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23 3 . T H E F I R S T P H A S E O F F O R T B U I L D I N G CHAPTER 3 Construction Methods The methods of construction followed the indigenous practice of Southern China.1 The main building materials were the local stone, granite, and the local earth, which is a sandy material formed by the decomposition of the granite over the millennium. This decomposed granite is partly self-cementing but with the addition of lime and chopped straw becomes a splendid building material known as chunambo, or simply chunam.2 This mixture is rammed tight in layers between timber shutters, which were progressively moved up to produce a wall of the desired height. The picture of the walls remnants (Figure 8) shows the layering of the chunam used in its construction. The lime was produced by burning coral and shells in kilns, usually sited close to the shore. As mentioned above, a map of about 1789 shows lime kilns at the place that is now enclosed by Rua do Chunambeiro, and this was probably the main site for producing the lime. Decomposed granite would have been dug up close to where it was needed. The Jesuits, who were the first to start building walls and forts, appear to have used granite blocks of roughly square shape. A section of a wall built in this way, discovered during excavations in the Monte Fort, is displayed in situ at the entrance to the Macau Museum. However, after 1622 chunam was the main material used in the construction of Macau’s forts and walls. This was possibly due to the increased scale of construction, which may have overstretched the capacity of the quarries. Nevertheless, it is ideal as a material for defensive walls as it is very resilient to cannon shot, unlike stone walls that splinter and break up under such bombardments. It is also easy to repair and today the appearance is often mottled due to successive patching. It is a little susceptible to water damage and the lower parts of the walls were usually built of stone to counter the effects of both rising damp and rain splash. The walls of Macau’s forts were never really tested but some idea of their strength can be gained from the fact that when sections of the city walls were demolished to make way for the Hospital of São Januário, 1,800 pounds of gunpowder were needed to flatten 130 metres of wall.3 THE FIRST PHASE OF FORT BUILDING T H E D E F E N C E S O F M A C A U 24 The other local building material used for the buildings inside the forts was brick. These were made from local clays and were usually air-dried although the better quality ones were fired. Much of the brickwork as well as the chunam was rendered in a lime mortar, which resulted in a white appearance similar to the currently light painted structures in some of the forts today. Layout Design The layout of the forts was relatively simple. At the same period in Europe city defences had become very sophisticated. The old stonewalls had become vulnerable to cannon fire and had to be reinforced with earthworks. During the English Civil War in the 1640s it was reported that a big gun could breach a wall lined with up to eight feet of soil, but that a lining twenty feet thick made it invulnerable.4 The layout of the fortifications also became more complex with multiple redoubts, forts and bastions providing enfilading fire. Ditches fronted the walls and were lined with sharpened stakes and other obstacles. All of this was designed to resist an assault by an army equipped with heavy cannon. Macau did not face that sort of threat, and in any event would not have had the space or the resources to build such extensive works. The defences of Macau were built to resist an attack from the sea. The Dutch attack of 1622 typified this threat. What were needed were coastal batteries to counter the enemy’s ships and sufficient walls and batteries to resist landing parties. Such forces were, at the most, only likely to be equipped with small field cannon, hence simple walls were quite sufficient. The Monte Fort was the only one of the forts with protruding bastions at its corners to provide enfilading fire along its walls...

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