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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
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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...
Spencer Low
Sep 10, 20233 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Aug 9, 20232 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Jul 14, 20233 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Jul 2, 20233 min read
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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....
Spencer Low
May 20, 20233 min read
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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,...
Spencer Low
Mar 26, 20235 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Mar 12, 20235 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Mar 5, 20233 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Feb 18, 20233 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Jan 29, 20233 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Dec 31, 20222 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Dec 10, 20222 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Dec 4, 20222 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Nov 20, 20223 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Oct 30, 20223 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Oct 23, 20222 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Oct 16, 20222 min read
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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,...
Spencer Low
Oct 11, 20221 min read
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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...
Spencer Low
Sep 8, 20222 min read
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