ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nascent constitutional order that developed at Macau between 1622 and 1783. The era begins with the unsuccessful Dutch invasion of Macau. The events of 1622 and 1623 created an anomalous establishment within the Portuguese and Chinese empires, a hybrid forteleza-conselho , a fortress-municipality, a democratic citadel. The Dutch attacked Macau on 24 June 1622, just months after the formal truce between Holland and Spain expired. Macau was never again so united for one cause, as its soldiers, slaves, citizens, and priests all contributed to the desperate defense. The tide of battle turned when a shell fired by the Jesuits from the Monte Fort struck a barrel of Dutch gunpowder, devastating their formation. Chinese authorities now saw the severity of the English threat. Instead of punishing the Portuguese again, they determined to pursue a policy of containment by naming Macau the situs of all foreign trade.
