Today's post is about a paper published in 1999 (paywall) by Bruges-Armas J, Martinez-Laso J, Martins B, et al. HLA in the Azores Archipelago: possible presence of Mongoloid genes. Tissue Antigens 1999; 54(4): 349-59.
The abstract copied below mentionsthe presence of certain HLA haplotypes found in the Azorean population, in Asians, but not in Europeans.
"The HLA profile of the Azoreans has been compared with those of other world populations in order to provide additional information regarding the history of their origins. The allele frequencies, genetic distances between populations, correspondence analyses and most frequent haplotypes were calculated. Our results indicate that the Azorean population most likely contains an admixture of high-frequency Caucasoid, Mongoloid and, to a lesser degree, Negroid HLA genes. The middle Atlantic Azores Archipelago was officially colonized by the Portuguese after 1439 and historical records are concordant with the existence of Caucasoid and Negroid population. However, Mongoloid genes were not suspected, but the Oriental HLA haplotypes A24-B44-DR6-DQ1, A29-B21-DR7-DQ2 and A2-B50-DR7-DQ2 are the fourth, fifth and sixth most frequent ones in Azores. A correspondence analysis shows that the Azorean population is equidistant from Asian and European populations and genetic distances are in some cases closer to the Asian than to European ethnic groups, and never are significantly different; also, B*2707 subtype is found in Asians and Azoreans (but not in Europeans) and the same Machado-Joseph Disease founder haplotypes (Chr 14) are found in both Japanese and Azoreans. It is proposed that a Mongoloid population exists in Azores; whether, the arrival occurred prior to discovery is undetermined."
Possibly the Portuguese trade with East Asia, namely Formosa (Taiwan), Macao (a Portuguese colony on mainland China), Canton (as a trading post next to Macao), and Japan (though briefly), plus their extensive trading network across Malacca, India and what is now Indonesa (Timor) are facts that could suggest an inflow of Asian people into the Azores on the Portuguese merchant vessels.
An article published by BBC reports that the Portuguese captured or purchased Japanese people as slaves, not to work in Brazil (they preferred the African slaves for the hard work there), but as domestic slaves in Portugal and Lisbon. The article states that "The oldest record is that of Jacinta de Sa Brandao, a Japanese slave who married Guilherme Brandao, also a Japanese slave, in the Conceicao Church in Lisbon in 1573. Jacinta is the first Japanese woman known to have lived in Portugal."
Chinese slaves were also obtained in Macao, and from the pirates that raided the coastal villages of China (read more in this paper). The Portuguese also introduced African slaves into India and China (Source).
Regarding Machado-Joseph Disease (or MJD), a paper suggested "that MJD in Japanese and Azorean subjects may represent allelic or identical mutations at the same locus" implying that the Japanese and Azorean people had separate mutations that were identical. Not that Japanese somehow intermingled with Azoreans and passed on this disease.
So, no, it isn't a case of Chinese junks sailing the Atlantic and discovering the Azores (as claimed by Gavin Menzies. I already reviewed and criticized his book "1421 The year China discovered the World"). It was the slave trade that brought Asian genetic markers into Europe and the Azores.
Map of the "Chinese Treasure Fleets Voyages" from Menzies (does not show the Azores, instead it shows Cape Verde Islands - also discovered by the Portuguese and uninhabited before their arrival.)
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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