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...
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Spencer Low
- Aug 9
- 2 min
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...
268 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Aug 3
- 3 min
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...
1,673 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jul 7
- 5 min
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,...
3,644 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- May 25
- 2 min
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...
1,122 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- May 12
- 3 min
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...
199 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Mar 3
- 2 min
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...
630 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jan 14
- 3 min
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...
2,165 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jan 2
- 6 min
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...
3,291 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Dec 24, 2023
- 3 min
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...
691 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Dec 3, 2023
- 2 min
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...
314 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Nov 5, 2023
- 2 min
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...
403 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Oct 17, 2023
- 2 min
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...
1,194 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Sep 10, 2023
- 3 min
The Portuguese History of Mumbai
With the G20 wrapping up today in New Delhi, the world's eyes are on India. While the Portuguese history of Goa, India's smallest and...
1,984 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Aug 9, 2023
- 2 min
St. Francis Xavier and the Portuguese presence in Asia
The Catholic Church's World Youth Day that just ended on August 6 saw thousands of pilgrims from all across Asia travel to Portugal. One...
1,848 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- Jul 14, 2023
- 3 min
Formosa: Taiwan's other name from the Portuguese
My family and I are back in Toronto for a home visit to see friends and family, and folks here are still talking about the recent mayoral...
920 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Jul 2, 2023
- 3 min
The Portuguese role in the history of Bali
Mystical Bali is often called the Island of the Gods, apparently because of the abundance of temples there. As I was reminded on a recent...
530 views0 comments
Spencer Low
- May 20, 2023
- 3 min
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....
6,730 views1 comment
Spencer Low
- Mar 26, 2023
- 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,...
8,857 views2 comments
Spencer Low
- Mar 12, 2023
- 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...
5,082 views3 comments
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