[ { "id": 206097, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1970", "page_number": 177, "title": "RAS-1970", "content_text": "172 \n\nS. F. BALFOUR \n\nDuarte Coelho, a captain who arrived at T'un Mun a little before Fernando d'Andrade, had had to fight no less than 35 engagements with local pirates, and his fleet was almost decimated by pirates while he was away in Canton. Besides pirates, they had to put up with a local boycott. The inhabitants had refused to help when their ships had been wrecked in a typhoon and gave them no provisions. It was natural that Simon Andrade decided to solve these problems by building a fort with forced labour and by making raids on the pirates' bases. The Chinese themselves recognised this, for one of the arguments that was put before the government for continuing trade negotiations was that the Portuguese were suppressing piracy at Lo Man Shan and other places. \n\nThe Chinese officials might in fact have tolerated the outrages committed by Simon Andrade if he and his companions had not designed to annex territory at T'un Mun and organise a trading colony under the Portuguese flag. The inscription with the arms of Portugal had been one of the signs of this intention; the fort Andrade built was another. The Chinese government, which had heretofore encouraged colonies of foreign traders, now felt that their liberality was being exploited. A Chinese text explains the situation as follows: \"Some time near the end of Ching Tê's reign (1506 to 1522) a people not recognised as tributary to China known as the Feringhis (1) together with a crowd of riff-raff filtered into the harbours between T'un Mun and Kwai Ch'ung and set up barracks and a fort, mounted many cannon to make war, captured islands, killed people, robbed ships and terrorised the population by their fierce dominion over the coast. Their ambition being to annex territory they made a survey and set up boundary stones and tried to administer the various other foreign traders within this area.\"28 \n\nIn this text Kwai Ch'ung must refer to a village of that name south-east of Tsün Wan and opposite Tsing I Island. The harbour between the mainland and Tsing I Island is one of the most sheltered in the whole region and must, I think, have been one of the main anchorages of the foreign ships. The place referred to as T'un Mun O is Castle Peak Bay itself and this was undoubtedly the place where the subsequent battle between the Portuguese and \n\n28 Chang T'ien-tse connects these boundary stones with the tablet bearing the Portuguese arms mentioned by Barros.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1970.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207015, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1974", "page_number": 86, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "80 \n\nROBIN MCLACHLAN \n\nin this horrid place. I am therefore leading a most regular life. I get up at 6 a.m. and walk for two hours before breakfast. I remain in my room all day during the heat of the sun and walk again in the evening, and go to bed early. I live on fish, fruit and curry and drink but little wine. But I smoke a great deal; in fact it is necessary in India. I cannot get on without it. The whole fleet expect to sail in a few days. They go back to India. This place, which is now a perfect bear garden, will once more be quiet. There is only one spot on the whole island that has a tree on it. It is called Happy Valley, and is certainly a pretty spot. The rest of the island is one barren rock and perfectly devoid of all vegetation, although there are springs innumerable. ... Now I have told you everything about this delightful spot. It is inferior to Sierra Leone from the fact of its being less healthy, less amusing and less near England.\n\n10 \n\nAn important social activity for the infant colony was the rounds of dinner parties held by the senior military and colonial officers. Bridgeman seems to have regarded these events as at least tolerable social functions, but was very critical of the more rowdy partying that went on in the officers' barracks. While writing to his sister, he commented on one such party going on in the next room. This was a farewell party by the Madras Artillery for one of their officers, Captain Balfour. Bridgeman considered it a very noisy party with far too much drinking and feared that it would go on far into the night. \n\nMen of this sort never sit down to a large party without drinking to such an excess that they lose their senses and are put to bed more like beasts than Christians. God forgive me, but I hate them all. Give me women's society! Without it we are beasts.\n\n11 \n\nAnother form of entertainment that attracted Bridgeman's critical comment was the amateur theatre established in Hong Kong in late 1842. The actors were largely drawn from among the soldiers and sailors stationed at Hong Kong. \n\nI regret to say it was a complete failure. The first and only performance was about a week ago. The pieces they chose were stupid and not one of them knew their parts. However, the house was filled; for in a stupid place like this everybody caught willingly at anything in the way of amusement. The house is now being...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207018, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1974", "page_number": 89, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "BRIDGEMAN'S LETTERS FROM CHINA AND HONG KONG\n\n83\n\nThere is a gap of several months between the second-last and last of Bridgeman's letters. The last letter was written on October 29, 1843 following his release from hospital where he had been ill with dysentry.23 He told his sister that he was still ill and very weak, but (perhaps on account of illness) he was coming home—at last.\n\nLittle information can be found on Orlando's subsequent life and career. We know that he continued with the 98th Regiment as a lieutenant until sometime in 1845, when he was transferred to the 11th Regiment of Hussars (Prince Albert's Own).24 Undoubtedly to Orlando's delight, this regiment was stationed in England, first at Newbridge and then at Coventry. Bridgeman served as a lieutenant with the 11th Hussars until sometime in 1847 when he appears to have quit the army.25 From 1847 until his death on October 4, 1913 at the age of ninety, he seems to have led a completely obscure life.26 The 1914 edition of Burke's Peerage described him as a “late” lieutenant in the 11th Hussars, a post he had held almost seventy years before. He died unmarried,\n\nReading Orlando's letters today one is inclined to picture him as something of a whining prig who found cause for complaint with everyone and everything. At his best, one might be charitable and describe him as retiring and sensitive. With his concern for the effects of the noon day sun and his distaste for unnecessary perspiration, he certainly was not suited to the rigorous and hard life of punitive expeditions in an expanding empire. Neither did he desire to join the rowdy drinking of his fellow officers, but preferred the company of his singing canaries. A Flashman he was not. Or was he? As with any historical document, one must keep in mind for whom the documents were written, in this case a sister. What sort of letter did he send his brother Francis, a captain in the 45th Regiment? We will probably never know, but one hopes that he told his brother that he joined Captain Balfour's farewell party, for a cup of tea at least.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 } ]