Fernão Pires de Andrade
Captain Fernando Pires de Andrade was a Portugal merchant and official under the explorer and Malacca governor Alfonso d'Albuquerque.
After the conquest of Malacca in 1511, not only did the Portuguese monopolizise the European spice trade, but also they met Chinese merchants. D'Albuquerque sent Jorge Alvarez to explore northward, sail along the coast of Guangdong in 1513 and hoist a flag on "Tuen Mun island", (see History of Hong Kong).
King Manuel I authorized a trade mission in 1517 when de Andrade set sail with 7 cannon-armed merchant vessels with an Islamic Chinese interpreter on June 17 1517. They reached the Pearl River estuary in late July and negotiated with Chinese Ming Dynasty officials for possible silk trade at Canton (today Guangzhou). Nevertheless, on the one hand the Portuguese sailors, who were requested to stayed ashore, conflicted with and killed some local villagers on Tuen Mun but eventually outnumbered and defeated by local stationary troops; on the other hand none of the Chinese archives and records that the Chinese officials relied so heavily on to deal with unknown foreigners showed nothing about the Portuguese. Ming government denied the request but allowed de Andrade to sell all his goods on hand in Canton before leaving.
The above Portuguese Chinese encounter marked the start of European connection to China in near-modern times.