Lu Ming

Chapter 544 Home
The establishment of the Macao City Council dates back to 1583 (the 11th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty).However, at the beginning, the focus of this council's work was not actually Ming.

At that time, an important historical event happened: Chen Rui, the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in the Ming court, summoned the chiefs and bishops of the Portuguese people living in Macau, and formally allowed the Portuguese to live in Macau, putting an end to the vague attitude of the Ming court towards Macau.

Immediately afterwards, the establishment of the Macau City Council.

Since it is a city council, it naturally represents the interests of the native Portuguese in Macau.In other words, the city council was established by local churches and high-level Portuguese businessmen who have interests in Macau.

In fact, the main task of the establishment of the Macao City Council at that time was not to work with the Ming Dynasty, but to "unite and work together to prevent the Spaniards who had annexed Portugal from coming to share the profits of trade with China."

Yes, the Spanish colonists at that time were the enemies of the Portuguese colonists—even though the two peoples had legally become one country at that time, for the Portuguese in Macau, the Spaniards were their enemies.

It's a long story.

Five years ago, in 5, King Sebastiao of Portugal launched a jihad against Moslin in North Africa, but the jihad failed and Sebastiao was captured and executed.

Since King Sebastiao had no heir, there was a succession crisis in Portugal.In the next few years, there were heirs such as the uncle Yinliji and the nephew Antonio in Portugal.However, all of the above were opposed by Pope Gregory XIII.

After that, the Spanish King Philip II, who was favored by the Pope and had the highest priority to the Portuguese throne in terms of blood relationship, appeared.So in November 1580, Philip sent the Duke of Elba to lead the army to capture Lisbon, and Antonio was forced to go into exile.

In 1581, under the pressure of the military and the Pope, the Portuguese Council finally conditionally recognized Philip as the successor to the Portuguese throne and became King Philip I of Portugal.Although the Portuguese still retained considerable autonomy, the two countries were legally united.After that, the Portuguese in Macau were recognized by the Ming Dynasty.

To put it simply, a group of bereaved dogs and subjugated people, with hatred for Philip I of Spain and fear and precautions against the Spanish bandits who had just occupied the Philippines, established an indigenous Portuguese city council in Macau to protect the interests of the colony.

The time came to 1623, when the Macao City Council had been operating happily for decades, the Portuguese once again officially obtained the "residence" document from the Ming Dynasty, and at the price of 500 taels of silver per year, they obtained a long-term "lease" legally. "Macau rights.

At the same time, Portugal began to officially send a governor to the Macau colony.

The first Governor of Macau to officially take office in Macau was named Ma Shijialuye.And at this point in time, it is not far from the arrival of the crossing people.

Like the officials of the Ming Dynasty, the governor sent by the Portuguese "court" was naturally not welcomed by the native Portuguese.You must know that at this point in 1623, more than 70 years have passed since the Jiajing year when the Franji people first came here. The indigenous Portuguese living in Macau have multiplied for several generations, and many of them have not returned. Having lived in Portugal's mother country, they are pure "colonial natives".

The Macao City Council, which is dominated by the indigenous people, naturally does not like the governor/imperial envoy sent by the above.Therefore, from the first Governor of Macau, the relationship between the two parties has not been very harmonious.The governor's authority was firmly limited to military defense by the native council, and the official residence was also located at the Fort Cannon.In the original history of this situation, it took at least 100 years of evolution to form a pattern in which the later governors were in charge of the military and political power of the colonies.

April 1631, 4, at noon, Macau City Council.

The council hall with rows of fan-shaped tables and chairs and a lecture table in the middle has begun to take the shape of a mature parliament for later generations.

In the current parliament, there is chaos.About [-] or [-] MPs who rushed over after hearing the news were making noise without grace, and completely lost the order that should have been in the past.

And in the center of the hall, a group of important figures were gathered around a long table, turning a deaf ear to the noisy voices behind them—everyone was listening carefully to the words of a translator from the Ming Dynasty.

This chubby translator in a satin gown is none other than Mr. Niu Xijian, who just swallowed the shares of Zong's Trading Company not long ago.

At this moment, Mr. Niu stretched out his finger, and swipe line by line on the Chinese official document specially sent by his uncle.At the same time, fluent Spanish came out of his mouth, which can be called a simultaneous translation machine for human flesh in the seventeenth century.

All in all, this official document sent by the Guangdong bureaucracy of the Ming Dynasty is quite "special".

The special point is that although this is a standard official document of the Ming Dynasty, it is also written in traditional Chinese characters, but the words and sentences in it are extremely straightforward, and it is not the style of the Ming Dynasty at all. Yes, this is the time-traveling style, which is the style of later generations. The kind of memo mode that strives for accurate text and no ambiguity.

