known as the Pak Shan Lan Battle. This incident showed the Chinese authorities that the Macanese would fight and win. The battle quieted the Chinese tendency to intervene into Macau’s affairs.

The Sino-Portuguese Treaty that would have given Portugal the recognition of Macau as its colony failed to ratify in 1864. Portugal’s claim was formalized finally in 1888 by a protocol, with the initiation taken by Britain, which was only concerned with its leading status in the opium trade and its stature in the rivalry with France.

During WWII, Macau maintained a neutral status in the war. This results in an enormous influx of refugees both from China and Hong Kong. Macau took them in gracefully. In China’s revolutionary times after WWII, Macau had also taken in a large number of refugees from China as well.

After 1949, Hong Kong and Macau remained colonies of Britain and Portugal respectively. Following the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of 1974, the new government of Portugal wanted to divest of all its colonies, Macau included. At the time, New China turned down such request to reclaim Macau as its own.

The reason for China’s refusal is that at the time, Portugal demanded that China proceeds upon the premise that Macau was a colony of Portugal. China refused to do so, standing firm on its historical view that Macau was always part of China, and therefore not a colony established upon unknown land under public international law. If the premise is that Macau was a colony of Portugal, then the people of Macau would be entitled to consider national independence when the colonial power divests of the city, in accordance with the principle of self-determination.

The two countries began formal diplomatic relations in 1979. The ongoing negotiations resulted in plans for Portugal to hand over Macau to China as part of China’s territory in 1999. To Portugal, however, Macau has long since the 1970s ceased to be a part of Portugal.

As a colonial power, there is a chief difference in the way that Portugal and Britain handled the citizenship status of its colonial peoples. The Macanese that were born in Portugal Macau do have the right to claim proper Portuguese citizenship, whereas the people of Hong Kong were only considered British National Overseas, without claim to British citizenship.

Sources

Macao Government Tourism Office, Headquarters Building of the Marine and Water Bureau (Former Moorish Barrack).

The Wikipedia on Moorish Barracks.

Google Arts and Culture, Moorish Barracks.

KKNews, When Portugal Gives Up “Colonies” in 1975, Why Didn’t China Take Back Macau? (Chin).

Namely the heart of Macau that drives all pedestrian flows, the Senate Square (Senado Square) is a must-see before one reaches the famous Ruins of Saint Paul’s. In this square, you will come across an innumerable number of historic structures, including the St. Dominic’s Church, the Municipal Administration Office, the Santa Casa Misericordia, the Macau Post Office, amongst others—not to mention the buzzling scene of eateries that serve all kinds of street foods.

In this entry, I will take you through some of the significant sites at the Senado Square.

Soon after departing from the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, I made a gentle descent toward the very heart of Macau’s administrative, religious and historical center.

The Senado Square

The Senado Square was named after Leal Senado, The Senate of Macau (below), a meeting place for the Chinese and Portuguese during the 16^th to 18^th centuries, where the Legal Senado Building stands today. The square was paved in Portuguese pavement and designated pedestrian-only in the early 1990s.

Its cobblestoned ground is familiar even to those that have not been to Macau. That, and along with all other historical buildings surrounding the square, are just about all that remains constant through the flow of time.

In the thick of Macau’s tourist traffic, the Senado Square dresses itself to the occasion. Because I visited on the October 1 weekend (the National Day of the PRC), the square featured rows and rows of perfectly aligned national flags.

Municipal Administration Office

Formerly the Leal Senado Building, the Municipal Administration Office was built in 1784 as Macau’s first municipal chamber. It has been the seat of Macau’s government administration since.

In a previous entry, I have learned that the Portuguese King said this of Macau in the mid-17^th century, “Nao ha outra mais leal,” (“City of Our Name of God Macao, There is None More Loyal,”) when the Macanese sent a shipment of guns and money to King Joao IV, congratulating him on the successful revolt against Spanish rule. And “Leal Senado” means “the Loyal Senate,” as the former name of the Municipal Administration Office.

