Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also
known as the Portuguese Overseas (Ultramar Português), was one of the largest
and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It
existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant
of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002.
The first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the
beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it
would eventually expand across the globe. Portuguese sailors began exploring
the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418–19, using recent
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, either by an accidental landfall or
by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the
South American coast.
Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to
explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories
as they went. By 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki
along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This
commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.
When Philip II of Spain, I of Portugal, inherited the
Portuguese crown in 1580, this began a 60-year union between Spain and Portugal
that has since been given the historiographic term of the Iberian Union. Though
the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal
ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also
King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three
rival European powers hostile to Spain: the Dutch Republic, England, and
France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to effectively defend
its overstretched network of trading posts, and the empire began a long and gradual
decline. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the second era
until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas
during the early 19th century, it broke away in 1822.
Portugal's colonial trade had a substantial positive impact
on Portuguese economic growth (1500-1800), when it accounted for about a fifth
of Portugal's per capita income.
The third era represents the final stage of Portuguese
colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial
possessions had been reduced to the African coastline (expanded inland during
the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century), Portuguese Timor, and
enclaves in India (Goa) and China (Macau). The disastrous 1890 British
Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa.
Under António Salazar, the Second Portuguese Republic made
some ill-fated attempts to hold on to its last remaining colonies and overseas
provinces after the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa, embarking on the Portuguese
Colonial War in Africa which lasted until the final overthrow of the regime in
the Carnation Revolution of 1974. Macau was returned to China in 1999.
Background (1139–1415)
The Conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, was led by Henry the
Navigator, and initiated the Portuguese Empire.
The origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the
reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors.[1]
After establishing itself as a separate kingdom in 1139, Portugal completed its
reconquest of Moorish territory by reaching Algarve in 1249, but its
independence continued to be threatened by neighbouring Castile until the
signing of the Treaty of Ayllón in 1411.[2]
Free from threats to its existence and unchallenged by the
wars fought by other European states, Portuguese attention turned overseas and
towards a military expedition to the Muslim lands of North Africa.[3] There
were several probable motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate
(in present-day Morocco). It offered the opportunity to continue the Christian
crusade against Islam; to the military class, it promised glory on the
battlefield and the spoils of war;[4] and finally, it was also a chance to
expand Portuguese trade and to address Portugal's economic decline.[3]
In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located
North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the
terminal ports of the trans-Saharan gold and slave trades. The conquest was a
military success, and marked one of the first steps in Portuguese expansion
beyond the Iberian Peninsula,[5] but it proved costly to defend against the
Muslim forces that soon besieged it. The Portuguese were unable to use it as a
base for further expansion into the hinterland,[6] and the trans-Saharan
caravans merely shifted their routes to bypass Ceuta and/or used alternative
Muslim ports.[7]
First era (1415–1663)
Although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the
Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the
Atlantic African coast.[7] A key supporter of this policy was Infante Dom Henry
the Navigator, who had been involved in the capture of Ceuta, and who took the
lead role in promoting and financing Portuguese maritime exploration until his
death in 1460.[8] At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape
Bojador on the African coast. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories
in Africa extended, and whether it was possible to reach Asia by sea, both to
reach the source of the lucrative spice trade and perhaps to join forces with
the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John that was rumoured to exist
somewhere in the "Indies".[4][9] Under his sponsorship, soon the
Atlantic islands of Madeira (1420) and Azores (1427) were reached and started
to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal.[10]
Initial African coastline excursions
Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was
possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was
rounded by one of Infante Henry's captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological
barrier had been crossed, it became easier to probe further along the coast.[11]
In 1443 Infante Dom Pedro, Henry's brother and by then regent of the Kingdom,
granted him the monopoly of navigation, war and trade in the lands south of
Cape Bojador. Later this monopoly would be enforced by the papal bulls Dum
Diversas (1452) and Romanus Pontifex (1455), granting Portugal the trade
monopoly for the newly discovered lands.[12] A major advance that accelerated
this project was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a
ship that could be sailed closer to the wind than any other in operation in
Europe at the time.[13] Using this new maritime technology, Portuguese
navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes, advancing at an average rate
of one degree a year.[14] Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445.[15]
Expansion of sugarcane in Madeira started in 1455, using
advisers from Sicily and (largely) Genoese capital to produce the "sweet
salt" rare in Europe. Already cultivated in Algarve, the accessibility of
Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders keen to bypass Venetian monopolies.
Slaves were used, and the proportion of imported slaves in Madeira reached 10%
of the total population by the 16th century.[17] By 1480 Antwerp had some
seventy ships engaged in the Madeira sugar trade, with the refining and
distribution concentrated in Antwerp. By the 1490s Madeira had overtaken Cyprus
as a producer of sugar.[18] The success of sugar merchants such as Bartolomeo
Marchionni would propel the investment in future travels.[19]
In 1469, after prince Henry's death and as a result of
meagre returns of the African explorations, King Afonso V granted the monopoly
of trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea to merchant Fernão Gomes.[20] Gomes, who
had to explore 100 miles (160 km) of the coast each year for five years,
discovered the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe
and found a thriving alluvial gold trade among the natives and visiting Arab
and Berber traders at the port then named Mina (the mine), where he established
a trading post.[21] Trade between Elmina and Portugal grew throughout a decade.
