Portugal's success in Macau drew the envy of other European maritime powers who were slower to gain a foothold in East Asia.

[2] The fall of Macau would also leave the Spaniards in the Philippines without means of support and make it easier for the Dutch to mount an attack on Manila.

Macau's defenses in 1622 consisted of a few batteries, one at the west end of the Macau Peninsula (later site of the Fort São Tiago da Barra), and one at each end of the southern bay of Praia Grande (São Francisco on the east and Bom Parto on the west), plus a half-completed Fortaleza do Monte that overlooked the Cathedral of St.

Judging by these intercepted letters and information available from Japan, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Jan Pieterszoon Coen considered that Macau was not in a position to resist a serious attack, and set his invasion plan in motion.

The soldiers that composed the landing force were specifically selected, and even among the crew there were fewer lascars and Malays than usual; it had been customary for Europeans to carry locals for navigation.

[6] Coen was so satisfied with the fleet that when he wrote to the VOC directors at The Hague he expressed regret for not being able to lead "so magnificent an expedition" in person.

[7] Coen had previously ordered Admiral Janszoon to detach a few ships from the Manila blockade to join Reijersen's fleet; as a result, two Dutch and two English vessels had waited outside Macau since 29 May.

[13] To distract the defenders from the intended landing site, three ships – Groeningen, Gallias, and Engelsche Beer – started to bombard the São Francisco battery in the south on 23 June.

After an afternoon of cannon volleys and insults (where Dutch seamen threatened to rape Macau's women after killing all men above twenty[13]), the ships withdrew for the night without inflicting any casualties on the Portuguese side.

[4] Lopo Sarmento de Carvalho fully understood that the Dutch would land the next day, so he spent the night inspecting the fortifications and rallying his men to fight to the last.

[13] About 60 Portuguese and 90 "filhos da terra"[14] entrenched at the beach under the command of António Rodrigues Cavalhino gave some initial resistance by shooting into the smoke, killing 40 and wounding Admiral Reijersen in the belly, taking him out of action.

[15] The Dutch marched toward the centre of the city in orderly fashion until reaching the artillery range of the Fortaleza do Monte, where they came under heavy bombardment.

When the invaders passed by a small spring called Fontinha, the Dutch ammunition cache exploded in their midst, causing many casualties.

Portuguese records attribute the cause of the explosion to the Jesuit priest Giacomo Rho, who is said to have fired a cannon-shot from the Fortaleza do Monte at the Dutch.

[16] The Swiss mercenary Elie Ripon, writing from first-hand experience on the ground in service of the Dutch, instead says the explosion was caused by a clumsy Japanese who accidentally set fire to the gunpowder while replenishing his munitions.

They decided to climb Guia Hill (東望洋⼭), upon which a hermitage was situated, to get a better view of the enemy, but their ascent was resisted by a party of 30 Macanese and blacks, whose ferocity and effective use of terrain forced the Dutch to turn back.

The invaders moved toward a patch of high ground near the Guia Hill, with the intention of retreating for the day due to fatigue and low ammunition (most was lost in the explosion).

[21] When the fleeing Dutchmen reached the Cacilhas Beach, the two rear-guard companies who were supposed to cover the retreat panicked and fled to the boats without firing a shot.

[22] At Batavia, Jan Pieterszoon Coen was extremely bitter about the outcome of the battle, writing "in this shameful manner we lost most of our best men in this fleet together with most of the weapons.

[27] The first governor, Francisco Mascarenhas, under orders from Goa, enhanced the fortifications to defend against a repetition of the Dutch attack, having bribed the Guangdong provincial authorities to turn a blind eye to the constructions.