During the
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), the region was under the jurisdiction of
Panyu County,
Nanhai Prefecture of the province of
Guangdong. The region is first known to have been settled during the
Han dynasty. It was administratively part of
Dongguan Prefecture in the
Jin dynasty (266–420 AD), and alternated under the control of Nanhai and Dongguan in later dynasties. In 1152, during the
Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), it was under the jurisdiction of the new
Xiangshan County. The first European visitor to reach China by sea was the explorer
Jorge Álvares, who arrived in 1513. Merchants first established a trading post in
Hong Kong waters at
Tamão, present-day
Tuen Mun, beginning regular trade with nearby settlements in southern China. Despite the trade ban, Portuguese merchants continued to attempt to settle on other parts of the Pearl River estuary, finally settling on Macau. Luso-Canton trade relations were formally reestablished in 1554, and Portugal soon after acquired a permanent lease for Macau in 1557, agreeing to pay 500 taels of silver as annual land rent. Macau became a stopover on the
sea lane that connected
Japan with the wider world. The Portuguese could avoid the Pearl River and inched towards
Quanzhou and
Ningbo. But as they failed to establish trading relationships with the Chinese, the Portuguese focused on trade with Japan. The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau was created in 1576, and by 1583 the
Municipal Council of Macau had been established to handle municipal affairs for the growing settlement. Macau was at the peak of its prosperity as a major
warehouse during the late 16th century, providing a crucial connection in exporting Chinese silk to Japan during the
Nanban trade period. Although the Portuguese were initially prohibited from fortifying Macau or stockpiling weapons, the
Fortaleza do Monte was constructed in response to
frequent Dutch naval incursions. The Dutch attempted to take the city in the 1622
Battle of Macau, but were repelled successfully by the Portuguese. Macau entered a period of decline in the 1640s following a series of catastrophic events for the burgeoning colony: Portuguese access to trade routes was irreparably severed when
Japan halted trade in 1639, and after the
Portuguese Restoration War of 1640,
Portuguese Malacca fell to the Dutch in 1641. Maritime trade with China was banned in 1644 following the
Qing conquest under the
Haijin policies. It was limited only to Macau on a lesser scale while the new dynasty focused on eliminating surviving
Ming loyalists. While the
Kangxi Emperor lifted the prohibition in 1684, China again restricted trade decades later under the
Canton System in 1757. Foreign ships were required to stop first at Macau before further proceeding to
Canton. Qing authorities exercised a much greater role in governing the territory during this period; Chinese residents were subject to Qing courts and new construction had to be approved by the resident
mandarin beginning in the 1740s. As the opium trade became more lucrative during the 18th century, Macau again became an important stopping point en route to China. Following the
First Opium War and the establishment of
Hong Kong by the British, Macau lost its role as a major port. Firecracker and incense production, as well as tea and tobacco processing, were vital industries in the colony during this time. Portugal was able to capitalise on China's postwar weakness and assert its sovereignty; the
Governor of Macau began refusing to pay China annual land rent for the colony in the 1840s, and annexed
Taipa and
Coloane, in 1851 and 1864, respectively. Portugal also occupied nearby
Lapa and
Montanha. Despite occasional conflict between Cantonese authorities and the colonial government, Macau's status remained unchanged through the republican revolutions of both
Portugal in 1910 and
China in 1911. The
Kuomintang further affirmed Portuguese jurisdiction in Macau when the Treaty of Peking was renegotiated in 1928. Refugees from mainland China swelled the population as they fled from the
Chinese Civil War. Access to a large workforce enabled Macau's economy to grow as the colony expanded its clothing and textiles manufacturing industry, developed its tourism industry, and legalised casino gaming. However, at the height of the
Cultural Revolution, residents dissatisfied with the colonial administration rioted in the 1966
12-3 incident, in which 8 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. Portugal lost full control over the colony afterwards, and agreed to cooperate with the
Chinese Communist Party in exchange for continued administration of Macau. Following the 1974
Carnation Revolution, Portugal formally relinquished Macau as an overseas province and acknowledged it as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration". After China first concluded
arrangements on Hong Kong's future with the
United Kingdom, it entered negotiations with Portugal over Macau in 1986. These concluded with the signing of the 1987
Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, in which Portugal agreed the handover of the colony in 1999 and China guaranteed Macau's political and economic systems for 50 years after the handover. In the waning years of colonial rule, Macau rapidly urbanised and constructed large-scale infrastructure projects, including the
Macau International Airport and a new
container port. The
handover of Macau was at midnight on 20 December 1999, after 442 years of Portuguese rule. Political debates have centred on the region's jurisdictional independence and the central government's adherence of "
one country, two systems". While issues such as
national security legislation have been controversial, Macanese residents generally have high levels of trust in the government. Kwong and Wong explain this by comparing Macau to Hong Kong: "The case of Macau shows that the very small size of a 'microstate' helps central authorities to exercise political control, stifle political pluralism, and monopolize opinions, all of which strengthen regime persistence." == Government and politics ==