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How did Macao’s shipping status change after the Opium War? |
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See answer below. |
The deficiency of water depth and chronic siltation in the port of Macao hindered shipping. The Portuguese government sent an engineer, Adolfo Loureiro, to Macao to survey and propose a plan to improve the port in 1883. Loureiro proposed an renovation plan to improve the Inner Harbour after a survey in the following year. The plan suggested to straighten the curved harbours, and to build a breakwater between Macao and Taipa to relieve siltation.
Adolfo Loureiro’s proposal could only maintain the waterway of the port of Macao but could not improve the berthing condition. In his frank admission he dared not to propose a reconstruction plan for fear of angering the British. He was also worried that the plan would put Macao under a heavy financial burden.
Almirante Hugo de Lacerda became the Director of Macao Maritime Administration in 1911 and began to study the plan for constructing an outer harbour in Macao in 1914. The Portuguese Macao government set up the Macao Harbour Improvement Commission to plan and build harbours on the Macao Peninsula in 1918. Lacerda was appointed as the Director of the Port Engineering Department to be responsible for land reclamation and new harbour construction projects in the same year. He once served as the Acting Governor of Macao in 1926. The main road Avenida do Almirante Lacerda in northwest Macao was named after him.
The Portuguese Macao government commenced the planning of a large port reconstruction and land reclamation project led by Almirante Hugo de Lacerda, the Director of the Port Engineering Department, in 1919. The costly project (MOP 12 million) that changed the landscape of the Macao Peninsula radically lasted for almost 20 years from 1919 to 1938. The first part was carried out between 1919 and 1924, during which the northwestern part of the Macao Peninsula was reclaimed. Fai Chi Kei was created as a dock and typhoon shelter. The second part was carried out between 1923 and 1938, when the northeast and southeast of the Macao Peninsula were reclaimed to create new land including Areia Preta, Hipódromo, and the Zona de Aterros do Porto Exterior as new harbours.
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How did Macao’s shipping status change after the Opium War? |
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The opening-up of Hong Kong and several ports in mainland China dealt a heavy blow on Macao’s international trade. However, the opening-up of mainland ports also encouraged shipping development, which created a new shipping market for Macao. Ships from the mainland increased rather than decreased, transforming Macao from an international trading port to an entrepôt for regional shipping in the late 19th century. |