In 1481, the recently crowned João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina in
order to ensure the protection of this trade, which was held again as a royal
monopoly. The Equator was crossed by navigators sponsored by Fernão Gomes in
1473 and the Congo River by Diogo Cão in 1482. It was during this expedition
that the Portuguese first encountered the Kingdom of Kongo, with which it soon
developed a rapport.[22] During his 1485–86 expedition, Cão continued to Cape
Cross, in present-day Namibia, near the Tropic of Capricorn.[23]
In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope on
the southern tip of Africa, proving false the view that had existed since
Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land-locked. Simultaneously Pêro da Covilhã,
traveling secretly overland, had reached Ethiopia, suggesting that a sea route
to the Indies would soon be forthcoming.[24]
As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they
left behind a series of padrões, stone crosses engraved with the Portuguese
coat of arms marking their claims,[25] and built forts and trading posts. From
these bases, they engaged profitably in the slave and gold trades. Portugal
enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the African seaborne slave trade for over a
century, importing around 800 slaves annually. Most were brought to the
Portuguese capital Lisbon, where it is estimated black Africans came to constitute
10 per cent of the population.[26]
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas meridian divided the world
between the crowns of Portugal and of Castile.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus's discovery for Spain of the
New World, which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between the Spanish
and Portuguese.[27] These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas
in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between
the Portuguese and the Spanish along a north-south meridian 370 leagues, or 970
miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands.[28] However, as it was not
possible at the time to correctly measure longitude, the exact boundary was
disputed by the two countries until 1777.[29]
The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of
several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the
Portuguese to follow up on Dias's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it
has also been speculated that other voyages were in fact taking place in secret
during this time.[30][31] Whether or not this was the case, the long-standing
Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a
ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama.[32]
Portuguese enter the Indian Ocean
The squadron of Vasco da Gama left Portugal in 1497, rounded
the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was
brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut (the
capital of the native kingdom ruled by Zamorins) in south-western India in May
1498.[33] The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares
Cabral. While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the
Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably
an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese
secretly knew of Brazil's existence and that it lay on their side of the
Tordesillas line.[34] Cabral recommended to the Portuguese King that the land
be settled, and two follow up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was
found to be abundant in pau-brasil, or brazilwood, from which it later
inherited its name, but the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the
time being Portuguese efforts were concentrated on India.[35] In 1502, to
enforce its trade monopoly over a wide area of the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese
Empire created the cartaz licensing system, granting merchant ships protection
against pirates and rival states.[36]
Profiting from the rivalry between the ruler of Kochi and
the Zamorin of Calicut, the Portuguese were well-received and seen as allies,
as they obtained a permit to build the fort Immanuel (Fort Kochi) and a trading
post that were the first European settlement in India. They established a
trading center at Tangasseri, Quilon (Coulão, Kollam) city in (1503) in 1502,
which became the centre of trade in pepper,[37] and after founding
manufactories at Cochin (Cochim, Kochi) and Cannanore (Canonor, Kannur), built
a factory at Quilon in 1503. In 1505 King Manuel I of Portugal appointed
Francisco de Almeida first Viceroy of Portuguese India, establishing the
Portuguese government in the east. That year the Portuguese also conquered
Kannur, where they founded St. Angelo Fort, and Lourenço de Almeida arrived in
Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), where he discovered the source of cinnamon.[38]
Although Cankili I of Jaffna initially resisted contact with them, the Jaffna
kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials soon after for their
resistance to missionary activities as well as logistical reasons due to its
proximity with Trincomalee harbour among other reasons.[39] In the same year,
Manuel I ordered Almeida to fortify the Portuguese fortresses in Kerala and
within eastern Africa, as well as probe into the prospects of building forts in
Sri Lanka and Malacca in response to growing hostilities with Muslims within
those regions and threats from the Mamluk sultan.[40]
The Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai carrack exemplified the
might and the force of the Portuguese Armada.
A Portuguese fleet under the command of Tristão da Cunha and
Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Socotra at the entrance of the Red Sea in 1506
and Muscat in 1507. Having failed to conquer Ormuz, they instead followed a
strategy intended to close off commerce to and from the Indian Ocean.[41]
Madagascar was partly explored by Cunha, and Mauritius was discovered by Cunha
whilst possibly being accompanied by Albuquerque.[42] After the capture of
Socotra, Cunha and Albuquerque operated separately. While Cunha traveled India
and Portugal for trading purposes, Albuquerque went to India to take over as
governor after Almeida's three-year term ended. Almeida refused to turn over
power and soon placed Albuquerque under house arrest, where he remained until
1509.[43]
Although requested by Manuel I to further explore interests
in Malacca and Sri Lanka, Almeida instead focused on western India, in
particular the Sultanate of Gujarat due to his suspicions of traders from the
region possessing more power. The Mamlûk Sultanate sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh
al-Ghawri along with the Gujarati sultanate attacked Portuguese forces in the
harbor of Chaul, resulting in the death of Almeida's son. In retaliation, the
Portuguese fought and destroyed the Mamluks and Gujarati fleets in the sea
Battle of Diu in 1509.[44]
Along with Almeida's initial attempts, Manuel I and his
council in Lisbon had tried to distribute power in the Indian Ocean, creating
three areas of jurisdiction: Albuquerque was sent to the Red Sea, Diogo Lopes
de Sequeira to South-east Asia, seeking an agreement with the Sultan of
Malacca, and Jorge de Aguiar followed by Duarte de Lemos were sent to the area
between the Cape of Good Hope and Gujarat.[45] However, such posts were
centralized by Afonso de Albuquerque after his succession and remained so in
subsequent ruling.[46]
Trade with Maritime Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese Empire of the
East, or Estado da Índia ("State of India"), with its capital in Goa,
included possessions (as subjected areas with a certain degree of autonomy) in
all the Asian sub-continents, East Africa, and Pacific.
