Alphonso, the Indian "King of Mangos" with a Portuguese name
The mango is considered the 'king of fruits' in India and features prominently in its ancient culture, from religion to art to poetry....
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Spencer Low
- Mar 26
- 5 min
How Portuguese influence in Sri Lanka outlasted that of the Dutch
Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon, has been known to much of the rest of the Old World for over 2000 years, from the Greeks, Romans,...
7,013 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Mar 12
- 5 min
16th century Dutch spy who exposed Portuguese secrets
My last post on the 15th century Portuguese merchant-spy Pêro da Covilhã prompted quite a bit of debate among some readers around how the...
4,379 views3 comments
Spencer Low
- Mar 5
- 3 min
Pêro da Covilhã: 15th century merchant-spy
In the history of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries, the focus has been on the maritime exploits of the day, with Bartolomeu Dias sailing...
2,201 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Feb 18
- 3 min
The Portuguese Mission and the History of the Catholic Church in Singapore
When the Portuguese took control of Malacca in 1511, the Sultan of Malacca escaped south and founded the Johor Sultanate, which included...
4,101 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jan 29
- 3 min
Japan & Portugal: 480 years of friendship
This year, 2023, will see Japan and Portugal celebrate 480 years of relations between the two maritime countries at opposite ends of the...
2,954 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Dec 31, 2022
- 2 min
Living traces of Portuguese influence in the Celebes, Indonesia
I just spent a week holidaying with my family in Manado on the northern tip of Sulawesi, the fourth largest island in Indonesia. Aside...
955 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Dec 10, 2022
- 2 min
Interview with Portuguese news agency Lusa on this blog
Many thanks to João Pimenta, the Beijing bureau chief of the Portuguese news agency Lusa for reaching out to me. He noticed this blog...
75 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Dec 4, 2022
- 2 min
Asian influence on Portuguese culture (Part II)
My last post on Asian influences on Portuguese food sparked off lots of comments, showing how viscerally important food culture can be to...
1,040 views4 comments
Spencer Low
- Nov 20, 2022
- 3 min
Asian influence on Portuguese culture – Food
I recently had an interesting conversation with João Pimenta, bureau chief for the Portuguese Lusa News Agency who's lived in China for...
2,913 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Oct 30, 2022
- 3 min
The Portuguese impact on Kerala
Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India, is perhaps not particularly well-known in the rest of the world. I first heard about it...
2,452 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Oct 23, 2022
- 2 min
How Standard Chinese became known as Mandarin thanks to the Portuguese
In an earlier post, I explained how China became known as China thanks to the Portuguese: https://www.portuguese.asia/post/how-china-beca...
1,748 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Oct 16, 2022
- 2 min
The little-known Portuguese influence on Vietnam
When most people think of Vietnam in a historical context, the Vietnamese war and the American role come to mind, or perhaps the French...
3,086 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Oct 11, 2022
- 1 min
How a distinctive Southeast Asian architectural style started with the Portuguese in Phuket
I had the pleasure of spending last weekend in Phuket, Thailand. Reading about things to do, I came across the fact that Old Phuket Town,...
2,722 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Sep 8, 2022
- 2 min
How a Portuguese adventurer, Filipe de Brito e Nicote, once controlled Burma's main port
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is not among the most well-known countries of Southeast Asia. A former British colony, it was starting...
1,106 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Aug 28, 2022
- 2 min
Maria Guyomar de Pinha, the Luso-Asian who introduced Portuguese desserts to Thai royalty
Following up on Thailand's centuries-old relationship with Portugal, would there be any surprise that cultural exchange extended beyond...
744 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Aug 21, 2022
- 2 min
Thailand's oldest European connection
Each time that I go to Bangkok I like to visit the Kudeejeen neighbourhood on the west side of the Chao Phraya river. Not a well-known...
686 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Aug 14, 2022
- 1 min
The Portuguese influence in Indonesia: "kue pastel" anyone?
I had the pleasure of a quick trip to the Indonesian resort island of Bintan this weekend. At the breakfast buffet, I came across this...
414 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jul 31, 2022
- 2 min
The Portuguese connections of some iconic aspects of Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian culture
In my last post about kerosang, I described how this traditional piece of jewellery for wearers of the kebaya blouse comes from the...
2,439 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jul 23, 2022
- 2 min
How the Straits Chinese introduced the Malay word "kerosang" from the Portuguese
The Straits Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia are a unique culture, a centuries-old blend of Chinese and Malay. One of their traditional...
1,185 views0 comments
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