The Portas do Cerco is an area on the northern tip of the Macau Peninsula known by its border gate separating Macau from the Chinese mainland. The gate was built in 1849 to replace a crumbling wall that was erected in 1573 to mark the border of the Portuguese colony.[1][2] It was the site of the Baishaling Incident, a clash between China and Portugal in 1849 over the death of Macau's governor Ferreira do Amaral. Led by Colonel Mesquita, Portugal won the small battle which led to the extension of Macau's border northwards.[3] At the limit of said expansion, the Portas do Cerco was built with the inscription "A pátria honrai, que a pátria vos contempla" (Portuguese for "Honor your motherland, for your motherland looks over you") on the façade on its inner arch in 1849. For the next 155 years, the gate served as the border between Macau and China.
The first formalised border crossing was built in 1573, which was subsequently repaired and rebuilt several times until the present border gate was erected in 1870.[4] It was the site of the Battle of the Barrier between British and Chinese forces on August 19, 1840.
During the 1950s and 1960s the Portas do Cerco was also referred to as Far Eastern Checkpoint Charlie with a major border incident happening in 1952 with Portuguese African Troops exchanging fire with Chinese Communist border guards.[5] According to reports, the exchange lasted for 1-and-three-quarter hours leaving one dead and several dozens injured on Macau side and more than 100 casualties claimed on the Communist Chinese side.[6]
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The old Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco) with the new Barrier Gate Frontier Checkpoint building in the background.
^Fodor, Eugene; Fisher, Robert C. (1962). Fodor's Japan and East Asia. p. 512.
^Garrett, Richard J. (2010). The Defences of Macau: Forts, Ships and Weapons Over 450 Years. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9888028499.
^Wordie, Jason (2013). "1. Portas do Cerco". Macao - People and Places, Past and Present. Hong Kong: Angsana Limited. p. 2. ISBN978-988-12696-0-7.
^Wordie, Jason (2013). "1. Portas do Cerco". Macao - People and Places, Past and Present. Hong Kong: Angsana Limited. pp. 6–7. ISBN978-988-12696-0-7.
^"Macao Portuguese Fire Over Border". The West Australian. Perth: Perth, W. A. : A. Davidson, for the West Australian, 1879. 1952-07-31. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
1 1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.
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The old Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco) with the new Barrier Gate Frontier Checkpoint building in the background.