By the end of 1509, Albuquerque became viceroy of the
Portuguese India. In contrast to Almeida, Albuquerque was more concerned with
strengthening the navy,[47] as well as being more compliant with the interests
of the kingdom.[48] His first objective was to conquer Goa, due to its
strategic location as a defensive fort positioned between Kerala and Gujarat,
as well as its prominence for Arabian horse imports.[44]
The initial capture of Goa from the Bijapur sultanate in
1510 was soon countered by the Bijapuris, but with the help of Hindu privateer
Timoji, on November 25 of the same year it was recaptured.[49][50] In Goa,
Albuquerque began the first Portuguese mint in India in 1510.[51] He encouraged
Portuguese settlers to marry local women, built a church in honor of St.
Catherine (as it was recaptured on her feast day), and attempted to build
rapport with the Hindus by protecting their temples and reducing their tax
requirements.[50] The Portuguese maintained friendly relations with the south
Indian Emperors of the Vijayanagara Empire.[52]
In April 1511 Albuquerque sailed to Malacca in Malaysia,[53]
the largest spice market of the period.[54] Though the trade was largely
dominated by the Gujurati, other groups such as the Turks, Persians, Armenians,
Tamils and Abyssinians traded there.[54] Albuquerque targeted Malacca to impede
the Muslim and Venetian influence in the spice trade and increase that of
Lisbon.[55] By July 1511, Albuquerque had captured Malacca and sent Antonio de
Abreu and Francisco Serrão (along with Ferdinand Magellan) to explore the
Indonesian archipelago.[56]
The Malacca peninsula became the strategic base for
Portuguese trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia. A strong gate, called
the A Famosa, was erected to defend the city and still remains.[57] Learning of
Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes
on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand), where he was
the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations and trade between
both kingdoms.[58][59]
The Portuguese empire pushed further south and proceeded to
discover Timor in 1512. Jorge de Meneses discovered New Guinea in 1526, naming
it the "Island of the Papua".[60] In 1517, João da Silveira commanded
a fleet to Chittagong,[61] and by 1528, the Portuguese had established a
settlement in Chittagong.[62] The Portuguese eventually based their center of
operations along the Hugli River, where they encountered Muslims, Hindus, and
Portuguese deserters known as Chatins.[63]
China and Japan
The Portuguese founded the city of Nagasaki, Japan
Jorge Alvares was the first European to reach China by sea,
while the Romans were the first overland via Asia Minor.[64][65][66][67] He was
also the first European to discover Hong Kong.[68][69] In 1514, Afonso de
Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Estado da India, dispatched Italian Rafael
Perestrello to sail to China in order to pioneer European trade relations with
the nation.[70][71]
In spite of initial harmony and excitement between the two
cultures, difficulties began to arise shortly afterwards, including
misunderstanding, bigotry, and even hostility.[72] The Portuguese explorer
Simão de Andrade incited poor relations with China due to his pirate
activities, raiding Chinese shipping, attacking a Chinese official, and
kidnappings of Chinese. He based himself at Tamao island in a fort. The Chinese
claimed that Simão kidnapped Chinese boys and girls to be molested and
cannibalized.[73] The Chinese sent a squadron of junks against Portuguese
caravels that succeeded in driving the Portuguese away and reclaiming Tamao. As
a result, the Chinese posted an edict banning men with caucasian features from
entering Canton, killing multiple Portuguese there, and driving the Portuguese
back to sea.[74][75]
Spice Islands (Moluccas) and Treaty of Zaragoza
Portugal was the first European nation to establish trade
routes with Japan and China.
