ith which the Chinese treated them. The senate of Macao complained to the viceroy of Goa, of the contempt with which the Chinese authorities treated them, confessing however that “it was owing more to the Portuguese themselves than to the Chinese”. The Chinese were obliged to restrict the commerce of Portugal to the port of Macao, in 1631.[19] During the 17th century some 5,000 slaves lived in Macao, in addition to 2,000 Portuguese and 20,000 Chinese.[20][21][22] The cost of one Mozambique slave was 25 patacas.[23] As more Portuguese settled in Macau to engage in trading, they made demands for self-administration; but this was not achieved until the 1840s.[24] In 1576, Pope Gregory XIII established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau.[25] In 1583, the Portuguese in Macau were permitted to form a Senate to handle various issues concerning their social and economic affairs under strict supervision of the Chinese authority,[26] but there was no transfer of sovereignty.[14] Macau prospered as a port but was the target of repeated failed attempts[27] by the Dutch to conquer it in the 17th century. On June 24, 1622, the Dutch attacked Macau in the Battle of Macau, expecting to turn it into a Dutch possession after its conquest. African slaves who fought for the Portuguese repulsed the Dutch attack, and the Dutch never tried to conquer Macau again. The majority of the defenders were Africans slaves, with only a few Portuguese soldiers and priests. Captain Kornelis Reyerszoon was commander of the 800 Dutch strong invasion force.[28][29][30][31] The Dutch Governor Jan Coen said after the defeat that "The slaves of the Portuguese at Macao served them so well and faithfully, that it was they who defeated and drove away our people there last year", and "Our people saw very few Portuguese" during the battle.[32][33][34][35] Following the Opium War (1839–42), Portugal occupied Taipa and Coloane in 1851 and 1864 respectively. On 1 December 1887, the Qing and Portuguese governments signed the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce, under which China ceded the right of "perpetual occupation and government of Macau by Portugal" in compliance with the statements of the Protocol of Lisbon. In return, Macau Government would cooperate with Hong Kong's smuggle of Indian opium and China would be able to increase profits through customs taxes. Portugal was also obliged "never to alienate Macau without previous agreement with China", therefore ensuring that negotiation between Portugal and France (regarding a possible exchange of Macau and Portuguese Guinea with the French Congo) or with other countries would not go forward – so that the British commercial interests would be secured; Macau officially became a territory under Portuguese administration.[14] In 1928, after the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, the Kuomintang (KMT) government officially notified Portugal that it was abrogating the Treaty of Amity and Commerce;[36] the two powers signed a new Sino-Portuguese Friendship and Trade Treaty in place of the abrogated treaty. Making only a few provisions concerning tariff principles and matters relating to business affairs, the new treaty did not alter the sovereignty of Macau and Portuguese government of Macau remained unchanged.[37] In the Second World War, unlike in the case of Portuguese Timor which was occupied by the Japanese in 1942 along with Dutch Timor, the Japanese respected Portuguese neutrality in Macau, but only up to a point. As such, Macau enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity as the only neutral port in South China, after the Japanese had occupied Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong. In August 1943, Japanese troops seized the British steamer Sian in Macao and killed about 20 guards. The next month they demanded the installation of Japanese "advisors" under the alternative of military occupation. The result was that a virtual Japanese protectorate was created over Macau. Japanese domination ended in August 1945. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Beijing government declared the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce invalid as an “unequal treaty” imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, leaving the maintenance of “the status quo” until a more appropriate time.[38] Influenced by the Cultural Revolution in mainland China and by general dissatisfaction with Portuguese government, riots broke out in Macau in 1966. In the most serious, the so-called 12-3 incident, 6 people were killed and more than 200 people were injured.