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Portuguese Empire
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The Portuguese Empire was the earliest and longest lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999.
Portuguese explorers began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, leveraging the latest developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, by an accidental landfall on the South American coast for some, by the crown's secret design for others, Pedro Álvares Cabral would find and lead to the establishment of the colony of Brazil. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and trading posts as they went.
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The Portuguese Empire was the earliest and longest lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999.
Portuguese explorers began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, leveraging the latest developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, by an accidental landfall on the South American coast for some, by the crown's secret design for others, Pedro Álvares Cabral would find and lead to the establishment of the colony of Brazil. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and trading posts as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki: the empire had become truly global, and in the process brought great wealth to Portugal.
Between 1580 and 1640 Portugal became the junior partner to Spain in the Iberian Union of the two countries' crowns. Though the empires continued to be administered separately, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain and envious of Iberian successes overseas: The Netherlands (which was engaged in a war of independence against Spain), England and France. With a smaller population, Portugal was unable to effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts and factories, and so the empire began its long and gradual decline. The loss of Brazil in 1822, by then Portugal's largest and most profitable colony, at a time when independence movements were sweeping the Americas, was a blow from which Portugal and its empire would never recover.
The Scramble for Africa which began in the late 19th century left Portugal with a handful of colonies on the continent. After World War II, Portugal's right-wing dictator, António Salazar, desperately tried to keep the Portuguese Empire intact at a time when other European countries were beginning to withdraw from their colonies. In 1961 the handful of Portuguese troops garrisoned in Goa were unable to prevent Indian troops marching into the colony, but Salazar began a long and bloody war to quell anticolonialist forces in the African colonies. The unpopular war lasted until the overthrow of the Portuguese regime in 1974, known as the Carnation Revolution. The new government immediately changed policy and recognised the independence of all its colonies, including East Timor, save for Macau, which was eventually returned to China in 1999, marking the end of the Portuguese overseas empire.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) is the cultural successor of the Empire.
The beginning of the Empire (1415-1494)The Portuguese Reconquista culminated in 1249 with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III, setting the Portuguese borders which have lasted nearly unchanged to this day. Throughout the 15th century, the Crowns of Aragon and Portugal expanded territorially overseas. The Aragonese Empire, which had accomplished its Reconquista in 1266, focused on the Mediterranean Sea while the Portuguese Empire turned to the Atlantic Ocean and North Africa. The Kingdom of Castile did not complete the conquest of the last Moorish stronghold at Granada until 1492.
There were several reasons for Portugal to explore the unknown waters to its south and west. As a Catholic kingdom, Portuguese monarchs saw it as their duty to spread Christianity and destroy Islam in the process. The legend of the long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John located somewhere in the Orient provided hope that, if it could only be reached, Islam could be encircled by Christian forces. At the same time, reaching the Orient would allow Portugal to tap into the source of the lucrative spice trade, bypassing the long overland route that the Venetians had a stranglehold on at its entry point to Europe. Portugal's long coastline and geographical location on the edge of Western Europe, hemmed in by the Spanish kingdoms to its east, and maritime experience, meant that the most promising route to achieving its goals was to find a sea route to the Orient.
Portugal began in 1415 by crossing the Straits of Gibraltar and capturing Ceuta from the Moors, who unsuccessfully attempted to re-take it in 1418. In 1419 two of Prince Henry the Navigator's captains, João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo were driven by a storm to Madeira. In 1427, another Portuguese captain discovered the Azores.
In an expedition to Tangier, undertaken in 1436 by King Edward of Portugal (1433-1438), the Portuguese army was defeated and only escaped destruction by surrendering Prince Ferdinand, the king's youngest brother. By sea, Prince Henry's captains continued their exploration of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1434, Cape Bojador was crossed by Gil Eanes. In 1441, the first consignment of slaves was brought to Lisbon and slave trading soon became one of the most profitable branches of Portuguese commerce. Senegal and Cape Verde were reached in 1445. In 1446, António Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, colonization continued in the Azores (from 1439) and Madeira, where sugar and wine were now produced by settlers from Portugal, France, Flanders and Genoa. Above all, gold brought home from Guinea stimulated the commercial energy of the Portuguese. It had become clear that, apart from their religious and scientific aspects, these voyages of discovery were highly profitable.
Under Afonso V, the African (1443–1481), the Gulf of Guinea was explored as far as Cape St Catherine, and three expeditions (1458, 1461, 1471) were sent to Morocco. In 1458, Alcácer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir, in Arabic) was taken. In 1471, Arzila (Asila) and Tangier were captured.