Portuguese operations in Asia did not go unnoticed, and in
1521 Magellan arrived in the region and claimed the Philippines for Spain. In
1525, Spain under Charles V sent an expedition to colonize the Moluccas
islands, claiming they were in his zone of the Treaty of Tordesillas, since
there was no set limit to the east. The expedition of García Jofre de Loaísa
reached the Moluccas, docking at Tidore. With the Portuguese already
established in nearby Ternate, conflict was inevitable, leading to nearly a decade
of skirmishes. A resolution was reached with the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529,
attributing the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain.[77]
South Asia, Persian Gulf and Red Sea
The Portuguese empire expanded into the Persian Gulf,
contesting control of the spice trade with the Ajuran Empire and the Ottoman
Empire. In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at
the head of the Persian Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state. Aden, however,
resisted Albuquerque's expedition in that same year and another attempt by
Albuquerque's successor Lopo Soares de Albergaria in 1516. In 1521 a force led
by António Correia captured Bahrain, defeating the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn
Zamil.[78] In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of
the southern Persian Gulf for the next hundred years. With the regular maritime
route linking Lisbon to Goa since 1497, the island of Mozambique became a
strategic port, and there was built Fort São Sebastião and a hospital. In the Azores,
the Islands Armada protected the ships en route to Lisbon.[79]
In 1534, Gujarat faced attack from the Mughals and the
Rajput states of Chitor and Mandu. The Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was
forced to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese, establishing an
alliance to regain the country, giving in exchange Daman, Diu, Mumbai and
Bassein. It also regulated the trade of Gujarati ships departing to the Red Sea
and passing through Bassein to pay duties and allow the horse trade.[80] After
Mughal ruler Humayun had success against Bahadur, the latter signed another
treaty with the Portuguese to confirm the provisions and allowed the fort to be
built in Diu. Shortly afterward, Humayun turned his attention elsewhere, and
the Gujarats allied with the Ottomans to regain control of Diu and lay siege to
the fort. The two failed sieges of 1538 and 1546 put an end to Ottoman
ambitions, confirming the Portuguese hegemony in the region,[80][81] as well as
gaining superiority over the Mughals.[82] However, the Ottomans fought off
attacks from the Portuguese in the Red Sea and in the Sinai Peninsula in 1541,
and in the northern region of the Persian Gulf in 1546 and 1552. Each entity
ultimately had to respect the sphere of influence of the other, albeit unofficially.[83][84]
Sub-Saharan Africa
After a series of prolonged contacts with Ethiopia, the
Portuguese embassy made contact with the Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Kingdom led by
Rodrigo de Lima in 1520.[85][86] This coincided with the Portuguese search for
Prester John, as they soon associated the kingdom as his land.[87] The fear of
Turkish advances within the Portuguese and Ethiopian sectors also played a role
in their alliance.[85][88] The Adal Sultanate defeated the Ethiopians in the
battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529, and Islam spread further in the region.
Portugal responded by aiding king Gelawdewos with Portuguese soldiers and
muskets. Though the Ottomans responded with support of soldiers and muskets to
the Adal Sultanate, after the death of the Adali sultan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim
al-Ghazi in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543, the joint Adal-Ottoman force
retreated.[89][90][91]
The Portuguese also made direct contact with the Kongolose
vassal state Ndongo and its ruler Ngola Kiljuane in 1520, after the latter
requested missionaries.[92] Kongolese king Afonso I interfered with the process
with denunciations, and later sent a Kongo mission to Ndongo after the latter
had arrested the Portuguese mission that came.[92] The growing official and
unofficial slave trading with Ndongo strained relations between Kongo and the
Portuguese, and even had Portuguese ambassadors from Sao Tome support Ndongo
against the Kingdom of Kongo.[93][94] However, when the Jaga attacked and
conquered regions of Kongo in 1568, Portuguese assisted Kongo in their
defeat.[95] In response, the Kongo allowed the colonization of Luanda Island;
Luanda was established by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 and soon became a slave
port.[95][96] De Novais' subsequent alliance with Ndongo angered Luso-Africans
who resented the influence from the Crown.[97] In 1579, Ndongo ruler Ngola
Kiluanje kia Ndamdi massacred Portuguese and Kongolese residents in the Ndongo
capital Kabasa under the influence of Portuguese renegades. Both the Portuguese
and Kongo fought against Ndongo, and off-and-on warfare between the Ndongo and
Portugal would persist for decades.[98]
Missionary expeditions
St. Francis Xavier requesting John III of Portugal for a
missionary expedition in Asia.
In 1542, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at
the service of King John III of Portugal, in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature.
At the same time Francisco Zeimoto and other traders arrived in Japan for the
first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto, who claimed to be in this
journey, they arrived at Tanegashima, where the locals were impressed by
firearms, that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale.[99]
By 1570 the Portuguese bought part of a Japanese port where they founded a
small part of the city of Nagasaki,[100] and it became the major trading port
in Japan in the triangular trade with China and Europe.[101]
The Portuguese were defeated in their attempt to capture
cities and sultanates, on the Somali coast such as Sultanate of Mogadishu,
Merca, and Barawa by the Somalis of the Ajuran Empire.[102] 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 and Africa, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit
missionaries, followed the Portuguese to spread Roman Catholicism to Asia and
Africa with mixed success.[103]
Colonization efforts in the Americas
Canada
Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown,
under the kings Manuel I, John III and Sebastian, also claimed territorial
rights in North America (reached by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498). To that end,
in 1499 and 1500, João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and the north
Atlantic coast of Canada, which accounts for the appearance of
"Labrador" on topographical maps of the period.[104] Subsequently, in
1500–1501 and 1502, the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real explored what is