[39][40] On 28 January 1967, the Portuguese government issued a formal apology. Shortly after the overthrow of the Portuguese dictatorship in 1974 in Lisbon, the new Portuguese government determined it would relinquish all its overseas possessions. In 1976, Lisbon redefined Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration" and granted it a large measure of administrative, financial, and economic autonomy. Three years later, Portugal and China agreed to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration".[14][41] The Chinese and Portuguese governments commenced negotiations on the question of Macau in June 1986. The two signed a Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration the next year, making Macau a special administrative region (SAR) of China.[42] The Chinese government assumed formal sovereignty over Macau on 20 December 1999.[43] The economy since then has continued to prosper with the sustained growth of tourism from mainland China and the construction of new casinos. Government and politics Main articles: Politics of Macau, Legislative Assembly of Macau, Legal system of Macau, and Municipalities of Macau Headquarters of the Government of Macau, previously the Governor's House until 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, Macau's constitution promulgated by China's National People's Congress in 1993, specify that Macau's social and economic system, lifestyle, rights, and freedoms are to remain unchanged for at least 50 years after the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1999.[9] Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Macau enjoys a high degree of autonomy in all areas except in defence and foreign affairs.[9] Macau officials, rather than PRC officials, run Macau through the exercise of separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers, as well as the right to final adjudication.[44] Macau maintains its own separate currency, customs territory, immigration and border controls, and police force.[45][46] Executive The government in Macau is headed by the chief executive, who is appointed by the central government upon the recommendation of an election committee, whose three hundred members are nominated by corporate and community bodies. The recommendation is made by an election within the committee.[47] The chief executive's cabinet is made up of five policy secretaries and is advised by the Executive Council that has between seven and eleven members.[48] Edmund Ho Hau Wah, a community leader and former banker, was the first chief executive of the Macau SAR, replacing General Vasco Rocha Vieira at midnight on 20 December 1999. Fernando Chui Sai On is the current Chief Executive.[49] The chief executive and the cabinet have their offices in the Macau Government Headquarters, located in the former area of the St. Lawrence Parish. Legislature Office building of the Legislative Assembly of Macau. The legislative organ of the territory is the Legislative Assembly, a 29-member body comprising 12 directly elected members, ten indirectly elected members representing functional constituencies and seven members appointed by the chief executive.[50] Any permanent residents at or over 18 years of age are eligible to vote in direct elections.[51] Indirect election is limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and a 300-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies.[52] Judiciary The original framework of the legal system, based largely on Portuguese law or Portuguese civil law system, was preserved after 1999. The territory has its own independent judicial system with a high court. Judges are selected by a committee and appointed by the chief executive. Foreign judges may serve on the courts.[53] Macau has a three-tier court system: the Court of the First Instance, the Court of the Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal.[54] In February 2009, the Legislative Assembly passed a security bill based on the withdrawn security legislation previously introduced in Hong Kong.[55] Democracy advocates feared that the bill's excessively broad scope could lead to abuses, a concern which has been heightened after a number of prominent supporters of democracy in Hong Kong were denied entry into Macau in the run-up to the bill's passage.[56] Military Main article: People's Liberation Army Macau Garrison Under Portuguese rule, the military presence in Macau was very limited and ceased in 1974. In 1999, upon handover to the PRC, a substantial garrison of the People's Liberation Army was established in the city itself, with a large portion of the forces stationed in neighbouring Zhuhai as well. Geography Main article: Geography of Macau The map of Macau, showing Macau Peninsula, Cotai, Taipa and Coloane. Landscape of Penha Hill in Macau. Macau viewed from Macau Museum. Macau is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres (90 mi) from Guangzhou. It also has 41 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline, yet only 310 metres (1,000 ft) of land border with Guangdong.