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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ACS: Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Rome
AMNE: Arquivo do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Lisbon AGM: Arquivo Histórico da Marinha, ex. Arquivo Geral, Lisbon AHM: Arquivo Histórico de Macau
AHU: Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, Lisbon
ASDMAE: Archivio Storico Diplomatico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Rome ASFI: Archivio di stato di Firenze
ASGE: Archivio di Stato di Genova ASTO: Archivio di Stato di Torino BPP: British Parliamentary Papers
CO 129: National Archives (UK), Colonial Office, Hong Kong: Original
Correspondence 1841-1951, microfilm copy, University of Hong Kong Library, Hong Kong
CO 885: National Archives (UK), War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Subjects Affecting Colonies Generally, Confidential Prints CJDCM: Cartório do Juízo de Direito da Comarca de Macau, Registos Jurídicos. CCPP: Convenção Consular entre Portugal e Peru, 24 Fevreiro 1872 (folder) DGMM: Direzione generale della Marina Mercantile
DGU: Direcção geral do Ultramar, 2a Secção MAE: Ministero degli Affari Esteri
MNE: Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros SEMU: Secretaria de Estado da Marinha e Ultramar MM: Ministero della Marina
MMU: Ministro da Marinha e Ultramar MP: Ministério publico
BO: Boletim Oficial (published under different names : Boletim da Província de
Macau e Timor, Boletim do Governo de Macau) IMC: Imperial Maritime Customs
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NOTES
Spelling and romanization
It is almost impossible, given the nature and variety of the sources consulted, to achieve perfect consistency in the transliteration and transcriptions. We adopted the following criterions:
Terms in quotations have been preserved in the original language and spelling, with the exception of minor revisions aimed at enhancing their overall readability and intelligibility. In particular, Portuguese orthography in the nineteenth century was radically different from the current one, and not really uniformized (different sources adopting different spellings of the same words). Some changes have been then necessary, although conservatively. Italian and Spanish citations have been left largely untouched. Chinese terms have been Romanized through the official People Republic of China’s pinyin system, with the exception of those with a particular Cantonese origin (e.g. Gum Saan, chu chai, cun tau, Cumsingmoon), and terms—especially place names— traditionally known in the English-speaking world with alternative spellings (Canton, Amoy, Swatow, Whampoa, Hakka, Punti, Tanka). Pinyin transliterations and, when deemed appropriate, Chinese characters (traditional), have been provided in parenthesis at the first occurrence of each term. Personal names from contemporary Western-language sources did not follow any consistent transliteration, and have been kept in their original form.
The common English spelling “Macao” is preferred to the most recent Macau throughout the text, excepting in Portuguese quotations and bibliographical footnotes; We also employ the form “Macau” addressing the contemporary “post-colonial” Chinese city and autonomous region. Similar concerns arise from the obsolete form “Hongkong”, which is kept in quotations but actualized elsewhere. Italian sources from the nineteenth century were inconsistent in the use of terms like Cina/Cinesi rather than China/Chinesi; in this case, too, we have kept the original spellings when they do not affect the intelligibility of the text.
Currencies
Several currencies circulated in the nineteenth-century China Coast. The most common was the silver Mexican or Spanish dollar ($), also called peso or, in Macao, pataca. North American dollars also circulated at about the same value. We applied the following conversions, adapted from Zanier (2006), Munn (2001) and Sinn (2013):
$ 1 (Mexican dollar, pataca, peso) = 1 US dollar = 0.75 tael = c. £ 0.2 = 1.08 soles (Peruvian currency after 1863) = c. 5.7 Lire italiane = c. 5.7 French francs
