Editing Coloane (section)

==History==
From the [[Song dynasty]] onwards and until the Portuguese annexation of Coloane in 1864,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macao - Asia |url=https://ermakvagus.com/macao.htm |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=ermakvagus.com}}</ref> Coloane largely served as a [[sea salt]] farm for [[China]]. The annexation of Coloane in the 1860s came as [[Portugal]] sought to expand its influence over [[Macau]] and affirm its sovereignty, turning the city into a fully-fledged [[Portuguese Macau|colony]] and expanding its area to include [[Taipa]], [[Ilha Verde]], Coloane and portions of [[Hengqin]] (Montanha). Due to Coloane’s sparse habitation, mountainous terrain, and geographical isolation yet close adjacency to the flourishing trade on the [[Macau Peninsula]], from the [[Ming dynasty|Ming Dynasty]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-26 |title=The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane |url=https://macaulifestyle.com/culture/heritage/pirates-coloane-macau/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Macau Lifestyle |language=en-US}}</ref> it had also become a refuge of piracy, which resulted in Coloane’s fishermen having competition from both smugglers and pirates. According to historians, most pirates were likely fishermen seeking to make money. As such, the annexation by [[Portugal]] also sought to dislodge the pirates who had been using Coloane as a refuge and disrupt Macau’s trade.

Despite the annexation, Coloane remained largely deserted, and its Portuguese sovereignty remained disputed as late as 1912 by the local government in [[Guangdong]], which wanted property owners in Coloane not to be forced to pay taxes to the Macau colonial government.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Land of pirates. And mystery|website=Macau Business| date=19 July 2018 |url=https://www.macaubusiness.com/land-of-pirates-and-mystery/}}</ref> Despite several anti-piracy efforts, Coloane remained a base of piracy until an incident in July 1910 where a group of 18 Chinese children were kidnapped by a band of pirates, requesting a ransom amount of 35,000 [[Macanese pataca]]s. In what became the last battle fought by Portuguese troops in Macau, all 310 pirates active in the Coloane area were captured or fled after a 10-day battle, which saw Coloane bombed as a result and some of its inhabitants incarcerated and charged with helping pirates.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-26 |title=The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane |url=https://macaulifestyle.com/culture/heritage/pirates-coloane-macau/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Macau Lifestyle |language=en-US}}</ref>

Many of the pirates that fled were caught either by the [[Portuguese Macau|colonial Macau]] government, the [[British Hong Kong|British colonial government in Hong Kong]], or the [[Qing dynasty|Qing government in China.]] Most faced the death penalty by decapitation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-26 |title=The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane |url=https://macaulifestyle.com/culture/heritage/pirates-coloane-macau/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Macau Lifestyle |language=en-US}}</ref>

For many years, July 13 has served as a local holiday in Coloane, celebrating the victory over the pirates, with a statue in front of the Church of St. Francis Xavier (in Largo Eduardo Marques) commemorating the event.

Locally famous for its rural character, the island started to become more populated after the Estrada do Istmo causeway connecting Coloane with Taipa was completed in 1969, and became to become rapidly developed and populated starting in the 1990s, following the beginning of land reclamation works that created the area of [[Cotai]] and developed new towns such as [[Seac Pai Van]].