[6][57] It consists of the Macau Peninsula itself and the islands of Taipa and Coloane, which are now connected by landfill forming the Cotai Strip. The peninsula is formed by the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xi Jiang (West River) on the west.[57] It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China. The main border crossing between Macau and China is known as the Portas do Cerco (Barrier Gate) on the Macau side, and the Gongbei Port of Entry on the Zhuhai side.[58] Macau Peninsula was originally an island, but a connecting sandbar gradually turned into a narrow isthmus, thus changing Macau into a peninsula. Land reclamation in the 17th century transformed Macau into a peninsula with generally flat terrain, though numerous steep hills still mark the original land mass.[57] Alto de Coloane is the highest point in Macau, with an altitude of 170.6 metres (559.7 ft).[6] With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland. Climate Macau has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with average relative humidity between 75% and 90%.[59] Similar to much of South China, seasonal climate is greatly influenced by the monsoons, and differences in temperature and humidity between summer and winter are noticeable, though not as great as inland China. The average annual temperature of Macau is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F).[60] July is the warmest month, with average temperature being 28.9 °C (84.0 °F). The coolest month is January, with a mean temperature of 15.0 °C (59.0 °F).[59] Located on China's southern coast, Macau has ample rainfall, with average annual precipitation being 2,120 millimetres (83 in). However, winter is mostly dry due to the influence of the vast Siberian High affecting much of East Asia. Autumn in Macau, from October to November, is sunny and still pleasantly warm with low humidity. Winter (December to early March) is generally mild with temperature above 10°C most of the time, although it could also drop to below 5°C at times. Humidity starts to increase from late March. Summer is very warm to hot (often rising above 30 °C (86 °F) at daytime). The hot weather is often followed by heavy rain, thunderstorms and occasional typhoons.[59] Climate data for Macau Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 17.7 (63.9) 17.7 (63.9) 20.7 (69.3) 24.5 (76.1) 28.1 (82.6) 30.3 (86.5) 31.5 (88.7) 31.2 (88.2) 30.0 (86.0) 27.4 (81.3) 23.4 (74.1) 19.6 (67.3) 25.2 (77.4) Average low °C (°F) 12.2 (54.0) 13.1 (55.6) 16.2 (61.2) 20.2 (68.4) 23.6 (74.5) 25.7 (78.3) 26.3 (79.3) 26.0 (78.8) 24.9 (76.8) 22.3 (72.1) 17.8 (64.0) 13.8 (56.8) 20.2 (68.4) Rainfall mm (inches) 32.4 (1.276) 58.8 (2.315) 82.5 (3.248) 217.4 (8.559) 361.9 (14.248) 339.7 (13.374) 289.8 (11.409) 351.6 (13.843) 194.1 (7.642) 116.9 (4.602) 42.6 (1.677) 35.2 (1.386) 2,122.9 (83.579) % humidity 74.3 80.6 84.9 86.2 85.6 84.4 82.2 82.5 79.0 73.4 69.3 68.8 79.3 Avg. rainy days (= 0.1 mm) 6 10 12 12 15 17 16 16 13 7 5 4 133 Sunshine hours 132.4 81.8 75.9 87.8 138.4 168.2 226.2 194.7 182.2 195.0 177.6 167.6 1,827.8 Source: SMG [61] Economy Main articles: Economy of Macau and Gambling in Macau Employed population by occupation 2007[62] Occupation no. ('000) Senior officials/managers 14.6 Professionals 9.9 Technicians 28.1 Clerks 83.7 Service & sale workers 63.2 Workers in agriculture/fishery 0.8 Craft & similar workers 33.7 Tourism and gambling have been the primary drivers of Macau's economy. Nightview of Macau Tower, a communication tower. The central business district of Macau. The building shown is the BNU tower. Ruins of St. Paul's, façade of originally The Cathedral of St. Paul built in 1602. Macau's economy is based largely on tourism. Other chief economic activities in Macau are export-geared textile and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services.[63] The clothing industry has provided about three quarters of export earnings, and the gaming, tourism and hospitality industry is estimated to contribute more than 50% of Macau's GDP, and 70% of Macau government revenue.[48] Macau is a founding member of the WTO and has maintained sound economic and trade relations with more than 120 countries and regions, with European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries in particular; Macau is also a member of the IMF.[64] The World Bank classifies Macau as a high income economy[65] and the GDP per capita of the region in 2006 was US$28,436. After the Handover in 1999, there has been a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors due to China's easing of travel restrictions. Together with the liberalization of Macau's gaming industry in 2001 that induces significant investment inflows, the average growth rate of the economy between 2001 and 2006 was approximately 13.1% annually.