In 1474 an explorer named João Vaz Corte-Real received a capitancy in Azores because he discovered Terra Nova dos Bacalhaus (New Land of Codfish) in 1472. Some claim this land is Newfoundland. Whether or not this is actually the case is difficult to ascertain, as Portuguese secrecy about the discoveries means that very little evidence remains. The dried cod became a vital economic commodity and a staple of the Portuguese diet.
Afonso V of Portugal claimed the Castilan-Leonese throne when he married Joan, but Isabella proclaimed herself queen of Castile. The Treaty of Alcáçovas, signed in 1479, gave exclusive navigation to Portugal of the sea below the Canary Islands and the Portuguese then recognized Isabella as queen of Castile.
Under John II (1481–1495), the fortress of São Jorge da Mina, the modern Elmina, in Ghana, was founded for the protection of the Guinea trading and became Portugal's West African headquarters until 1637. Diogo Cão discovered Congo in 1482 and reached Cape Cross in 1486. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The passage to the Indian Ocean was open.
The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
The possibility of a sea route around Africa to India and the rest of Asia would open enormous opportunities to trade for Portugal, so it aggressively pursued the establishment of both trade outposts and fortified bases.
Knowing that Indian Ocean connected the Atlantic Ocean, King John II of Portugal refused support to Christopher Columbus's offer to reach India by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus next turned successfully to Queen Isabella of Castile, and his unintended discovery of the West Indies led to the establishment of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
The Portuguese Empire was guaranteed by the papal bull of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 6 June 1494. These two actions (and related bulls and treaties) divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish. The dividing line in the Western Hemisphere was established along a north-south meridian 370 leagues (1550 km; 970 miles) west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa) (and the antipodal line extended around the globe to divide the Eastern Hemisphere). As a result, all of Africa and almost all of Asia would belong to Portugal, while almost all of the New World would belong to Spain.
The Pope's initial proposal of the line was moved a little west by John II, and it was accepted. However, the new line granted Brazil and (thought at that time) Newfoundland to Portugal both in 1500. As the distance proposed by John II is not "round" (370 leagues), some see the evidence that Portugal knew the existence of those lands before the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). John II died one year later, in 1495.
The Height of the Empire (1494-1580)
With the Treaty of Tordesillas signed, Portugal assured exclusive navigation around Africa and, in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India and established the first Portuguese outposts there. Soon Portugal become the center of the commerce with the East.
In East Africa, small Islamic states along the coast of Mozambique, Kilwa, Brava, Sofala and Mombasa were destroyed, or became either subjects or allies of Portugal. Pêro da Covilhã had reached Ethiopia, travelling secretly, as early as 1490; a diplomatic mission reached the ruler of that nation on October 19, 1520. Explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, on April 22, 1500, landed in what is today Porto Seguro, Brazil and temporary trading posts were established to collect brazilwood for use as a dye. In the Arabian Sea, Socotra was occupied in 1506, and in the same year Lourenço d'Almeida visited Ceylon (see Portuguese Ceylon). Aden, after the failed conquest of 1510, was conquered in 1516. In the Indian Ocean, one of Pedro Álvares Cabral's ships discovered Madagascar, which was partly explored by Tristão da Cunha in 1507, the same year Mauritius was discovered. In 1509, the Portuguese won the sea Battle of Diu against the combined forces of the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II, Sultan of Gujarat, Mamlûk Sultan of Cairo, Samoothiri Raja of Kozhikode, Venetian Republic, and Ragusan Republic (Dubrovnik). A second Battle of Diu in 1538 finally ended Ottoman ambitions in India and confirmed Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean.
Portugal established trading ports at far-flung locations like Goa, Ormuz, Malacca, Kochi, the Maluku Islands, Macau, and Nagasaki. Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only the trade between Asia and Europe, but also much of the trade between different regions of Asia, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit missionaries, such as the Basque Francis Xavier, followed the Portuguese to spread Roman Catholic Christianity to Asia with mixed success.
The Portuguese empire expanded from the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf as Portugal contested control of the spice trade with the Ottoman Empire. In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at the head of the Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state, before capturing Bahrain in 1521, when a force led by Antonio Correia defeated the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil. In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of the southern Gulf for the next hundred years.