today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Greenland,
claiming these lands for Portugal. In 1506, King Manuel I created taxes for the
cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters.[105] Around 1521, João Álvares Fagundes
was granted donatary rights to the inner islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and also created a settlement on Cape Breton Island to serve as a base for cod
fishing. Pressure from natives and competing European fisheries prevented a
permanent establishment and was abandoned five years later. Several attempts to
establish settlements in Newfoundland over the next half-century also
failed.[106]
Brazil
Within a few years after Cabral arrived from Brazil,
competition came along from France. In 1503 an expedition under the command of
Gonçalo Coelho reported French raids on the Brazilian coasts,[107] and explorer
Binot Paulmier de Gonneville traded for brazilwood after making contact in
southern Brazil a year later.[108] Expeditions sponsored by Francis I along the
North American coast directly violated of the Treaty of Tordesilhas.[109] By
1531 the French had stationed a trading post off of an island on the Brazilian
coast.[109]
The increase in brazilwood smuggling from the French led
João III to press an effort to establish effective occupation of the
territory.[110] In 1531, a royal expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa and
his brother Pero Lopes went to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the
French, and create some of the first colonial towns—among them São Vicente, in
1532.[111] Sousa returned to Lisbon a year later to become governor of India
and never returned to Brazil.[112][113] The French attacks did cease to an
extent after retaliation led to the Portuguese paying the French to stop
attacking Portuguese ships throughout the Atlantic,[109] but the attacks would
continue to be a problem well into the 1560s.[114]
Of the fifteen original captaincies, only two, Pernambuco
and São Vicente, prospered.[118] Both were dedicated to the crop of sugar cane,
and the settlers managed to maintain alliances with Native Americans. The rise
of the sugar industry came about because the Crown took the easiest sources of
profit (brazilwood, spices, etc.), leaving settlers to come up with new revenue
sources.[119] The establishment of the sugar cane industry demanded intensive
labor that would be met with Native American and, later, African slaves.[120]
Deeming the capitanias system ineffective, João III decided to centralize the
government of the colony in order to "give help and assistance" to
grantees. In 1548 he created the first General Government, sending in Tomé de
Sousa as first governor and selecting a capital at the Bay of All Saints,
making it at the Captaincy of Bahia.[121][122]
Tomé de Sousa built the capital of Brazil, Salvador, at the
Bay of All Saints in 1549.[123] Among de Sousa's 1000 man expedition were
soldiers, workers, and six Jesuits led by Manuel da Nóbrega.[124] The Jesuits
would have an essential role in the colonization of Brazil, including São
Vicente, and São Paulo, the latter which Nóbrega co-founded.[125] Along with
the Jesuit missions later came disease among the natives, among them plague and
smallpox.[126] Subsequently, the French would resettle in Portuguese territory
at Guanabara Bay, which would be called France Antarctique.[127] While a
Portuguese ambassador was sent to Paris to report the French intrusion, Joao
III appointed Mem de Sá as new Brazilian governor general, and Sá left for
Brazil in 1557.[127] By 1560, Sá and his forces had expelled the combined
Huguenot, Scottish Calvinist, and slave forces from France Antarctique, but
left survivors after burning their fortifications and villages. These survivors
would settle Gloria Bay, Flamengo Beach, and Parapapuã with the assistance of
the Tamoio natives.[128]
The Tamoio had been allied with the French since the
settlement of France Antarctique, and despite the French loss in 1560, the
Tamoio were still a threat.[129] They launched two attacks in 1561 and 1564
(the latter event was assisting the French), and were nearly successful with
each.[130][131] By this time period, Manuel de Nóbrega, along with fellow
Jesuit José de Anchieta, took part as members of attacks on the Tamoios and as
spies for their resources.[129][130] From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá and his
forces eventually destroyed France Antarctique at Guanabara Bay. He and his
nephew, Estácio de Sá, then established the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1567,
after Mem de Sá proclaimed the area "São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro"
in 1565.[132] By 1575, the Tamoios had been subdued and essentially were extinct,[129]
and by 1580 the government became more of a ouvidor general rather than the
ouvidores.[133]
Iberian Union, Protestant rivalry, and colonial stasis
(1580–1663)
The Luso-Hispanic (or Iberian) Empire in 1598, during the
reign of Philip I and II, King of Portugal and Spain.
In 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal after a
crisis of succession brought about by King Sebastian of Portugal's death during
a disastrous Portuguese attack on Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578. At the
Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Philip was crowned Philip I of Portugal, uniting the
two crowns and overseas empires under Spanish Habsburg rule in a dynastic
Iberian Union.[134] At Tomar, Philip promised to keep the empires legally
distinct, leaving the administration of the Portuguese Empire to Portuguese
nationals, with a Viceroy of Portugal in Lisbon seeing to his interests.[135]
Philip even had the capital moved to Lisbon for a two-year period (1581–83) due
to it being the most important city in the Iberian peninsula.[136] All the
Portuguese colonies accepted the new state of affairs except for the Azores,
which held out for António, a Portuguese rival claimant to the throne who had
garnered the support of Catherine de Medici of France in exchange for the
promise to cede Brazil. Spanish forces eventually captured the islands in
1583.[137]
The Tordesillas boundary between Spanish and Portuguese
control in South America was then increasingly ignored by the Portuguese, who
pressed beyond it into the heart of Brazil,[135] allowing them to expand the
territory to the west. Exploratory missions were carried out both ordered by
the government, the "entradas" (entries), and by private initiative,
the "bandeiras" (flags), by the "bandeirantes".[138] These
expeditions lasted for years venturing into unmapped regions, initially to
capture natives and force them into slavery, and later focusing on finding
gold, silver and diamond mines.[139]
The Recovery of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, by
Philip III of Portugal, from the Dutch Republic.
