Places
The City at the Edge of Empire: A History of Portuguese Macau
How a strip of sand at the mouth of the Pearl River became the richest European settlement in Asia, the improbable story of Macau, from smuggling outpost to mercantile republic to the longest-surviving European colony in China.
Places · 22 min read
Places
Nagasaki: How a Handful of Fishermen’s Huts Became the Trade Capital of the World
From a small fishing village to the nexus of global trade, Nagasaki's transformation under Portuguese influence was dramatic. Ceded to the Jesuits, rebuilt by the Tokugawa, its story encapsulates the entire arc of the Nanban encounter.
Places · 13 min read