While Portuguese ships explored Asia and South America, King Manuel I of Portugal gave permission to explore the North Atlantic to João Fernandes "Lavrador" in 1499 (however he may already explored some lands as soon as 1492, as it is suggested by one letter by Pêro de Barcelos) and to the Corte-Real brothers in 1500 and 1501. Lavrador rediscovered Greenland and probably explored Labrador (named after him) and Miguel and Gaspar Corte-Real explored Newfoundland and Labrador, and possibly most of, if not all, the east coast of Baffin Island. In 1516 João Álvares Fagundes explored the North tip of Nova Scotia and islands from its coast to the south coast of Newfoundland. In 1521 Fagundes received the captaincy of the lands he discovered and the authorization to build a colony. His possessions were also distinguished from the Corte-Real's lands. The Corte-Real family, that possessed the Lordship of Terra Nova also attempted colonization. In 1567 Manuel Corte-Real sent 3 ships to colonise his North American land. The colony in Cape Breton (Fagundes' one) is mentioned as late as 1570 and the last confirmation of the title of Lord of Terra Nova was issued in 1579 by King Henry to Vasco Annes Corte-Real, son of Manuel (and not the brother of Gaspar and Miguel, with the same name). The interest in North America faded as the African and Asiatic possessions were more wealthy and the personal union of Portugal and Spain may have led to the end of the Portuguese colonies in North America. As of 2008, no trace was found of any Portuguese colony in North America.
In 1503, an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho found the French making incursions on the land that is today Brazil. John III, in 1530, organized the colonization of Brazil around 15 capitanias hereditárias ("hereditary captainships"), that were given to anyone who wanted to administer and explore them. That same year, there was a new expedition from Martim Afonso de Sousa with orders to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create the first colonial towns: São Vicente on the coast, and São Paulo on the border of the altiplane. From the 15 original captainships, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. With permanent settlement came the establishment of the sugar cane industry and its intensive labor demands which were met with Native American and later African slaves. Deeming the capitanias system ineffective, Tomé de Sousa, the first Governor-General was sent to Brazil in 1549. He built the capital of Brazil, Salvador at the Bay of All Saints. The first Jesuits arrived the same year.
Some historians argue that it was Portuguese sailors that were the first Europeans to discover Australia, exploring from their bases in East Asia. This view is based on reinterpretations of maps from the period, but remains contentious (see Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia).
From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá, a Portuguese colonial official and the third Governor General of Brazil, successfully destroyed a ten year-old French colony called France Antarctique, at Guanabara Bay. He and his nephew, Estácio de Sá, then founded the city of Rio de Janeiro in March 1567.
In 1578, the Portuguese crusaders crossed into Morocco and were routed by Ahmed Mohammed of Fez, at the Alcazarquivir (Now : Ksar-el-Kebir) also known as "the battle of the Three Kings". King Sebastian of Portugal was almost certainly killed in battle or subsequently executed. The Crown was handed over to his uncle Henry of Portugal but he died in 1580 without heirs. King Philip II of Spain who was one of the closest dynastic claimants to the throne, invaded the country with his troops and was proclaimed King of Portugal by the Portuguese Cortes. This episode marked the end of Portugal's global ambitions.
The Habsburg kings (1580-1640)
From 1580 to 1640, the throne of Portugal was held by the Habsburg kings of Spain resulting in the most extensive colonial empire until then (see Iberian Union). In 1583 Philip I of Portugal, II of Spain, sent his combined Iberian fleet to clear the French traders from the Azores, decisively hanging his prisoners-of-war from the yardarms and contributing to the "Black Legend". The Azores were the last part of Portugal to resist Philip's reign over Portugal.
Portuguese colonization was not successful in Iran. Gamru Port and a few other places (like Hormuz Island) where occupied by Portuguese in 1615, but later in 1622 Abbas I of Persia battled the Portuguese with the aid of Royal Navy and British East India Company. The city was renamed then to Bandar Abbas (Bandar means port).
In the Americas, the Portuguese expansion continued beyond the west side by the meridian set by the Treaty of Tordesillas. Portugal was able to mount a military expedition, which defeated and expelled the French colonists of France Équinoxiale in 1615, less than four years after their arrival in the land. On April 30 1625, a fleet under the command of Fradique de Toledo recovered the city of Salvador da Bahia to the Dutch. The fleet was composed of 22 Portuguese ships, 34 Spanish ships and 12,500 men (three quarters were Spanish and the rest were Portuguese).
