Macau—City of the Name of God: Charter of a City, the Évora of the Far East

How did Macao, the "City of the Name of God," become a "city"? We may never have considered this question, but for the Portuguese who arrived in the Pearl River Delta almost 500 years ago, it was a major issue!

For them at the time, the establishment of a city meant having a place to live, administrative bodies, economic freedom, social development, and elevated status. Therefore, after some groundwork, the Portuguese who landed in Ama Temple Bay established their first Municipal Council in the early 1580s. In 1586, this port officially became the "City of the Name of God, Macao," obtaining its own "city charter" and becoming a city of the Portuguese Kingdom, on par with Évora in Portugal. So, what did the Portuguese do at the time to gain "city" status? What exactly was a "city charter"? And as a "Portuguese city," what was the relationship between Macao and other Portuguese territories back then?