SILVA (Joachim de)
Tratado de amizade e commercio entre sua magestade fidelissima el-rei de Portugal e sua magestade o imperador da China - Treaty of Amity and Commerce between his most faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and his Majesty the Emperor of China.
The first attempt to sign a trade agreement between Portugal and China which tried to address the ambiguous status of Macao with a Governor General (which would imply that it was a Portuguese Colony) and the assertion that it was part of the Province of Canton which would mean that it wasn’t. Until the middle of the 19th century Portugal paid and annual rent to China and in return was allowed to administer the territory while remaining part of the Chinese Empire.
“His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal and Algarves, and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China, desiring to fix upon solid bases, by means of a Solemn Treaty, the friendly and commercial relations which for centuries have existed between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Chinese Empire…” (Preamble). Due to the complications stated above this treaty was not ratified by China.