However, the union meant that Spain dragged Portugal into
its conflicts with England, France and the Dutch Republic, countries which were
beginning to establish their own overseas empires.[140] The primary threat came
from the Dutch, who had been engaged in a struggle for independence against
Spain since 1568. In 1581 the Seven Provinces gained independence from the
Habsburg rule, leading Philip II to prohibit commerce with Dutch ships,
including in Brazil where Dutch had invested large sums in financing sugar
production.[141]
Spanish imperial trade networks now were opened to
Portuguese merchants, which was particularly lucrative for Portuguese slave
traders who could now sell slaves in Spanish America at a higher price than
could be fetched in Brazil.[142] In addition to this newly acquired access to
the Spanish asientos, the Portuguese were able to solve their bullion shortage
issues with access to the production of the silver mining in Peru and
Mexico.[143] Manila was also incorporated into the Macau-Nagasaki trading
network which allowed Macanese of Portuguese descent to act as trading agents
for Philippine Spaniards, use Spanish silver from the Americas in trade with
China, and later drew competition with the Dutch East India Company.[144]
In 1592, during the war with Spain, an English fleet
captured a large Portuguese carrack off the Azores, the Madre de Deus, which
was loaded with 900 tons of merchandise from India and China estimated at half
a million pounds (nearly half the size of English Treasury at the time).[145]
This foretaste of the riches of the East galvanized English interest in the
region.[146] That same year, Cornelis de Houtman was sent by Dutch merchants to
Lisbon, to gather as much information as he could about the Spice
Islands.[144][147]
The Dutch eventually realized the importance of Goa in
breaking up the Portuguese empire in Asia. In 1583, merchant and explorer Jan
Huyghen van Linschoten (1563 – 8 February 1611), formerly the Dutch secretary
of the Archbishop of Goa, had acquired information while serving in that
position that contained the location of secret Portuguese trade routes
throughout Asia, including those to the East Indies and Japan. It was published
in 1595; the text was then included in the larger volume published in 1596 under
the title "Itinerario: voyage, ofte schipvaert van Jan Huygen van
Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien, 1579–1592, Volume 2, Issue 2, by
Jan Huygen van Linschoten, Linschoten-Vereeniging (Hague, Netherlands)".
Dutch and English interests used this new information, leading to their
commercial expansion, including the foundation of the English East India
Company in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company in 1602. These developments
allowed the entry of chartered companies into the East Indies.[148][149]
The Portuguese victory at the Second Battle of Guararapes,
ended Dutch presence in Pernambuco.
The Dutch took their fight overseas attacking Spanish and
Portuguese colonies, beginning the Dutch Portuguese War which would last for
over sixty years (1602–1663), while other European nations such as Protestant
England, also assisted the Dutch Empire in the war. The Dutch attained
victories in Asia and Africa with assistance of various indigenous allies,
eventually wrenching control of Malacca, Ceylon, and São Jorge da Mina. The
Dutch also had regional control of Brazil and Luanda, but the Portuguese
regained these territories.[150]
Meanwhile, in the Arabian Peninsula, the Portuguese also
lost control of Ormuz by a joint alliance of the Safavids and the English in
1622, and the Omani would capture Muscat in 1650.[151] They would continue to
use Muscat as a base for repetitive incursions within the Indian Ocean,
including capturing Fort Jesus in 1698.[152] In Ethiopia and Japan in the
1630s, the ousting of missionaries by local leaders severed influence in the
respective regions.
Second era (1663–1825)
Further information: History of Portugal (1640–1777) and
History of Portugal (1777–1834)
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 1661 the
Portuguese offered Bombay and Tangier to England as part of a dowry, and over
the next hundred years the English gradually became the dominant trader in
India, gradually excluding the trade of other powers. In 1668 Spain recognized
the end of the Iberian Union and in exchange Portugal ceded Ceuta to the
Spanish crown.[153]
After the Portuguese were defeated by the Indian rulers
Chimnaji Appa of the Maratha Empire[154][155] and by Shivappa Nayaka of the
Keladi Nayaka Kingdom[156] and at the end of confrontations with the Dutch,
Portugal was only able to cling onto Goa and several minor bases in India, and
managed to regain territories in Brazil and Africa, but lost forever to
prominence in Asia as trade was diverted through increasing numbers of English,
Dutch and French trading posts. Thus, throughout the century, Brazil gained
increasing importance to the empire, which exported Brazilwood and sugar.[139]
Minas Gerais and the Gold Industry
In 1693, one of the major locations in Brazil became Minas
Gerais, where gold was discovered. Major discoveries of gold and, later,
diamonds in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Goiás led to a "gold rush",
with a large influx of migrants.[157] The village became the new economic
center of the empire, with rapid settlement and some conflicts. This gold cycle
led to the creation of an internal market and attracted a large number of
immigrants. By 1739, at the apex of the mining boom, the population of Minas
Gerais was somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000.[158]
The Portuguese Cortes sought the disbandment of the United
Kingdom.
