Origin of the Victory Monument

Located at Avenida de Sidónio Pais, the Victory Garden is home to the Victory Monument, which is erected at its central to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese army over the Dutch forces.

During the end of the 16th century to early 17th century, Holland rose to power in Europe after the Netherlands Bourgeois Revolution. The Dutch began its expansion to the Far East by following the sea routes discovered by the Portuguese and looked covetously to the Portuguese settlement of Macao, which had sustained several Dutch raids before the first real invasion to capture the city. In 1622, the Dutch dispatched a fleet of warships carrying a thousand soldiers in attempt to seize Macao. During the battle between the Portuguese and Dutch forces, a Jesuit priest fired a cannon-shot from the Mount Fortress, which was basically a military barrack by then. The cannon landed on a barrel of gunpowder of the Dutch formation to devastate their commanders in the ensuing explosion. Eventually, the Dutch armada fled and Macao survived the attack. To mark the triumph of the Portuguese over the Dutch invasion, the Portuguese constructed a commemorative monument in March 1871, known as the “Victory Monument” or “Memorial Monument of Victory over the Dutch”. The garden where the monument was erected, hence named as Victory Garden.