An Introduction to Far East Currents
Roy Eric Xavier, Ph.D.
Director, Portuguese and Macanese Studies Project,
Visiting Scholar, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues,
University of California, Berkeley
Author: The Macanese Chronicles: A History of Luso-Asians in a Global Economy
E-mail: rexavier627@gmail.com
Los Angeles, California, USA
Dr. Xavier’s Bio
* We define “Macanese” broadly as either: 1) Portuguese Eurasians (Luso-Asians) born in Macau; or 2) the descendants of Portuguese Eurasians with cultural roots in Portugal, Goa and western India, Macau, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia or Timor. This definition is based on the historical origins of Luso-Asians since the 1500’s, who formed expatriate communities in India and Southeast Asia, were devoted to Catholicism, spoke a creole or “maritime” language influenced by the various trade cultures in Asia, and were rooted in the cultural world of Portugal for the last five centuries. After 1600 Macau became not only a central trading port, but also a point of dispersion of many mixed-race Portuguese descendants who identified with its traditions through religion, language, and family ties.
The use of the term “Portuguese-Macanese” throughout this site blends the old British identification of racially-mixed Portuguese in Hong Kong, and the self-recognition of Portuguese descendants as “Macanese”, that is, as Eurasians of Portuguese descent, the earliest who migrated from Goa and settled in Macau or other Asian port cities.
Click here for an overview of the development of Macanese culture.
Click here for a Published Research Study on Macanese Families and Luso-Asian Culture
Why am I studying the Portuguese-Macanese Community ?
My reasons are both professional and personal:
1) To understand the roles that Portuguese-Macanese people (that is, Luso-Asians) played in the development of Macau, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other regions of southeast Asia, and their migration to other countries after World War II;
2) To document the stories of community members, past and present, whose biographies and writings bear witness to colonial development, the expansion of the China trade, and the origins of the current global economy.
And,
3) To use Far East Currents and social media to involve anyone who is interested in understanding, contributing to, and preserving Portuguese-Macanese cultural history.
Like many people who share these interests, I’m struck by the irony of creating a web site, even with the resources of the Internet, when so little authoritive information about this community is available. In fact, Portuguese-Macanese history may be one of the best kept secrets of the colonial period.
One reason has been the general lack of source materials. In conducting this research I’ve found that much of the information, like the Portuguese-Macanese themselves, is scattered all over the world. While archives exist in Portugal, Goa, Macau, Hong Kong, Australia, and California, most are not well-known outside academic circles. Moreover, among the “Filho Macau” organizations I could identify (see the “Diaspora ” tab on the main menu), while most have newsletters, web sites, or a social media presence dedicated to preserving the culture, their history remains virtually unknown to younger generations of Macanese or to the outside world. There are also scattered articles, papers, academic theses, and government reports that provide relevant information, but those too, although publicly accessible, have never been gathered together and evaluated in an organized manner.
Articles and the P\Mac Archives
I’ve attempted to change that, along with my partners, by listing my current essays, articles, and research on the Portuguese-Macanese community under the Articles tab, by archiving source materials that I use for my research under the Archives tab, and by posting short essays periodically I also included a bibliography of published books and articles that can be used by other writers conducting research in this area. As my research continues, I will be adding other materials to this section. I encourage anyone who has materials not currently in the archive to send them to me for inclusion.
Destinations and Links
The migration of this community since the end of World War II has personal relevance to me, and is an important element of its historical development. This story continues as the estimated number of Luso-Asian Macanese world-wide now exceeds 1.6 million members. As a result, the telling of this story becomes an important legacy for younger generations and the study of world history in general. Equally important is the creation of person-to-person communications that encourage cultural exchanges between communities in Asia, Europe, India, Australia, and North and South America. Under the Diaspora tab I’m creating links to different organizations that will facilitate these exchanges. Over the next few months, this section will expand to include a variety of tools designed to encourage both virtual and physical visits to these sites.
My Posts, Your Posts, and Videos
Creating a virtual presence for any activity is a work in progress. In other words, there is always something to contribute, edit, and update. But I’ve adopted the design and use of “Far East Currents” not only to encourage others to participate, but frankly to keep me on task for my own work. Like many people of my generation, I work in different media: text, audio, image creation, video, or combinations of some or all of the above. This may seem unusual for someone with an academic background, but my professional history as a manager of television and media organizations, as well as a researcher affiliated with a university near Silicon Valley, naturally led me to this project and the methods I’ve adopted.
To make it easier on myself and others, I decided to combine the best elements of the internet on one platform: Blogging, Text, Video, Social Media, and Images. This allows me to share short “posts” of ideas that I’m working on for articles and other publications, to solicit comments, and hopefully to improve the quality of finished work in the future. The same purposes can be achieved by others who submit memories or longer articles under the “Submit Memories” tab. The rule of thumb is: If you write or share it with us, others will comment and share with you.
The concept of “sharing” is the basis of Social Media, and a continuation of the path begun on this web site. And sharing is more compelling when it incorporates moving and static images. That is why I will occasionally combine a short video introduction of a topic or issue with a longer written piece, as you will notice here on the “Start Here” page. There will also be other videos, including interviews, that I will add in the right column. Sharing videos on this site, or via Facebook and other sites, will automatically link back to the text and to any comments you made on them. This is another way to encourage participation.
Ultimately, the goal of “Far East Currents” is to initiate a dialogue within and outside the Portuguese-Macanese community world-wide. This site is the community’s archive and library. Only with your help and support can this dialogue continue.
Thanks for visiting,
R.E. Xavier