This is a fatal memorandum, or final announcement.It is divided into two parts.

The first part: The "Solution Regarding the Expiration of Land Rent in Haojingao in the Four Years of Chongzhen" drafted by Hufang of Xiangshan County has been approved by the superior department of Guangzhou Fuhufang and Guangdong Zuobu Governor's Yamen: From this year, the Ming Dynasty The Guangdong government decided to take back the land rights in Haojingao and stop leasing it to outsiders.At the same time, the ground rent of 500 taels per year for Frangji people was stopped.

The document clearly states: All the buildings and their appurtenances on the ground of Haojingao are the irrefutable property of the government of the Ming Dynasty, and those who intentionally destroy or damage them will be prosecuted for criminal responsibility.

The second part of the document is about the placement of Franji tenants.

First of all, the government of the Ming Dynasty generously gave Frangji 7 days to find a new house to live in.Here, Manila, Batavia and Banten are recommended in the document.

For those foreigners who cannot leave, the Guangdong government also generously made a promise: foreigners are allowed to apply for green cards and work visas according to the amount of their family property (the above business such as capital verification and certificate issuance is entrusted by the Guangzhou Chief Envoy Yamen to Zhangchao General Military Office) ).

All foreigners who successfully apply for visas will be provided with temporary accommodation in Yizhou by Zhangchao General Soldier and properly settled.

that's all.

When Mr. Niu was sweating and loudly translated the guild, the high-end Macau people present were completely silent.

Before that, the Portuguese who had just received the official document did not actually understand the meaning of the official document.Gein, the few gentlemen present at the time were not familiar with traditional Chinese, so they could only make guesses, plus a little wind from Uncle Zhong.

Even so, the Portuguese felt a strong sense of danger, so the clerk Andrade sent someone to summon the governor, parliamentarians and bishops urgently.

When the congressmen came to the parliament one after another, the superficial meaning of this official document had been translated, which caused a collective noise among the congressmen.After that, the official translator, Mr. Niu, came to read out all the superficial and hidden meanings of the official document in Portuguese.

"Declaration of war, my lords, this is a declaration of war from the Ming government!"

Although there is no murderous word in the official document, it is a declaration of war.Master Niu was sweating profusely, and his last words sealed the situation.

Following Master Niu's words, the most urgent closed-door meeting since the establishment of the Macau City Council began.

First, the current speaker, Laro, will speak.This noble descendant from Lisbon, with the help of Mr. Niu, clearly informed the congressmen and the governors and bishops who came to the meeting: the Guangdong government of the Ming Dynasty, under the impetus of Cao's influence, officially made the most important measures for the Portuguese residents. bad choice.

Yes, as soon as the document was completely translated, the Portuguese executives realized who was behind the document.

After all, the Franji people had lived in the land of Ming Dynasty for decades, and they knew the government of the Ming Dynasty quite well, and they knew that the government could not write such legal documents.

So who can write it?Didn't it say in the official document: Zhangchao General Military Mansion.

The big black hand behind the scenes.

In fact, many Portuguese present, after hearing the shocking news announced by the speaker, had a feeling that the second boot had finally fallen.

In recent years, the Cao's Pirate Group, a force emerging from Yizhou, has already become the enemy of the Portuguese.

From cutting off Japanese trade at the beginning, to monopolizing cross-strait trade, to suppressing the Portuguese forces in Macau, and finally showing their fangs publicly, they made it clear that they asked the Portuguese to leave Macau. This series of changes happened before the eyes of the Portuguese. .

However, the development of the other party is too fast. Whether it is hard power or soft power, whether it is a large gunboat or the position of deputy commander of the Ming Dynasty Navy, all these make the Portuguese have nowhere to say.

By today, the boots had finally dropped.In this official document, the Portuguese can analyze who is behind the scenes from the so-called green card and visa. After all, this is a strange word that appeared in the previous negotiations with the cross-travelers.Not to mention that the name Zhangchao General Soldier has already appeared on the official document.

"So, gentlemen, this is the official announcement of Cao and his independent pirate group declaring war on us, and it has been endorsed by the Ming Kingdom's Guangdong administrative agency!"

Speaker Laro concluded: "We have 7 days to decide whether to surrender and apply for the damn green card, according to the requirements of this official document. Of course, we can also go to Manila, or... the speaker paused and said: protest .”

After a short period of silence, a loud voice came from the back row of the parliament: "Aren't only drunks and dirty debtors driven to Manila? Why do you want to leave Macau? I'm not going anywhere. This is my hometown! With everything I hold dear and I will never leave!"

With the sound of this oath, the hall of the parliament boiled, and the shouts of defending the homeland resounded through the hall and went straight to the sky.

(End of this chapter)