Mencius Moldbugman

BAP’s theory that colonial miscegenation was an official policy seems accurate when we see that Portuguese women were barred from travelling abroad and men were encouraged to marry local women. Freeman status and tax exemption was granted to those who married local women and bred

Despite their once sizeable number, the Kristang are mostly irrelevant in modern Malaysia and Malacca. After the Dutch takeover most became mere shrimp fishermen. Political power today is dominated by Malays, economic power by Chinese and Indians.

There are also mixed Portuguese descendants in nearby Singapore where they are part of the general Eurasian community which includes mixed descendants of other European races. Again in Singapore we see they are the smallest and least powerful ethnic group with zero clout.

Macanese were the middle men between Portuguese merchants/officials and the 90% Chinese majority. Today Macau’s economy is dominated either by Macau Chinese (like Stanley Ho) or Mainland Chinese.

In both Malacca and Macau (and Goa) we can see that in recent years the “Portuguese” caste have dwindled in fortune. In all three areas, many have migrated to the west in recent decades and those that remain are normally found at the lower economic tiers.

What I find interesting is how this middle-manager caste has declined in each area following the departure of the colonial government. The cause is obvious: without the influence of the colonial power, there is little to no need for an intermediary caste.

Once the benefits of speaking a ruling power’s language have been removed (and the cultural closeness) the middle-managers have little to offer and are quickly dominated by the ethnic majority. They are either submerged into the majority or hold on as dying relics of a former age