Qualla: Leal Senado Building https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building en-us © 2026 Bendyline Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:34:17 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Leal Senado Building https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building Leal Senado Building: Introduction https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building/ Photo credit The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Portugal occupied the territory of Macau, but during the sixty years that Spain occupied Portugal, Macau refused to follow. From 1580 to 1640, the Iberian Union placed the Portuguese Crown under Spanish rule — and Macau's government simply declined to recognize the arrangement. It was an act of loyalty so stubborn that two centuries later, in 1810, Portugal's prince regent João formally rewarded the territory with a title: Leal Senado. Loyal Senate. The bronze plaque commemorating that honor still hangs inside the entrance hall of the building that bears the name.

Read more: Leal Senado Building on Qualla

Image: The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick at English Wikipedia | Public domain

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/webw-leal-senado-building-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Leal Senado Building: A Site Older Than Its Walls https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building/ Photo credit Abasaa, Public domain. Long before the Portuguese built on this ground, a Chinese-style pavilion stood here. It served as the meeting point between Portuguese administrators and Ming dynasty officials — a neutral space where two systems of governance negotiated the terms of coexistence. The Portuguese ...

Read more: Leal Senado Building on Qualla

Image: Abasaa | Public domain

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/webw-leal-senado-building-a-site-older-than-its-walls.mp3 0:06 2 full Leal Senado Building: Loyalty Inscribed in Stone https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building/ Photo credit Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0. The entrance hall announces the building's identity immediately. The plaque ordered by Prince Regent João to commemorate Macau's refusal to bow to Spain occupies a prominent position, its text connecting a building completed in 1784 to an act of defiance from two centuries earlie...

Read more: Leal Senado Building on Qualla

Image: Diego Delso | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/webw-leal-senado-building-loyalty-inscribed-in-stone.mp3 0:06 3 full Leal Senado Building: The Library That Traveled From Portugal https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building/ Photo credit N509FZ  This photo was taken with iPhone 8 Plus, CC BY-SA 4.0. On the northwestern corner of the first floor, a public library opened its doors in 1929. Its design was borrowed from the library of the Mafra Convent in Portugal — classical proportions, decorated shelves, a sense that books deserve architecture worthy of their contents. The co...

Read more: Leal Senado Building on Qualla

Image: N509FZ  This photo was taken with iPhone 8 Plus | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/webw-leal-senado-building-the-library-that-traveled-from-portugal.mp3 0:06 4 full Leal Senado Building: After the Handover https://qualla.com/leal-senado-building/ Photo credit User:Løken, CC BY-SA 3.0. When Portugal returned Macau to China in December 1999, the Leal Senado building transitioned from the seat of colonial government to the headquarters of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau — a change of administration without a change of address. The building became part of t...

Read more: Leal Senado Building on Qualla

Image: User:Løken | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/e/b/w/leal-senado-building-wp/webw-leal-senado-building-after-the-handover.mp3 0:06 5 full