<P> Macau was administered by the Portuguese Empire and its inheritor states from the mid-16th century until late 1999 , when it constituted the last remaining European colony in Asia . Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s . In 1557 , Macau was leased to Portugal from Ming China as a trading port . The Portuguese Empire administered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887 , when Macau became a colony through a mutual agreement between the two countries . Sovereignty over Macau was transferred back to China on 20 December 1999 . The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau and Macau Basic Law stipulate that Macau operate with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049 , fifty years after the transfer . </P>
<P> Macau was administered by the Portuguese Empire and its inheritor states from the mid-16th century until late 1999 , when it constituted the last remaining European colony in Asia . Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s . In 1557 , Macau was leased to Portugal from Ming China as a trading port . The Portuguese Empire administered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887 , when Macau became a colony through a mutual agreement between the two countries . Sovereignty over Macau was transferred back to China on 20 December 1999 . The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau and Macau Basic Law stipulate that Macau operate with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049 , fifty years after the transfer . </P>
macao was a colony of what european country
macao was a colony of what european country
Portugal
Portugal