Roy Eric Xavier, Ph.D
U.C. Berkeley
Director, The Portuguese and Macanese Studies Project
Visiting Research Scholar, Asian American Research Center
Focus: The Portuguese in Asia and Macanese Immigration (Diaspora)
Research Areas: Cultural history, Ethnic Studies, International relations, Media
The following are short essays, working papers, published reports, news articles, and summaries of on-going research on Luso-Asians and the Macanese. Some (or sections) of these writings have appeared in academic and general reader publications.
Many Articles are included in a new Book: The Macanese Chronicles: A History of Luso-Asians in a Global Economy
Bibliography of Key Sources for the Research
Essays and Research Articles
The Social and Cultural Influences of Printing in Colonial Asia
The introduction of printing in the late 15th century, an early form of information technology, had far reaching consequences in Europe since the Renaissance, and increasingly around the world. By the early 19th century, printing presses operated across Asia, and were a major employer of ethnic workers in colonial territories. But the influence of printing in these regions has only recently been explored. This is especially true in the Pearl River region of southern China, where many printing plants owned by Portuguese descendants from Macau, who are known locally as Macaense (Macanese), became a pillar of local cultures and the economies of numerous “Treaty Ports” following the end of the Opium Wars (1839 – 1860).
Navigating Ideologies: Colonial Journalism in 19th Century Macau and Hong Kong
Review of Culture, 70, the Instituto Cultural de Macau, Centre for Macau Studies, University of Macau, December 2022 / January 2023
This article discusses print journalism in Macau and Hong Kong, moving from religious origins through the advocacy of new social ideas and commercial interests that marked these early years. The blending of personal stories of Macanese publishers and journalists, many from humble origins, provide examples of how they navigated spaces between prevailing ideologies.
The analysis suggests that these racially-mixed people played significant roles in the region’s development, affecting both the formation of communities and cultural identity, and had a greater influence in the early years of the global economy than has been previously acknowledged.
Women and Men in Early Macanese Society
Colonial Life in 17th Century Macau
Turmoil and Instability in Early Hong Kong
Portuguese Community Life in Hong Kong: 1841 – 1941
Through the Eyes of J.P. Braga: Early Macanese Settlers in Hong Kong
Over the Bamboo Ceiling: Early Macanese Enterprise in Hong Kong
Jose’ Pedro Braga and the Portuguese in Hong Kong
The Macanese Community of Shanghai
Family Case Studies
Beyond Cultural Boundaries in 19th Century Macau:
The Saga of Matilde Rosalia Barretto and her sons Luiz and Henrique Lubeck
The Castro – Lopes Family Connection
The Favacho – D‘Aquino Family Connection
Alvares and Barretto: A Tale of Two Families (Part I)
The Alvares Family of Goa and Macau (Part 2)
A Study of the Hongkong Printing Press, Part 1
(Both Parts 1 and 2 are preliminary studies that later were expanded)
The Hong Kong Printing Press, Part 2
Luso-Asian and Macanese Research Articles (1500 – 2000)
Before Macau: Portuguese Colonization and Transnationalism in Asia
(Working Paper – July 2015 – Incorporated into Ch. 1-3 of The Macanese Chronicles)
Family Networks, Diasporas, and the Origins of the Macanese in Asia
(Review of Culture, No. 48, 2015, Instituto Cultural, Macau, China.)
Luso-Asians and the Origins of Macau’s Cultural Development
(Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society-Hong Kong, Vol. 57, July 2017, HK University)
A Luso-Asian Migration: The Settlement of Macau
(An early essay incorporated into the Introduction and Chapter 3 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
Peter Mundy’s Descriptions of Macau – June-December 1637
(forthcoming in an anthology to be published by CEPCEP, Universidad Católica Portuguesa, Prof. Silva Simões (ed.), Universidade S. José (Macau), 2021.)
Hong Kong and the Introduction of “Social Distance”
(Incorporated into Chapter 4 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
The Macanese Community in Colonial Hong Kong (1842 – 1945)
(Incorporated into Chapter 5 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
A Study of Macanese Business in Hong Kong: (1860s)
(An early article on business and the origins of the Hong Kong Printing Press)
J.P. Braga and “The Rights of Aliens in Colonial Hong Kong (1895)
(Incorporated into Chapter 7 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
Death at the Races: The Happy Valley Racecourse Fire of 1918
(Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society – HK, Vol. 53, March 2014:89-107.
Included in Chapter 8 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
The Trial of Jesunia Xavier: Marginalization in 1930’s Hong Kong
(Incorporated into Chapter 10 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
The Sum of All Fears: The Evacuation of Hong Kong (1940)
(Incorporated into Chapter 11 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
The Macanese at War: Survival and Identity during World War II (1941-1945)
(In Wartime Macau, Geoffrey C. Gunn, (ed.), Hong Kong University Press, 2016)
(Incorporated into Chapter 12 of The Macanese Chronicles, 2020)
Young Refugees in Macau – An Account of a World War II Bombing
(Based on eyewitness interviews of an attack on Macau’s Aerodrome by Allied planes)
Panic on Whitfield Road: Post – War Hong Kong (1954)
(An account of a social protest leading to Macanese migrations from Hong Kong)
Articles on Present Day Macau
Jornal Tribuna de Macau: Generational Rupture among Macanese
Ponto Final Newspaper: Deteriorating Identity: Reading The Macanese Chronicles
Hoje Macau News: Reactions of Associations to The Macanese Chronicles
Jornal Tribuna de Macau: Reflections and Hopes for 2017 (survey of the Diaspora)
Jornal Tribuna de Macau: Information, Business, and Culture in China
The Politics of Racial Identity in a Diaspora: Those “Who Don’t Belong”
The Politics of Cultural Identity in Macau (Part 1)
Issues of Identity and Cultural Isolation in Macau (Part 2)
Cultural Identity, History, and Macau’s Future (Part 3)
The Legacy: Cultural Development in Macau (Part 4)
Culture and Identity in the Diaspora: Accessing the Macanese Diaspora
Engaging the Macanese Diaspora: A Case Study
Macau Daily Times: The Macanese Diaspora Network – Largely Unused
Macau Daily Times: Diaspora Scholar Calls for More Collaboration
Macau Daily Times: Diaspora Associations Form (AIM) International Alliance
Profiles of the Macanese Network: The Next Generation
“The inclusion of these short profiles, and the statistical results of recent surveys, … indicate that … the size of many Macanese families is still large, and members remain connected in spite of generational divisions. We also have indications that younger Macanese are well positioned in professional fields, with a multitude of experience and expertise, and remain interested in Macau’s future.”
Questions and Answers about the “Encontro” Meetings in Macau
Jornal Tribuna de Macau: Q&A about the Encontro: the Triennial Meetings in Macau
The Paradoxes of Cultural Tourism in Macau
(Presented at “Living with Tourism: Paradoxes, Empowerment and Future Directions” seminar, Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa)
Macau’s Culture as an Economic Asset
Essays on United States Media History: 1894 to 2014
(To be Uploaded soon: Telegraph, Radio, TV, Cable, and the Internet)
