Chinese Macau Official boxed bronze BIG medal by Gravarte ,Lisbon 80mm

The initially small population of Portuguese merchants rapidly became a growing city.[28]  The Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau  was created in 1576, and by 1583, the Senate  had been established to handle municipal affairs for the growing settlement.[28]  Macau was at the peak of its prosperity as a major entrepôt  during the late 16th century, providing a crucial connection in exporting Chinese silk to Japan during the Nanban  trade  period.[29]  Although the Portuguese were initially prohibited from fortifying Macau or stockpiling weapons, the Fortaleza do Monte  was constructed in response to frequent Dutch naval incursions . The Dutch attempted to take the city in the 1622 Battle of Macau , but were repelled successfully by the Portuguese.[30]  Macau entered a period of decline in the 1640s following a series of catastrophic events for the burgeoning colony: Portuguese access to trade routes was irreparably severed when Japan halted trade  in 1639,[31]  Portugal revolted against Spain  in 1640,[32]  and Malacca  fell to the Dutch in 1641.[33] [34]

Maritime trade with China was banned in 1644 following the Qing conquest  under the Haijin  policies and limited only to Macau on a lesser scale while the new dynasty focused on eliminating surviving Ming loyalists .[35]  While the Kangxi Emperor  lifted the prohibition in 1684, China again restricted trade under the Canton System  in 1757.[36]  Foreign ships were required to first stop at Macau before further proceeding to Canton .[37]  Qing authorities exercised a much greater role in governing the territory during this period; Chinese residents were subject to Qing courts and new construction had to be approved by the resident mandarin  beginning in the 1740s.[38]  As the opium trade became more lucrative during the eighteenth century , Macau again became an important stopping point en route to China.[39]

Following the First Opium War  and the establishment of Hong Kong , Macau lost its role as a major port.[40]  Firecracker and incense production, as well as tea and tobacco processing, were vital industries in the colony during this time.[41] [42]  Portugal was able to capitalise on China's post-war weakness and assert its sovereignty; the Governor of Macau  began refusing to pay China annual land rent for the colony in the 1840s,[43]  and annexed Taipa  and Coloane , in 1851 and 1864 respectively.[44]  Portugal also occupied nearby Lapa  and Montanha ,[43]  but these would be returned to China by 1887, when perpetual occupation rights over Macau were formalised in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking . This agreement also prohibited Portugal from ceding Macau without Chinese approval.[45]  Despite occasional conflict between Cantonese authorities and the colonial government, Macau's status remained unchanged through the republican revolutions of both Portugal in 1910  and China in 1911 .[46]  The Kuomintang  further affirmed Portuguese jurisdiction in Macau when the Treaty of Peking was renegotiated in 1928.[46]

During the Second World War , the Empire of Japan  did not occupy the colony and generally respected Portuguese neutrality  in Macau. However, after Japanese troops captured a British cargo ship in Macau waters in 1943, Japan installed a group of government "advisors" as an alternative to military occupation. The territory largely avoided military action during the war except in 1945, when the United States ordered air raids on Macau after learning that the colonial government was preparing to sell aviation fuel to Japan. Portugal was later given over US$20 million in compensation for the damage in 1950.[47]

Refugees  from mainland China swelled the population as they fled from the Chinese Civil War . Access to a large workforce enabled Macau's economy to grow as the colony expanded its clothing and textiles manufacturing industry, developed its tourism industry, and legalised casino  gaming.[48]  However, at the height of the Cultural Revolution , residents dissatisfied with the colonial administration rioted in the 1966 12-3 incident , in which 8 people were killed and over 200 were injured. Portugal lost full control over the colony afterwards, and agreed to cooperate with the communist authorities in exchange for continued administration of Macau.[49]

Following the 1974 Carnation Revolution , Portugal formally relinquished Macau as an overseas province  and acknowledged it as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration".[50]  After China first concluded arrangements on Hong Kong's future  with the United Kingdom , it entered negotiations with Portugal over Macau in 1986. They were concluded with the signing of the 1987 Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau , in which Portugal agreed to transfer the colony in 1999 and China would guarantee Macau's political and economic systems for 50 years after the transfer.[51]  In the waning years of colonial rule, Macau rapidly urbanised and constructed large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Macau International Airport  and a new container port .[52]  Macau was transferred to China  on 20 December 1999, after 442 years of Portuguese rule.[9]

Following the transfer, Macau liberalised its casino industry (which previously operated under a government-licensed monopoly) to allow foreign investors, starting a new period of economic development. The regional economy grew by a double-digit annual growth rate from 2002 to 2014, making Macau one of the richest economies in the world on a per capita basis.[53]  Political debates have centred on the region's jurisdictional independence and the central government's adherence of "one country, two systems ". While issues such as national security legislation  have been controversial, Macanese residents generally have high levels of trust in the government.[54] [55]