A Macao Narrative Book Review Paper Example

Introduction

A Macao Narrative is a book written by Austin Coates which provides historical information about Macao, and how its visitors like the Portuguese, British and Spaniards embarked on their businesses in Macao, and how such activities helped shape Macao. Austin Coates was a civil servant in the British government, in a senior position working overseas in Hong Kong, as well as Malaya and Sarawak. At the age of 40, he quit the government job to work as a professional writer in the English language and chose to reside in Hong Kong until his death, though he would travel to Portugal sometimes in his career.

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The purpose of the book is to provide a detailed history of Macao, by taking the reader through a series of historical events that took place in the land. The author tries to paint a picture of how early European visitors to Macao, especially the Portuguese made a huge impact on the history of Macao and Macao society at large. Austin Coates' A Macao Narrative is of great value in providing vital information to anyone interested in obtaining the rich history of Macao, either for academic purposes or anyone interested in traveling to Macao.

The following book review of Austin Coates' A Macao Narrative will include a summary of the book's content, a few examples that support the author's thesis, strengths of the book as well as a few weaknesses that the book may have.

Book Summary

The book chronologically narrates how the East was discovered by European explorers, especially the Portuguese who learned of the Chin sailors which made the Portuguese to explore and expand their trade by seeking to establish trade ties with China. The Portuguese gained knowledge of the fair-skinned Chin who used to sail to India with their huge ships. By chance, Albuquerque in 1511 interviewed some sailors who had arrived at the port and realized that they were Chin (Coates, 2009). In 1513, Jorge Alvares, who was Albuquerque's captain, was sent to China to inquire about the Chin and whether they could establish trade ties with the Chin. The book thus provides useful historical information on the influence of European settlers, such as the Portuguese, the Dutch and English in Macao.

Analysis and Evaluation

The author narrates how Alvares found the islands to be, describing that the Chinese inhabited not many of the islands and that there were villages existed on flat land which was used to grow rice CITATION Lui90 \l 1033 (Keil, 1990). He describes that the Chinese had constructed villages which were fortified, and the houses were close to each other (Coates, 2009). Alvares' expedition was followed by another one by a relative of Christopher Columbus, one Raffaelo Perestrello who arrived in 1514, who sent an envoy to the Chinese capital to conclude a trade agreement.

The book is a historical book that seeks to emphasize that even though the Portuguese had taken settled in Macao, other Europeans were attracted to the island. The Dutch envisioned a plan to attack and seize Macao, to increase the profitability of her silk business with the Japanese. The Dutch attack began in June 1622 as the Dutch attempted to bombard Macao's fortresses and as a result lost one ship in the process CITATION Gar10 \l 1033 (Garrett, 2010). The author narrates how the Dutch were making losses in their advancement in Macao through the explosion made by Father Rho which killed many advancing enemies (Coates, 2009).

With Portuguese help, the Macanese were able to make an offensive on the enemy, by first killing their general and pursuing those fleeing to the boats for an escape. The author describes well how the Macanese even laid down their hands and used swords to slay the remaining of the enemy (Coates, 2009). They killed and took other Dutchmen, prisoners.

The author achieves his thesis by providing detailed historical information about the activities of visitors to Macao, especially the Portuguese and how they settled in Macao and how the Macanese received them and established trade ties. The book also provides details on how the British, being enemies of the Portuguese due to their ties with Macao, sought to establish trade ties with Macao, but by use of peaceful means, unlike their Dutch friends (Coates, 2009).

The author goes into great detail showing how the Macanese received the first English sailors into their land and explains that the Macanese were cautious to see that the Chinese did not discover the English ship. However, the ship was discovered and the British tried to offer better lower rates than the Portuguese should they be allowed a return trip. The author describes the Chinese view of the Dutch and Englishmen as barbarians, by illustrating the fines imposed on the Macanese by the Chinese for allowing barbarians a passage (Coates, 2009). The Chinese saw the English men as dangerous barbarians who should not be allowed at the port. The author describes Chinese pressure on Macao senate to pay the fines, by stating that the Chinese would close the gate used as a barrier and thus cut off the supply of food to Macao.

The book provides great insight into the reason as to why the Macanese lost their land to the Portuguese and later to the Cantonese in 1600. He describes that the Cantonese initially were laborers in the farms, and later due to debts, and poor cultivation, the Macanese land was taken by the Cantonese (Coates, 20092). Thus, cutting of Macanese from food by closing the barrier gates by the Chinese acted as a huge blow to the Macanese. He describes how the Macanese fought against the Chinese and won the battle (Coates, 2009). He narrates with great insight on how the Chinese became confused and caused a stampede that led to massive casualties. He goes ahead to describe the peace treaties signed in 1886 that regulated opium business and allowed Kowloon to be used as a custom post (Coates, 2009).

The author also narrates how the British and the Americans traded in opium, in large-scale with the Macanese during the Napoleonic wars (Coates, 2009). Various Europeaan traders tried to gain control of the opium business (Peyrefitte, 1993). The author describes how the Macanese entered the business and attempted to gain advances and outdo their rivals (Coates, 2009).

One of the weaknesses identified in this book is in the way the author expresses his ideas in the book. Use of images raises the reader's interest in the book which may make the reader to read the entire book and not just skim through, as illustrated by Kevin Kenny's Peaceable kingdom lost : the Paxton Boys and the destruction of William Penn's holy experiment (Kenny, 2011). Therefore, Austin Coates fails to raise the reader's interest by failing to apply the use of images or pictures in describing the history of Macao.

Conclusion

Austin Coates' A Macao Narrative is a great historical book that tries to describe how the Macao was opened to European visitors, and how the Macanese welcomed such visitors, the relations the Macanese developed with the visitors and how various visitors strived to control Macao and establish long-lasting relations with the Macanese.

The author achieves his thesis by taking the reader through a series of events that took place since the Portuguese arrived in the land. He narrates the relations between Macao and China by illustrating the trade ties and the measures taken in terms of fines the Chinese took to punish the Macanese when they breached their agreement of not allowing British to pass through (Coates, 2009).

Thus, the book is good in providing detailed information about the history of Macao, with regards to the various visitors like the Portuguese, the British, Americans and the Dutch. It is useful in helping one understand better the rich history of Macao, and her relationship with the Chinese and the efforts made in establishing a government.

References

Coates, A. (2009). A Macao Narrative. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, HKU.

Garrett, R. J. (2010). The Defences of Macau : Forts, Ships and Weapons over 450 Years. Hong Kong University Press.

Keil, L. (1990). Jorge A'lvares the first Portuguese to go to China (91513). Jorge A'lvares o primeiro Portugues gue loi a China (1513). Macau: Instituto Cultural De Macau.

Kenny, K. (2011). Peaceable kingdom lost : the Paxton Boys and the destruction of William Penn's holy experiment. New York (N.Y.) ; Oxford ; Auckland: Oxford University Press.

Peyrefitte, A. (1993). The collision of two civilisations: the British expedition to China in (1792-4). London : Harvill.