The gold rush considerably increased the revenue of the
Portuguese crown, who charged a fifth of all the ore mined, or the
"fifth". Diversion and smuggling were frequent, along with
altercations between Paulistas (residents of São Paulo) and Emboabas
(immigrants from Portugal and other regions in Brazil), so a whole set of
bureaucratic controls began in 1710 with the captaincy of São Paulo and Minas
Gerais. By 1718, São Paulo and Minas Gerais became two captaincies, with eight
vilas created in the latter.[159][160] The crown also restricted the diamond
mining within its jurisdiction and to private contractors.[160] In spite of
gold galvanizing global trade, the plantation industry became the leading
export for Brazil during this period; sugar constituted at 50% of the exports
(with gold at 46%) in 1760.[158]
Africans and Afro-Brazilians became the largest group of
people in Minas Gerais. Slaves labeled as 'Minas' and 'Angolas' rose in high
demand during the boom. The Akan within the 'Minas' group had a reputation to
have been experts in extrapolating gold in their native regions, and became the
preferred group. In spite of the high death rate associated with the slaves
involved in the mining industry, the owners that allowed slaves that extracted
above the minimum amount of gold to keep the excesses, which in turn led to the
possibility of manumission. Those that became free partook in artisan jobs such
as cobblers, tailors, and blacksmiths. In spite of free blacks and mulattoes
playing a large role in Minas Gerais, the number of them that received
marginalization was greater there than in any other region in Brazil.[161]
Gold discovered in Mato Grosso and Goiás sparked an interest
to solidify the western borders of the colony. In the 1730s contact with
Spanish outposts occurred more frequently, and the Spanish threatened to launch
a military expedition in order to remove them. This failed to happen and by the
1750s the Portuguese were able to implant a political stronghold in the
region.[162]
In 1755 Lisbon suffered a catastrophic earthquake, which
together with a subsequent tsunami killed between 40,000–60,000 people out of a
population of 275,000.[163] This sharply checked Portuguese colonial ambitions
in the late 18th century.[164]
According to economic historians, Portugal's colonial trade
had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth, 1500-1800.
Leonor Costa et al conclude:
intercontinental trade had a substantial and increasingly
positive impact on economic growth. In the heyday of colonial expansion,
eliminating the economic links to empire would have reduced Portugal’s per
capita income by roughly a fifth. While the empire helped the domestic economy
it was not sufficient to annul the tendency towards decline in relation to
Europe’s advanced core which set in from the 17th century onwards.[165]
Pombaline and post-Pombaline Brazil
Unlike Spain, Portugal did not divide its colonial territory
in America. The captaincies created there functioned under a centralized
administration in Salvador which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon. The
18th century was marked by increasing centralization of royal power throughout the
Portuguese empire. The Jesuits, who protected the natives against slavery, were
brutally suppressed by the Marquis of Pombal that lead to the dissolution of
the order in the region by 1759.[166] Pombal wished to improve the status of
the natives by declaring them free and increase the mestizo population by
encouraging intermarriage between them and the white population. Indigenous
freedom decreased in contrast to its period under the Jesuits, and the response
to intermarriage was lukewarm at best.[167] The crown's revenue from gold
declined and plantation revenue increased by the time of Pombal, and he made
provisions to improve each. Although he failed to spike the gold revenue, two
short-term companies he established for the plantation economy saw the increase
in production of cotton, rice, cacao, tobacco, sugar. Cotton, cacao, and rice
saw a significant rise in importance in the second half of the 18th century.
Slave labor increased as well as involvement from the textile economy. The
economic development as a whole was inspired by elements of the Enlightenment
in mainland Europe.[168] However, the diminished influence from states such as
the United Kingdom increased the Kingdom's dependence upon Brazil.[169]
Encouraged by the example of the United States of America,
which had won its independence from Britain, the attempt centred in the
colonial province of Minas Gerais took place in 1789 to achieve the same
objective. However, the Inconfidência Mineira failed, the leaders arrested and,
of the participants of the insurrections the one of lowest social position,
Tiradentes, was hanged.[170] Among the conspiracies led by the Afro- population
was the Bahian revolt in 1798, led primarily by Joao de Deus do Nascimento.
Inspired by the French Revolution, leaders proposed a society without slavery,
food prices would be lowered, and trade restriction abolished. Impoverished
social conditions and a high cost of living were among reasons of the revolt.
Authorities diffused the plot before major action began; they executed four of
the conspirators and exiled several others were exiled to the Atlantic Coast of
Africa.[171] Several more smaller-scale slave rebellions and revolts would
occur from 1801 and 1816 and fears within Brazil were that it would become a
"second Haiti".[172]
In spite of the conspiracies, the rule of Portugal in Brazil
was not under serious threat. Historian A.R. Disney states that the colonists
did not until the transferring of the Kingdom in 1808 assert influence of
policy changing due to direct contact,[173] and historian Gabriel Paquette
mentions that the threats in Brazil were largely unrealized in Portugal until
1808 because of effective policing and espionage.[174] More revolts would occur
after the arrival of the court.[175]
Brazilian Independence
Further information: Independence of Brazil; Transfer of the
Portuguese Court to Brazil; and United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the
Algarves
Brazilian Independence crippled the Portuguese Empire, both
economically and politically, for a long time.
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, the only instance of a European
country being ruled from one of its colonies. There was also the election of
Brazilian representatives to the Cortes Constitucionais Portuguesas (Portuguese
Constitutional Courts), the Parliament that assembled in Lisbon in the wake of
the Liberal Revolution of 1820.[176]
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 of Brazil on September 7, 1822, and was crowned Emperor of the new
Empire of Brazil. Unlike the Spanish colonies of South America, Brazil's
independence was achieved without significant bloodshed.[177][178]
Third era (1822–1999)
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. Portugal pressed into the hinterland of Angola and Mozambique,
and explorers Serpa Pinto, Hermenegildo Capelo and Roberto Ivens were among the
first Europeans to cross Africa west to east.[179][180]
British Ultimatum and end of Portuguese monarchy
(1890–1910)
In the 19th century, Portugal launched campaigns to solidify
Portuguese Africa.