However, in 1627 the Castilian economy collapsed. The Dutch, who during the Twelve Years' Truce had made their navy a priority, devastated Spanish maritime trade after the resumption of war, on which Spain was wholly dependent after the economic collapse. Even with a number of victories, Spanish resources were now fully stretched across Europe and also at sea protecting their vital shipping against the greatly improved Dutch fleet. Spain's enemies, such as the Netherlands and England, coveted its overseas wealth, and in many cases found it easier to attack poorly-defended Portuguese outposts than Spanish ones. Thus the Dutch-Portuguese War began.
Between 1638 and 1640, the Netherlands came to control part of Brazil's Northeast region, with their capital in Recife. The Portuguese won a significant victory in the Second Battle of Guararapes in 1649. By 1654, the Netherlands had surrendered and returned control of all Brazilian land to the Portuguese.
Although Dutch colonies in Brazil were wiped out, during the course of the 17th century the Dutch were able to occupy Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, the East Indies, part of India and to take over the trade with Japan at Nagasaki. Portugal's Asiatic territories were reduced to bases at Macau, East Timor and Portuguese India.
The wealth of Brazil (1640-1822)
The loss of colonies was one of the reasons that contributed to the end of the personal union with Spain. In 1640 John IV was proclaimed King of Portugal and the Portuguese Restoration War began. In 1668 Spain recognized the end of the Iberian Union and in exchange Portugal ceded Ceuta to the Spanish crown.
In 1661 the Portuguese offered Bombay and Tangier to England as part of a dowry, and over the next hundred years the British gradually became the dominant trader in India, providing the bases from which its empire would grow as the Moghul Empire disintegrated from the middle of the 18th century, gradually excluding the trade of other powers in the later 18th and early 19th centuries. Portugal was able to cling onto Goa and several minor bases through the remainder of the colonial period, but their importance declined as trade was diverted through increasing numbers of English, Dutch and French trading posts.
In 1755 Lisbon suffered a catastrophic earthquake, which together with a subsequent tsunami killed more than 100,000 people out of a population of 275,000. This sharply checked Portuguese colonial ambitions in the late 18th century.
Although initially overshadowed by Portuguese activities in Asia, Brazil would become the main centre for Portuguese colonial ambitions; firstly wood, sugar, coffee and other cash crops. Until the 17th century most colonial activity was restricted to areas near the coast. The Amazon basin was, under Tordesillas, considered Spanish territory, as confirmed by explorers like Orellana, but left largely unoccupied except for missions around some of its outlying areas. However throughout the 17th and 18th centuries Bandeirantes gradually extended their activities, at first primarily in search of indigenous people to enslave for the demands of the plantations, and later for gems and precious metals as well, in an ever westward expansion. This finally lead to the Treaty of Madrid (1750) that recognised this defacto occupation, and transferred sovereignty of about half of the Amazon basin from Spain to Portugal. In 1693 major gold deposits were found at Minas Gerais, leading to Brazil becoming the largest supplier of gold in the 18th century. Gems and diamonds also became an important part of mining activities. The strongly rising demand of sugar and coffee in Europe also brought further wealth. Voluntary immigration from Europe and the slave trade from Africa increased Brazil's population immensely: today Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.
Unlike Spain, Portugal did not divide its colonial territory in America. The captaincies created there were subordinated to a centralized administration in Salvador which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon.
Encouraged by the example of the United States of America, which had won its independence from Britain, an attempt was made in 1789 to achieve the same in Brazil. The Inconfidência Mineira failed, the leaders arrested and, of the participants of the insurrections the one of lowest social position, Tiradentes, was hanged.
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal, and Dom João, prince regent in place of his mother, Dona Maria I, ordered the transfer of the royal court to Brazil. In 1815 Brazil was elevated to the status of Kingdom, the Portuguese state officially becoming the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves), and the capital was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. There was also the election of Brazilian representatives to the Cortes Constitucionais Portuguesas (Portuguese Constitutional Courts).
Dom João, fleeing from Napoleon's army, moved the seat of government to Brazil in 1808. Brazil thereupon became a kingdom under Dom João VI, and the only instance of a European country being ruled from one of its colonies. Although the royal family returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to a growing desire for independence amongst Brazilians. In 1822, the son of Dom João VI, then prince-regent Dom Pedro I, proclaimed the independence, September 7, 1822, and was crowned emperor. Unlike the Spanish colonies of South America, Brazil's independence was achieved without significant bloodshed.
Portuguese Africa and the overseas provinces (1822-1961)At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there. Portuguese territories eventually included the modern nations of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola | |
