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José d'Almeida, Portuguese pioneer of Singapore (part 2)
200 years ago, in 1825, José d'Almeida Carvalho e Silva arrived as a 41-year-old Portuguese physician in Singapore, then only into its...
Spencer Low
6 days ago5 min read
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José d'Almeida, Portuguese pioneer of Singapore
I’ve written about how Singapore, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom this year, could...
Spencer Low
Jun 83 min read
528 views
0 comments


Portuguese Patriotism in Hong Kong
The 23rd floor reception of the Club Lusitano in Hong Kong The Portuguese presence in East Asia is firmly anchored in Macau, which Ming...
Spencer Low
May 192 min read
428 views
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How Portuguese "soap" became Japanese "cactus"
A golden barrel cactus, known in Japanese as キンシャチ (kinshachi) or 金鯱 in kanji As the first Europeans to make contact with the Japanese,...
Spencer Low
Apr 202 min read
2,443 views
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Weirdest Japanese word borrowed from the Portuguese
As the first Europeans that the Japanese encountered, the Portuguese made a deep cultural impact on the Land of the Rising Sun. Many...
Spencer Low
Feb 232 min read
1,487 views
0 comments


More on Japanese pão de Castela
福砂屋 (Fukusaya) logo incorporates a Portuguese ship. I wrote last year about the delicious Japanese castella cake (カステラ) that originated...
Spencer Low
Feb 23 min read
538 views
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Jaggery or muscovado sugar, anyone?
I recently made a few trips to India, and drinking chai (tea) was definitely a highlight. [Here's an interesting post about the...
Spencer Low
Dec 7, 20242 min read
393 views
0 comments


The first flight from Portugal to Macau 100 years ago
It is a common lament among Portuguese people living in Asia why there aren't more direct flights to Portugal. Currently one can fly...
Spencer Low
Aug 17, 20244 min read
916 views
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Singapore's sprint star Veronica Shanti Pereira
Today, August 9, is Singapore's National Day. The country is celebrating 59 years of independence a few days before the close of the 2024...
Spencer Low
Aug 9, 20242 min read
323 views
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The Portuguese history behind Emmy Awards nominee "Shogun"
The Emmy Awards nominations caused a stir last month, July 2024, when Shōgun (将軍) topped the list with 25 nominations including best...
Spencer Low
Aug 3, 20243 min read
1,764 views
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The Battle of Diu - How the Portuguese won control of the Indian Ocean
There are many famous naval battles in history: the Battle of Midway in World War II, the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars,...
Spencer Low
Jul 7, 20245 min read
4,927 views
3 comments


When the Portuguese first arrived in India... Part 2
In a post a few years ago, I wrote about the fact that when the Portuguese first arrived in India, they were surprised to encounter...
Spencer Low
May 25, 20242 min read
1,173 views
0 comments


Macau and Portugal's Carnation Revolution
Portugal celebrated 50 years of democracy a few weeks ago on the 25th of April. On that day in 1974, a military coup ended 48 years of...
Spencer Low
May 12, 20243 min read
214 views
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Japanese castella cake カステラ
A few months ago I wrote a post about how the Portuguese introduced pumpkin to Japan. My family and I went to Japan a few weeks ago for a...
Spencer Low
Mar 3, 20242 min read
668 views
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The Portuguese roots of Southeast Asia's Eurasian community
To be Eurasian is to be between two worlds, with ancestors from both Europe and Asia. From the perspective of ethnicity there is much...
Spencer Low
Jan 14, 20243 min read
2,407 views
0 comments


The Portuguese role in the history of the Philippines
I just returned with my family from a year-end vacation in Cebu, in the central part of the Philippines. While we spent most of the time...
Spencer Low
Jan 2, 20246 min read
6,469 views
0 comments


The Portuguese and Tea
It is Christmas Eve today and Christmas tea has made its annual appearance. Typically flavoured with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and orange...
Spencer Low
Dec 24, 20233 min read
745 views
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Luís de Camões in Asia
Luís Vaz de Camões, the 16th century poet, is such a towering figure in Portuguese literature that the Portuguese language itself is...
Spencer Low
Dec 3, 20232 min read
559 views
0 comments


How the Portuguese introduced pumpkin to Japan
It was Halloween recently and pumpkins were suddenly all over the place. My son's friend Kenji, whose father is Japanese, came for a...
Spencer Low
Nov 5, 20232 min read
603 views
1 comment


More Portuguese traces in Indonesia
I'm on a family vacation this week in Java, Indonesia, and have been looking for more signs of Portuguese influence to build on my...
Spencer Low
Oct 17, 20232 min read
1,490 views
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