A Macanese family – from Portugal to the world

Mark O'Neill August 12, 2025 15:23

The Hong Kong Museum of History is holding an exhibition of the Portuguese in the city. They have been an essential part of the society for nearly two centuries.

The man who helped to create the exhibition is Francisco Da Roza, an international banker in Hong Kong. The history of his family reflects the remarkable story of his community.

His first ancestor to arrive in Macau came at the beginning of the 18th century, from Tancos, a village 120 kilometres north of Lisbon. He was very successful in business and became head of one of the most prominent mercantile families.

Francisco’s great-great-grandfather, Simao Vicente da Roza, moved from Macau to Hong Kong soon after the British established the colony. In time, many Macanese came to settle, for better economic opportunities and living standards than in Macau.

For the next 100 years, the Portuguese formed a vital middle class, the buffer class between the ruling British and European elite and the Chinese. They were linguistically adept. The British accepted them as acclimatised Europeans. The Chinese accepted them, as having been in these parts for a long time. They made the perfect intermediaries.

Most held jobs in banks, trading, the law and printing in the middle ranks. In a class-conscious colony, few were able to break the glass ceiling.

Francisco was born in 1947 in Shanghai, where his father was working for the city’s gas company. They left as refugees in 1952, leaving everything behind and moved to Hong Kong.

“We crossed the border at the Lo Wu bridge,” he said. “It was very tense. On one side were PLA soldiers in green uniforms and rifles and, on the other, British policemen with sidearms.”

After the death of his mother when he was nine, he and his siblings were sent to live with two aunts, sisters, in Macau. They were the typical donas de casa, very traditional, devout Catholics, proper home makers, excellent cooks and spoke Patuá. Patuá is a creole dialect of Macau. When the Portuguese went around the world, a contact language was needed. Portuguese was simplified and indigenous words and expressions intermingled. A Portuguese person would not understand the dialect.

“So I grew up steeped in the life and culture of the Macanese,” Francisco said. “It gave me my core cultural identity.” The two sisters helped to preserve the Macanese culture in endowing Francisco with the culture. Francisco’s work in helping to set up the exhibition involved advising on the unique culture.

Francisco returned to Hong Kong and aged 16 started to work at the HSBC. “We Macanese were in the second tier. We, the Chinese and the British each had separate ^ bathrooms and canteens.”

He stayed with HSBC for 10 years and, in 1973, joined the First National Bank of Chicago. He went back to night school for business studies, where he met his wife Helen, a Hong Kong Chinese.

“China was opening up and foreign banks came to Hong Kong. They gave opportunities to people like me. Before, the British banks were for the British and Chinese banks were for the owner families and their associates,” he said.

After staying at First Chicago for five years he moved to Nordic Bank whose ownership in Hong Kong changed, travelled widely and retired in 1994. “Banking is a people person. I am a cultural chameleon and linguistically adept. I was a very effective manager.”

From 2009 to 2012, he was president of Club Lusitano, the premier social club for Portuguese in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1866.

He and Helen have three children, whom they sent to international school. They learnt English and Mandarin. When the children were older, Helen went back to school to study law and later on practised as a barrister. The two sons and the daughter are all lawyers.

Daughter Alexandra has a container ship named after her -- “ANDRA”. His bank had loaned to a client to finance the acquisition of three container vessels. When the vessels were about to be launched, the client called to asked whether he would like to name one of the vessels. Francisco jumped at the chance. Helen had just given birth to Alexandra. Francisco and Helen decided on the two last syllables, “Andra”, phonetically translated into Cantonese to mean “to arrive safely”. When the meaning was explained, “Done”, said the client.

Alexandra has taken part in four ultra-marathons – a distance of 250 kilometres in six stages over seven days. Participants carry their own food and drink during the race. The series are three desert races and one at the Antarctica. Alexandra went north instead, trekking to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest 2025, not part of the race.

In 2017, Francisco visited his ancestral home, Tancos in Portugal. for the first time. “It was very emotional. The people there said ‘welcome home, son’.”

For Francisco and Helen, Hong Kong is home.

The number of Macanese in Hong Kong has fallen sharply. In 1961, the census registered 9,400. It is substantially fewer now.

After World War Two, many emigrated. Francisco’s grandparents went to Venezuela, a country seen then as full of promise, the only Macanese family to have done so. The majority went to English-speaking countries. After living in Hong Kong for a century, they had been Anglicised and did not speak Portuguese. Some, Portuguese speakers, went to Brazil or Portugal.

Principally, the Hong Kong Portuguese lost their competitive edge, competency in English. Local Chinese were being educated in the language. They were also uncertain of their place.

“In 2004, we had a reunion of the family from all over the world. My relatives have gone to many countries and integrated well into them. My cousins in South America intermediate between the English speaking worlds and the Spanish ones,” he said.

What language does he and his wife use at home? “When we argue, I speak in English and Helen in Cantonese. That way we do not understand each other”, he replied mischievously.

Mark O'Neill

A Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker.