Originally posted on May 9th, 2013
As a child growing up in 1870s Hong Kong, Jose’ Pedro Braga was probably familiar with the personal stories of many early Macanese settlers. Several were guests at one time or another at the home of his grandfather Delfino Noronha, a commercial printer and the publisher of the government’s official record, “The Hong Kong Government Gazette”.
Braga was also familiar with the impression their stories and the conditions in Hong Kong made on Delfino, an early pioneer himself. We might even imagine that young Joao would have been introduced to this history in a traditional Macanese setting, perhaps over a dinner of vaca estofada or arroz gordo.1
The Brothers d’Almada e Castro
Two of Delfino Noronha’s earliest guests could well have been the brothers Leonardo and Joao d’Almada e Castro. Leonardo, the oldest, worked for the British government in Macau in 1836 as a clerk for the Superintendent of Trade, Captain Charles Elliott. Leonardo’s fluency in Portuguese, English, and Cantonese proved so valuable, he also served on a commission to build Macau’s Luso-British Theatre (1839-1843).2
When Elliott was replaced by Sir Henry Pottinger in early 1842, Leonardo and other employees were transferred with Pottinger to Hong Kong. Among those employees was his brother Jose, a junior clerk, who followed his brother’s rise in government.
Leonardo was soon promoted in 1843 to Chief Clerk of the Colonial Secretary and later managed the office’s archives as “Keeper of the Records”.3 In 1846 he became the Chief Clerk of the Executive and Legislative Councils, the principal ruling bodies, serving until his death in 1875. Jose became the private secretary of Hong Kong’s ninth governor Sir John Pope Hennessy in 1877, and at his death in 1881 was serving in the same positions his older brother had held previously.
Carvalho in the Treasury
Another guest at Delfino’s table was Januario A. de Carvalho, an early arrival from Macau and one of Jose’ Braga’s first mentors. Carvalho was trained as a clerk and bookkeeper at St. Joseph’s College before arriving in Hong Kong around 1842. Entering government service that year as an accountant in the Colonial Treasurer’s office, he quickly rose to Chief Cashier and remained in that position until his death in 1900. Carvalho’s expert testimony was often used to settle local issues. These included a dispute in 1858 concerning payments and registration of brothels in Hong Kong by Chinese owners.4
In 1887 liberal Governor Sir John Pope Hennessy nominated Carvalho to be Acting Colonial Treasurer with a seat on Hong Kong’s ruling Executive and Legislative Councils. That appointment was rejected, however, by the Colonial Secretary in London based on Carvalho’s “alien” nationality. But he was appointed “Justice of the Peace” to help settle disputes in the Macanese community. Despite this setback, Carvalho petitioned for and was granted British citizenship in December 1883.5
Carvalho’s senior position at the Treasury allowed him to shepherd other young Macanese, including members of his own family. His oldest son Edmund rose to Chief Cashier after his father’s death. Another son, Carlos, was the Chief Clerk of the “local staff” at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. Geraldo, Carvalho’s third son, married one of Delfino Noronha’s daughters and was employed as a bookkeeper with Jardine and Matheson, the largest trading company in Hong Kong. Joao Braga also credited Carvalho’s influence in guiding his own political awareness. 6
The Sons of a Ship Captain and an Aide-de-Camp
Two other Macanese settlers may have dined with Delfino Noronha. Although friends, each led very different lives in early Hong Kong. One was Joao Jose Hyndman, the son of a Scottish sea captain who worked for the East India Company and a Portuguese mother from Macau. Like the d’Almadas, Hyndman worked for Captain Charles Elliot in Macau before coming to Hong Kong. Due to a reluctance to give up his Portuguese citizenship, Hyndman rose no higher than fourth clerk in the Diplomatic Office, and retired early in Macau. However, his oldest son Henrique helped the Hong Kong government combat fires , a frequent occurrence, earning a commendation in 1887 for heading a demolition squad that prevented the fires from spreading. Joao’s younger brother, also named Henrique, worked in Hong Kong’s trade, sugar refining, and was a printer in Shanghai. Later returning to Macau, he became a prominent educator.7