[66] In a World Tourism Organization report of international tourism for 2006, Macau ranked 21st in the number of tourists and 24th in terms of tourism receipts.[67] From 9.1 million visitors in 2000, arrivals to Macau has grown to 18.7 million visitors in 2005 and 22 million visitors in 2006,[68] with over 50% of the arrivals coming from mainland China and another 30% from Hong Kong. Macau is expected to receive between 24 and 25 million visitors in 2007.[69] Starting in 1962, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly ended in 2002 and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. With the opening of the Sands Macao,[70] in 2004 and Wynn Macau in 2006,[71] gambling revenues from Macau's casinos were greatly prosperous.[72][73][74] In 2007, Venetian Macau, at the time the second (now sixth) largest building in the world by floor space, opened its doors to the public, followed by MGM Grand Macau. Numerous other hotel casinos, including Galaxy Cotai Megaresort, are also to be opened in the near future. In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and six casino operating concessions and subconcessions are granted to Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho (daughter of Stanley Ho), and the partnership of Melco and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau, but in 2004, the opening of the Sands Macau ushered in the new era.[70][75][76] Gambling revenue has made Macau the world's top casino market, surpassing Las Vegas.[77] In the early 2010s, Macau also ramped up show and entertainments in additional to gambling business, including the famous show House of Dancing Water[78], concerts, industry trade shows and international art crossovers[79]. Macau is an offshore financial centre, a tax haven, and a free port with no foreign exchange control regimes.[80][81][82] The Monetary Authority of Macau regulates offshore finance,[83] while the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute provides services for investment in Macau.[84] In 2007, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Macau's foreign and local currency government issuer ratings to 'Aa3' from 'A1', citing its government's solid finances as a large net creditor. The rating agency also upgraded Macau's foreign currency bank deposit ceiling to 'Aa3' from 'A1'.[85] As prescribed by the Macau Basic Law, the government follows the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strives to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product. All the financial revenues of the Macau Special Administrative Region shall be managed and controlled by the Region itself and shall not be handed over to the Central People's Government. The Central People's Government shall not levy any taxes in the Macau Special Administrative Region.[86] Monetary system In Macau, the unit of currency is the pataca which is currently pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at a rate of HK$1 = MOP1.03. The name pataca is a Portuguese word which was applied to the Mexican dollars that were the main circulating coin in the wider region in the second half of the 19th century. In the year 1894, the pataca was introduced in both Macau and Portuguese Timor as a unit of account for the Mexican dollar and the other silver dollar coins in circulation. In 1901 it was decided to grant the Banco Nacional Ultramarino the exclusive rights to issue banknotes denominated in patacas, and in the year 1906, these notes went into circulation at an official equivalent rate of 2 shillings and 4 pence sterling, and all foreign coins were outlawed. However, the Chinese were suspicious of these paper patacas, being so accustomed to using silver for barter, and as such, the paper patacas circulated at a discount in relation to the silver dollar coins. In the year 1935, when China and Hong Kong abandoned the silver standard, the Hong Kong dollar was pegged to sterling at the fixed rate of 1 shilling and 3 pence, whereas the pataca was pegged to the Portuguese escudo at a sterling equivalent rate of only 1 shilling. From 1945 to 1951 fractional coins of the pataca were minted for issue in Portuguese Timor, and in 1952 similar issues were minted for Macau including an actual pataca coin for the first time. Demographics Main articles: Demographics of Macau and Religion in Macau Residents' usual language spoken at home[87] Language Percentage of population Cantonese 85.7% Other forms of Chinese 6.7% Portuguese 0.6% Mandarin 3.2% English 1.5% Others 2.3% A-Ma Temple, a temple built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu. Many signs and establishments make use of Chinese and Portuguese names with English becoming commonplace as well. Macau is the most densely populated region in the world, with a population density of 18,428 persons per square kilometre (47,728/sq mi).[88] 95% of Maca