This post follows on from our three-part series on José d'Almeida, the Portuguese pioneer of Singapore whose tombstone, along with those of six of his children, can still be found at Fort Canning Green. D'Almeida was far from the only Portuguese name preserved along those walls. Two others — belonging to men with no known connection to the D'Almeida family — offer a study in contrasts: one life we can partly reconstruct, and one we almost certainly never will. Captain Nicolau

Portugal established diplomatic relations with Singapore in 1981, when the Portuguese ambassador to Thailand was also accredited as non-resident ambassador to Singapore. To mark the 45th anniversary of this relationship with a country that is today Portugal's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, the Portuguese embassy in Singapore has organized a photographic exhibition at the National Library Building. The Portuguese ambassador, H.E. Carlos Pires, launched the exhibiti

Every year in late June, as the tropical dusk settles over Ujong Pasir on the coast of the Malacca Straits, the air fills with an intoxicating sensory tapestry: the briny tang of the sea, the sharp aroma of lemongrass and toasted shrimp paste, and the faint, sweet smell of melting wax. For a visitor from Lisbon or Porto, the sight of families lighting candles outside their homes might evoke an immediate, startling sense of familiarity. San Pedro (São Pedro in Portuguese, i.e.

Thanks to the initiative of the Portuguese Embassy in Singapore, led by H.E. the indefatigable Ambassador Carlos Pires, the famous Portuguese singer-songwriter Ana Bacalhau performed at Singapore's Botanic Gardens on June 13th, 2026. This was a special concert to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Singapore, and was held on the Saturday after Portugal Day on June 10th. Ana Bacalhau initially rose to widespread national and international prominence

In the long history of East-West relations, few sagas are as misunderstood as the diplomatic dance between the Portuguese Crown and the Chinese Imperial Court. Often dismissed as a footnote to the eventual rise of the British Empire, these embassies were, in fact, masterclasses in cross-cultural navigation. While other European powers approached the "Middle Kingdom" (the direct translation of China in Chinese—中国) with a mixture of commercial aggression and Protestant rigidity