Macau no Tempo Áureo do Comércio

Author: Maria Helena do Carmo
Category: Fiction

In this work, Maria Helena do Carmo once again addresses historical and social aspects of the territory of Macau, enriching us with her knowledge while at the same time mentally transporting us to another time and another space, with the wealth of details that only those who lived there can transmit. His works, perhaps due to his academic training, are much more history than fiction, resulting from rigorous documentary research and primary sources.

As the writer and researcher António Aresta rightly states, in his preface to the work:

«Maria Helena do Carmo revisits, like no other author, the great fractious themes in the history of Macau, whether singular personalities or relevant events, in successive works: A Portuguese Aristocrat in Macau in the 17th Century , 2006; Opium Merchants – Macau in the Time of Quianglong , 2012; The Island of Gold – Journey of Emanuel Godinho de Herédia to Southern India, 2014; Broken Bamboo, 2014; Love Stories in Macau, 2017; Pássaros de Ferro , 2018. Based on a deep and detailed knowledge of the history of Macau, he builds exciting narratives with plots well woven down to the smallest detail, capturing the reader's attention from beginning to end. In these narratives there is always an axiological framework with euphoric and patriotic values, recognized and assumed in all their multicultural extension. Not forgetting the elegant sense of humor, the psychological profile of the characters, the studied exoticism of a different everyday life and the projection of an orientalism that covers some descriptions that the reader values, including the way of speaking.»

The visit to Macau of the young writer and scientist Pedro Gastão Mesnier, private secretary of the governor Visconde de S. Januário, occurred during a period in which business in Macau gained importance with migration and the opium trade.

Based on real facts and contemporary documents, «Macau in the Golden Age of Commerce» focuses on the colony's relationship with the Guangzhou government on the problematic issue of Chinese customs, the success achieved in reducing abuses by navigators and emigration agents until it was extinguished, and diplomatic contacts with other Eastern countries.

Macau received the King of Cambodia, a visit from the Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, and made expeditions to the Kingdom of Siam and the Empire of Japan. The Macanese social framework in the seventies of the 19th century, portrays the daily life of a city of wealthy people and very fun, different from previous seasons.