Besides serving the same function as the seat of administration over time, the Municipal Administration Office has also retained its architecture, as its neoclassical front and the main layout are still the original.

The address of the Municipal Administration Building is No. 163 Av. Almeida Ribeiro (San Ma Lo).

The Macau General Post Office

Looking southeast from the Municipal Administration Building, you will see the Macau General Post Office standing, stately and grand in an aged glory. The building has stood here since 1929.

The Bureau of Macao Post came into being in 1884, its first office was at the intersection of Rua de Santa Clara and Rua do Campo. When the permanent site of the Macau General Post Office was established in 1929, it oversaw the centralized work of post, telegraph and telephone. The building is still a post office today.

In terms of architecture, perhaps it is interesting to note that the architect for this building is famous Chinese architect Jose Chan Kun Pui, the first Chinese chief architect, whose creative endeavor is represented in the neoclassical style of the building.

The address of the Macau General Post Office is the intersection of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, n.º 126 and Senado Square.

The St. Dominic’s Church

The St. Dominic’s Church, (Largo de São Domingos in Portuguese), was the mission of three Spanish Dominican priests coming all the way from Mexico. They established this church in 1587. In 1929, the church integrated the worship of Our Lady of Fatima into its religious service, based on the miraculous sighting that three shepherd children witnessed in Fatima, Portugal. The church, as an institution in Macau, spread the belief of Our Lady of Fatima to Shaoxing, Timor, the Philippines, Singapore, Malacca and further. On May 13^th every year, the St. Dominic’s Church holds a procession in the city.

The Church has clear Baroque influences, somewhat reminiscent of the features of the St. Joseph’s Seminary and Church. Because the very original building was built in wood, in Chinese people call it “Pan Cheong Tong,” meaning “wood plank church.” The building has a typical Basilican plan. In its interior, the altar features four Solomonic columns, but they are different from the ones I saw at the St. Joseph’s Church. The windows of the church feature external wooden blinds in green color. The pediment of the Church’s façade shows the insignia of the Dominican Order.

The square in front of the St Dominic’s Church is the St. Dominic’s Square (Largo do São Domingos).

Santa Casa Misericórdia

The Macau Holy House of Mercy, Santa Casa Misericórdia in Portuguese, has a distinct character as an all-white building that exudes a holiness and purity, perhaps in line with its original character as a building for charity and health services.

The building was a branch of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, a Portuguese Christian fraternity with historical roots as far back as 1498. The Macau chapter established its presence in Macau in 1569. Its service began on the orders of the Bishop of Macau, Belchior Carneiro Leitão, who himself was involved in the founding the first Senate of Macau, later in 1583. Over the centuries of its existence, the Holy House of Mercy was a medical clinic, and provided a host of social services in Macau, including a lazar’s asylum (for leprosy). It also served as an orphanage and refuge for the widows of sailors lost at sea.

The Macau Holy House of Mercy takes over the whole chain of its charity efforts. That includes the most critical step of raising funds for the poor and needy. It had once operated a bank, lent money, and promoted a very popular lottery.

Surely, the Senado Square of Macau is full of colonial vibes with its beautiful antique buildings. But don’t be fooled, for the Square was as much a place of Chinese community as it was a Portuguese venue. This is evidenced by the many old Chinese tenement buildings (Tong Lau) in the Square, as well as the unmistakable presence of Chinese businesses there.

Do breathe in the cosmopolitan character of the Senado Square and enjoy the food and the vibes.

Sources

Descriptions on site at the Senado Square.

Macao Tourism Government Office, Headquarters Building of the Municipal Affairs Bureau (Former Leal Senado Building).

Macao Tourism Government Office, Senado Square.

Museu de Macau, Macao Postal Services.

The Website of Santa Casa Misericórdia.

The Wikipedia on Santa Casa Misericordia of Macau.

Macau Travel Hub, Macau General Post Office.