The Municipality of Macau ( pt, Concelho de Macau) was one of two

municipalities of Macau A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, along with the

Municipality of Ilhas The Municipality of Ilhas ( pt, Concelho das Ilhas, literally "Municipality of the Islands") was one of the two municipalities of Macau, along with the Municipality of Macau. Its organs were the municipal council (''Câmara Municipal das Ilhas'' ...

Governance

Its bodies were the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

(''Câmara Municipal de Macau'') and the municipal assembly (''Assembleia Municipal de Macau'') (''Câmara Municipal de Macau Provisória'' and ''Assembleia Municipal de Macau Provisória'' after December 20, 1999). The two municipalities were replaced by the

Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau The Municipal Affairs Bureau (; pt, Instituto para os Assuntos Municipais) of Macau is an administrative body without political powers responsible for providing certain civic services for the special administrative region and is the successor ...

(Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais) in 2001.

History

In 1513,

Portuguese explorer Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...

Jorge Álvares Jorge Álvares (died 8 July 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is credited as the first European to have reached China by sea during the Age of Discovery. His starting of settlements on an island in what is now Hong Kong is still considered a sign ...

arrived in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...

, in the

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

area, which he called

Tamão Tamão ( zh, 屯門) was a trade settlement set up by the Portuguese on an island in the Pearl River Delta, China. This was the first time Europeans reached China via the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope. The settlement lasted from 1514 ...

. A Portuguese settlement was started there. By 1535 traders were allowed to anchor their ships in the harbour. In 1887, the

Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking The Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking was a trade treaty between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Qing dynasty of China, signed on 1 December 1887. It is counted by the Chinese as among the unequal treaties in the aftermath of the Second Opium ...

was signed, allowing "the perpetual occupation and government of Macau by Portugal". According to

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

, "Macau may never have existed if not for Tamão" where the Portuguese learned "how China, the Pearl River Delta, and the South China Sea worked". The settlement and Jorge Álvares "kickstarted a chain of events that ultimately spawned Macau". A large stone sculpture of Álvares stands in downtown Macau.

Freguesias

Demographics

he population of the Macau Peninsula has been increasing rapidly for decades, particularly since the transfer of sovereignty to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. With 45,675 inhabitants/km², Macau has in one of the highest population densities of any urban area.

References

External links