Definition of "Macao"

It would be however a very acceptable thing if ſome curious Navigators would inform us, what tides or Currents are found at Macao, Quemoy, and other places on the Coast of China and on Formoſa ; it being moſt probable that this flood cometh out of the North Eaſt, alongſt the Coaſt of China, for that the Northerly Moonsoon is found to occaſion the higheſt ſpring-tides.

1684, Edm. Halley, “A Theory of the Tides at the Bar of Tunking”, in Philosophical Transactions‎, volume XIV, Oxford, page 687

Macao is a ſmall Iſland in the Bay of Quantung, a Province of China, at a little diſtance from it ; in which is a Town bearing the ſame Name, heretofore the moſt famous and wealthy Mart of the Portugueſes, and granted to them by the Chineſes ; but its Reputation is now a great deal leſs :[...]

1701, Joan Luyts, Herman Moll, A System of Geography, Part the Second‎, London, page 52

Captain King began now to entertain apprehenſions, leſt, in the proſecution of our ſearch for thoſe iſlands, we ſhould get ſo far to the ſouth as to be under the neceſſity of paſſing to leeward of the Pratas ; in which caſe, it might have proved extremely difficult for ſuch bad ſailing veſſels as our to fetch Macao, eſpecially if the wind ſhould continue to blow (as it now did) from the north-north-eaſt and north.

1784, James Cook, James King, Cook's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean‎, volume IV, London: John Stockdale, pages 211–213

The Portuguese Colony of Macao is situated on a rocky peninsula in the Heung Shan (Fragrant Hills) District in the Kwong Chau Prefecture of the Kwong Tung, or Canton Province, in the south eastern part of the Empire of China.

1905, J. Dyer Ball, Macao: The Holy City; The Gem of the Orient Earth‎, China Baptist Publication Society, page 1

The First Lady charged that the Maoists are making use of the Portuguese, through their small enclave of Macao, to carry out trade in drugs that are aimed in enslaving and demoralizing the people of the free world. She said the narcotics trade also is providing Chinese Communist leaders with a major source of revenue for use in carrying out their subversive, revolutionary tactics in other countries.

1975 March 9, “Mme. Chiang warns against detente”, in Free China Weekly‎, volume XVI, number 9, Taipei, page 1

The territory of Macao is made up of a small peninsula on the Chinese coast and two neighboring islands. Located at the mouth of the Pearl River, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from the Chinese city of Canton, Macao was once a safe harbor for Chinese fishermen.

1988, T. Jeff Williams, Macao‎, Chelsea House, page 15

Prostrate from opium wars and divided into spheres of European influence, China was unable to protect her citizens from Occidentals who seduced them to immigrate. Poor, illiterate Chinese peasants—especially at Macao after the British Passenger Act (1855) drove the "coolie trade" from Hong Kong—were easily duped by foreigners who promised them better lives, often in the gold fields of California, once indentures of four to five years had been satisfied.

1994, Jimmy M. Skaggs, “Shoveling It: Life and Labor on Guano Islands”, in The Great Guano Rush: Entrepreneurs and American Overseas Expansion‎, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, page 162