Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
XIXP SETTİ.
XS.C.ex.
Confidential.
YBEDEX
Xherrineck
PRIVACY MARKING
G
DRAFT
NOTE
To: -
In Confidence
MACAU
CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11
Type 1 +
From
LA Dean (Mrs)
Telephone No. Ext.
3088
Department Research
Status of Macau
1. The Portuguese received the permission of the Chinese
authorities in Canton to establish a settlement in Macau in
1557. For many years they paid a form of rent to local
Chinese authorities, and a Chinese mandarin was stationed
in the territory with varying degrees of actual and
claimed control over the local inhabitants.
Governor refused to continue paying the rent and turned out
the Chinese customs.
In 1849 the
2. The status of Macau was not clarified legally until
December 1887 when, by treaty, the Chinese confirmed the "perpetual occupation and government of Macau and its
dependencies by Portugal as any other Portuguese possession".
Portuguese sovereignty was to some extent limited by another
clause which stipulated that the territory of Macau should
not be alienated by Portugal without the agreement of China.
This clause was included to meet British fears about the
possibility that Portugal might face pressure to cede Macau
to a stronger power, which would present a challenge to
Britain's interests in Hong Kong. A preliminary protocol
was signed in Lisbon in March 1887, with Mr James Duncan /Campbell
CONFIDENTIAL