Portugal vs. Holland. The Battle of Macau
On June 24, 1622 (just one short of 400 years ago), after 3 days of fighting between the Dutch and the Portuguese armies in Macau (now in Southeastern China), the Portuguese successfully repelled the Dutch armies from invading and taking control of Macau.
The Dutch had tried attacking Macau in the past as they occupied a port in Hirado, Japan while the Portuguese occupied Nagasaki. Because of Macau’s closeness to Japan, the Dutch envied the ease of trade and the various advantages of the location of Macau. The Dutch also knew that the Philippines would be unavailable to Spaniards who were also large traders.
In their previous attempts, the Dutch armies were significantly weaker and smaller. However, as many events in Europe had already occurred in the past months that were hurting the economy, the Dutch went all in. They attacked by surrounding Macau and then closing in. Fortunately for Portugal, they already knew and had begun advancing outside the borders destroying Dutch ships and boats as they came. This left the Dutch with the a weak army when they came to the land and they were quickly left to lose. The Dutch never really tried again and later on, after the surrender of Goa to India, the Portuguese left Asia alone completely.
Fun Fact: Hirado is now merged in the Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan.
