The Chinese Las Vegas

I'm learning things about Macau. It was a was a Portuguese colony and both the first and last European colony in China. Now some Wikipedia quotes:

"In 1535, Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macau's harbours and to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore. Around 1552–1553, they obtained temporary permission to erect storage sheds onshore, in order to dry out goods drenched by sea water; they soon built rudimentary stone houses around the area now called Nam Van. In 1557, the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau, paying an annual rent of 500 taels ( 20 kilograms/44 pounds ) of silver."

bla bla bla, then:

"During the 16th century, Macau also served as a trafficking point for Chinese slaves to Portugal. Many Chinese boys were captured in China, and through Macau were brought to Portugal and sold as slaves in Lisbon." hmmm. and some were sold to Brazil.

And the article is long and I just got bored, so long story short: it was only in 1887 that China ceded the right of "perpetual occupation and government of Macau by Portugal". Then in 1974 after the overthrow of the Portuguese dictatorship the new Portuguese government determined it would relinquish all its overseas possessions...bla bla...The Chinese government assumed formal sovereignty over Macau on 20 December 1999.

And now: gambling revenue has made Macau the world's top casino market, surpassing Las Vegas.

I forgot why I started writing about this.

Joao, your version was so much cooler!!