【一點有趣的葡萄牙歷史 ~~《莫三比克的鈔票》】【A little bit of the history of Portugal from 《A banknote of Mozambique》】
大家可能覺得有點奇怪, 何解我會拿張鈔票出來呢? 跟葡萄牙有怎麼關係呢? 其實是這樣的: 我有一位好友是錢幣收藏家, 早陣子送我這張鈔票 (因為他知道我喜好跟葡萄牙有關的東西)。
You may wonder why I am showing you this banknote. What's it to do with Portugal? Indeed, a good friend of mine is a coin/paper money collector. He gave me this Mozambique banknote because he knows I am a "Luso-lover".
莫三比克 (舊稱: 莫三鼻給) 位處非洲東南部，臨印度洋，隔著莫三比克海峽 (Mozambique Channel) 與馬達加斯加 (Madagascar) 遙遙相望。莫三比克以葡萄牙語作為其官方語言, 皆因早在1498年, 葡萄牙的著名航海家達伽瑪 (Vasco da Gama) 就率領船隊到達莫三比克。 到1505年時, 莫三比克更成為了葡萄牙的殖民地, 歷時超過四百年, 直到1975年6月25日從葡萄牙獨立, 成為「莫三比克人民共和國」。
Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony. Situated in southeast Africa, it is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east and separated from Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel. Mozambique was explored by the great Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 1498 and was then colonised by Portugal in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, Mozambique became independent from Portugal on June 25, 1975, becoming the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter.
我擁有的這張莫三比克鈔票 (前和背面), 印刷於1970年 (當時莫三比克還是葡萄牙的殖民地), 背面印著發鈔銀行是大西洋銀行 (葡萄牙國家海外銀行) (Banco Nacional Ultramarino), 幣值 50 escudos (埃斯庫多, 是葡萄牙未使用歐羅之前所使用的貨幣單位)。
但有點特別的地方是: 鈔票正面卻又印著 "Banco de Moçambique" (莫三比克銀行) ? 為怎麼會這樣的呢? 莫三比克在1975年獨立後，新政府發現在他們的金庫裡頭有大量非流通的葡萄牙殖民時代的莫三比克鈔票。由於新政府需盡快有新的貨幣，於是就將 "Banco de Moçambique" 這名稱 "叠印“在這些本為大西洋銀行印刷發行的鈔票之上, 成為有趣的過渡時期鈔票。
This Mozambique note that I have (front and back) was printed in Year 1970 (at the time Mozambique was still a colony of Portugal). In the back of it, it shows "Banco Nacional Ultramarino" is the issuing bank. The value of the note is 50 escudos (escudos was the currency that Portugal used prior to the euro).
One interesting thing is: "Banco de Moçambique" (Bank of Mozambique) is printed on the front of the note as well? Why? After becoming independent in 1975, the new Mozambique government found a large amount of uncirculated Portuguese Mozambique notes in their vaults. Needing new currency quickly, they overprinted “Banco de Mocambique” on the old notes that had originally produced for the Banco Nacional Ultramarino. This overprinted note that I have, for example, was used by Mozambique between 1975 and 1980, when a new series of notes was finally released. It is an interesting transitional currency.
附加: 根據歷史推算, 當年鄭和下西洋 (1405-1433年), 他的船隊的終極點很大可能在今天的莫三比克! :-)
P.S.: According to historical projections, Zheng He - the great Admiral from the Ming Dynasty of China - could have reached as far as today's Mozambique in his fleet in the huge Zheng-He Expeditions (1405-1433)! :-)
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