The Defences of Macau

by Garrett, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9789622099937
• ISBN10: 9622099939
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-15
• Publisher: Hong Kong Univ Pr

Summary

The forts built from the early seventeenth century onwards, the ships that defended Macau's waters, the weapons that armed the facilities and the soldiers and sailors who manned them all are carefully detailed in The Defences of Macau. These forts, cannon and small arms were a familiar part of society for hundreds of years, and a significant part of Macau's heritage. Macau is fortunate in having so many artifacts remaining, but very little research has been done on them.--Richard Garrett, a retired civil engineer and an expert in antique weapons, addresses this gap by identifying many rare and unique weapons. More than 200 illustrations, many in colour, serve as a visual record of what has survived. --Some of the forts are included among Macau's World Heritage sites. Many visitors and those interested in the history of the region will be interested in these forts and arms that remain in relative abundance in Macau. The book will also appeal to those scholars specialising in military and arms history.--Richard Garrett was educated at Dulwich College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Hong Kong's Centre of Asian Studies, and a member of the Arms and Armour Society, the Society for Army Historical Research and the Ordnance Society. He started collecting antique firearms in 1965 and has written many articles on antique weapons.--

Author Biography

Richard Garrett was educated at Dulwich College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Hong Kong's Centre of Asian Studies, and a member of the Arms and Armour Society, the Society for Army Historical Research and the Ordnance Society. He started collecting antique firearms in 1965 and has written many articles on antique weapons.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The Arrival of the Portuguese in Asia	p. 1
Firearms	p. 3
Settlement at Macau	p. 4
A Description of Macau	p. 5
Seventeenth-Century Defences	p. 9
The First Fortifications	p. 9
The 1622 Attack by the Dutch	p. 11
The Construction of a Walled City	p. 14
Other Defensive Works	p. 18
Arms Manufacture	p. 20
Conclusion	p. 22
The First Phase of Fort Building	p. 23
Construction Methods	p. 23
Layout Design	p. 24
Plans of the Forts	p. 24
Monte Fort	p. 25
Fort of São Francisco	p. 32
Penha Fort	p. 36
Fort of Bom Parto 37
The Battery of São Pedro	p. 40
Barra Fort	p. 42
Guia Fort	p. 48
The Northern Wall	p. 54
The Southern Wall	p. 58
Conclusions	p. 58
The Years of Peace	p. 61
Historical Development	p. 61
The Battle against Kam-Pau-Sai	p. 64
Revolutionary Effects in Macau	p. 66
Conclusions	p. 67
Nineteenth-Century Defences	p. 69
The First Opium War	p. 69
Amaral's Adventures in Macau	p. 70
The New Forts	p. 74
Summary	p. 80
The Second Phase of Fort Building	p. 83
Construction and Layout	p. 83
Taipa Fort and Barracks	p. 83
Fort of Mong Ha	p. 89
Fort of Dona Maria II	p. 93
Fortim da Ilha Verde	p. 96
São Francisco Fort and Barracks	p. 96
Battery 1st of December	p. 98
The Border Barrier	p. 100
The Coloane Battery	p. 101
Twentieth-Century Defences	p. 103
Historical Development	p. 103
New Fortifications	p. 105
Pirates and the Garrisoning of Taipa and Coloane	p. 110
The Japanese Wars	p. 115
Post-War Defence	p. 116
The 1 2 3 Incident	p. 118
Changing Times	p. 119
The Handover	p. 120
The Defensive Role of the Navy	p. 123
Early History	p. 123
The Lorcha	p. 125
The Weapons of the Navy	p. 126
The Macau Naval Station	p. 128
The Start of the Twentieth Century	p. 130
Pirates	p. 133
Modernisation in the 1930s	p. 134
Naval Aviation in Macau	p. 135
The Post-War Era	p. 138
Artillery in Macau	p. 141
The First Guns	p. 141
Smooth Bore Cannon	p. 144
Macau's Cannon Foundry	p. 146
Cast Iron Guns	p. 148
Swivel Guns	p. 156
Mortars and Howitzers	p. 157
The Nineteenth-Century Revolution in Design	p. 159
Rifling	p. 161
Breech Loading and Quick Firing	p. 165
Machine Guns	p. 170
Conclusions	p. 173
Portuguese Small Arms	p. 175
Earliest Arms	p. 175
Early Portuguese Firearms	p. 176
Wheellocks and Flintlocks	p. 178
The Percussion System	p. 180
Rifling	p. 181
The Modern Development of Small Arms	p. 182
Cartridges and Breech Loading	p. 182
Magazine Rifles	p. 186
Sub-Machine Guns	p. 188
Revolvers	p. 189
Automatic Pistols	p. 193
A Secret Weapon	p. 196
Conclusions	p. 197
Account of the Circumstances of the Campaign against Pirates in 1810	p. 199
Gunpowder Production	p. 203
Lists of Cannon Existing in Macau at Various Times	p. 207
Small Arms at the Security Forces' Museum	p. 215
Notes	p. 257
Index	p. 269
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