Joao Hyndman’s wife, Luzia, was the older sister of another interesting figure, Alexandre Grand Pre’. Alexandre was the son of a French Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Macau and a Portuguese mother from Macau. Like Hyndman and the d’Almada brothers, Grand Pre’ worked as a clerk for the British government in Macau. But because of his fluency in Bengali, Malay, Portuguese, and Cantonese, Grand Pre’ was transferred to the new police force. In the 1840s and 50s, Hong Kong was a city open to a variety of attractions, and crimes. As Braga writes later:
“The growing young port of Victoria was a pioneer town in the true “frontier” tradition. … rough men of many nations, came ashore intent on pleasure and a gay time after long voyages. To cater for them saloons and boarding-houses abounded, some of decidedly ugly reputation; and they did a roaring business in Hongkong … . Fights, in which knives and pistols were sometimes used, were of frequent occurrence,…” 8
Alexandre Grand Pre’ work was often constrained by segregation and corruption within the thirty-two man unit. Personnel were divided into ethnic groups and alphabetically ranked:”A” for Europeans, “B” for Indians, “C” for local Chinese who spoke Cantonese, and “D” for Chinese from Shandong. European supervisors always directed Indian and Chinese constables during investigations. Capture meant prison time and public flogging for Chinese criminals, but less punitive measures for Europeans. 9
Hong Kong’s ‘wild west’ environment required all members of the force to be tough, well armed, and traditionally underpaid. Disease and loneliness made recruitment from England nearly impossible.10 So the majority of the force was made up of less expensive Indian and Chinese “watchmen”, who quickly recognized opportunities for graft among the many businesses in old Victoria City. By the time Grand Pre’ retired to Macau in 1865, paybacks by shop owners seeking protection from organized gangs and outright extortion by the police was commonplace. Corruption within the force would not be addressed until the late 1890s. 11
The Lessons Continue
The young Braga would have learned quite early that crime was only one of the obstacles faced by Hong Kong’s early inhabitants. The rate of crime, in fact, tended to increase as the population grew and trade expanded. Disease, piracy, and social conflicts soon followed.
1 Both traditional Macanese dishes, vaca estofada (stewed beef with garlic) and arroz gordo (“fat” rice with chicken, sausage, and eggs) are probably variations of Portuguese recipes now lost to history. Various cooks consulted by the author suggest that each dish, because of the use of curry, garlic, and other Asian spices, have been served since the 17th century in Macau and Goa.
2 See J.P. Braga, “The Portuguese in Hong Kong and China”, (Fundacao Macau, p. 121-123, and ROGÉRIO MIGUEL PUGA, “The First Museum in China: The British Museum of Macao (1829–1834) and its Contribution to Nineteenth-Century British Natural Science”, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) / Volume 22 / Issue 3-4 / October 2012, pp 575-586.
3 Information obtained from the Jorge Forjaz Collection, Old China Hands Archive, California State University, Northridge. See also J.P. Braga, p. 120-23.
4 Accounts and Papers, Session 24 January – 28 August 1860, Parliamentary Papers and House of Commons and Command, Volume 48, p. 101, and J.P. Braga, p. 202.
5 “NATURALIZATION OF JANUARIO ANTONIO DE CARVALHO ORDINANCE,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, http://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/440 .
6 For example, see Braga’s acknowledgement in the “Preface” of his pamphlet: “The Rights of Aliens in Hongkong”, Noronha Press, Hong Kong, 1895.
7 J.P. Braga, “The Portuguese in Hong Kong and China”, p. 126-27.
8 Braga, p. 123-24.
9 See Christopher Munn’s article: “Criminal Trials Under Early Colonial Rule”, in Hong Kong’s History: State and Society Under Colonial Rule, Tak-Wing Ngo (ed), London, 1999, and “History of the HK Police Force”: http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/01_about_us/ph_02.html. See also Wikipedia – HK police force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hong_Kong_Police#Origin .
10 A small mention of disease among the police in 1859, for example, shows that over 92% of the force had been sick the previous year, while over 2% had died. “The Hongkong Government Gazette”, March 19, 1859, p. 119.
11 Some interesting research on the first attempt in 1895 to clean-up the Hong Kong Police Force is provided by writer Rudi Butt. See “Inspectuer Quincy and His Master Dramatist Son”, April 2013 at http://hongkongsfirst.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html