The project to connect the two colonies, the Pink Map, was
the main objective of Portuguese policy in the 1880s.[181] However, the idea
was unacceptable to the British, who had their own aspirations of contiguous
British territory running from Cairo to Cape Town. The British Ultimatum of
1890 was imposed upon King Carlos I of Portugal and the Pink Map came to an
end.[181]
The King's reaction to the ultimatum was exploited by
republicans.[181] In 1908 King Carlos and Prince Luís Filipe were murdered in
Lisbon. Luís Filipe's brother, Manuel, became King Manuel II of Portugal. Two
years later he was overthrown and Portugal became a republic.[182]
World War I
In 1914, the German Empire formulated plans to usurp Angola
from Portuguese control.[183] Skirmishes between Portuguese and German soldiers
ensued, resulting in reinforcements being sent from the mainland.[184] The main
objective of these soldiers was to recapture the Kionga Triangle, the territory
having been subjugated by Germany. In 1916, after Portugal interned German
ships in Lisbon, Germany declared war on Portugal. Portugal followed suit, thus
entering World War I.[185] Early in the war, Portugal was involved mainly in
supplying the Allies positioned in France. In 1916, there was only one attack
on the Portuguese territory, in Madeira.[186] In 1917, one of the actions taken
by Portugal was to assist England in its timber industry, imperative to the war
effort. Along with the Canadian Forestry Corps, Portuguese personnel
established logging infrastructure in an area now referred to as the
"Portuguese Fireplace".[187] Throughout the year, Portugal dispatched
contingents of troops to the Allied front in France. Midway in the year,
Portugal suffered its first World War I casualty. Meanwhile, in Portuguese Africa,
Portugal and the British fought numerous battles against the Germans in both
Mozambique and Angola. Later in the year, U-boats entered Portuguese waters
again and, once more, attacked Madeira, and sunk multiple Portuguese ships.
Through the beginning of 1918, Portugal continued to fight along the Allied
front against Germany, including participation in the infamous Battle of La
Lys.[188] As autumn approached, Germany found success in both Portuguese
Africa, and against Portuguese vessels, sinking multiple ships. After nearly
three years of fighting (from a Portuguese perspective), World War I ended,
with an armistice being signed by Germany. At the Versailles Conference,
Portugal regained control of all its lost territory, but did not retain
possession (by the principle of uti possidetis) of territories gained during
the war, except for Kionga, a port city in modern-day Tanzania.[189]
Portuguese territories in Africa eventually included the
modern nations of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and
Mozambique.[190]
Turmoil and decolonization (1951–1999)[edit]
In the 20th century, Portugal no longer called itself an
empire, but a pluricontinental nation with overseas provinces.
In the wake of World War II, decolonization movements began
to gain momentum in the empires of the European powers. The ensuing Cold War
also created instabilities among Portuguese overseas populations, as the United
States and Soviet Union vied to increase their spheres of influence. Following
the granting of independence to India by Britain in 1947, and the decision by
France to allow its enclaves in India to be incorporated into the newly independent
nation, pressure was placed on Portugal to do the same.[191] This was resisted
by António de Oliveira Salazar, who had taken power in 1933. Salazar rebuffed a
request in 1950 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to return the
enclaves, viewing them as integral parts of Portugal.[192] The following year,
the Portuguese constitution was amended to change the status of the colonies to
overseas provinces. In 1954, a local uprising resulted in the overthrow of the
Portuguese authorities in the Indian enclave of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The
existence of the remaining Portuguese colonies in India became increasingly
untenable and Nehru enjoyed the support of almost all the Indian domestic
political parties as well as the Soviet Union and its allies. In 1961, shortly
after an uprising against the Portuguese in Angola, Nehru ordered the Indian
Army into Goa, Daman and Diu, which were quickly captured and formally annexed
the following year. Salazar refused to recognize the transfer of sovereignty,
believing the territories to be merely occupied. The Province of Goa continued
to be represented in the Portuguese National Assembly until 1974.[193]
António de Oliveira Salazar sought the preservation of a
pluricontinental Portugal.
The outbreak of violence in February 1961 in Angola was the
beginning of the end of Portugal's empire in Africa. Portuguese army officers
in Angola held the view that it would be incapable of dealing militarily with
an outbreak of guerilla warfare and therefore that negotiations should begin
with the independence movements. However, Salazar publicly stated his
determination to keep the empire intact, and by the end of the year, 50,000
troops had been stationed there. The same year, the tiny Portuguese fort of São
João Baptista de Ajudá in Ouidah, a remnant of the West African slave trade,
was annexed by the new government of Dahomey (now Benin) that had gained its
independence from France. Unrest spread from Angola to Guinea, which rebelled
in 1963, and Mozambique in 1964.[193]
The rise of Soviet influence among the Movimento das Forças
Armadas's military (MFA) and working class, and the cost and unpopularity of
the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974), in which Portugal resisted to the
emerging nationalist guerrilla movements in some of its African territories,
eventually led to the collapse of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. Known as the
"Carnation Revolution", one of the first acts of the MFA-led
government which then came into power – the National Salvation Junta (Junta de
Salvação Nacional) – was to end the wars and negotiate Portuguese withdrawal
from its African colonies. These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese
citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and
Mozambique), creating over a million Portuguese refugees – the retornados.[194]
Portugal's new ruling authorities also recognized Goa and other Portuguese
India's territories invaded by India's military forces, as Indian territories.
Benin's claims over São João Baptista de Ajudá were accepted by Portugal in
1974.[195]
Civil wars in Angola and Mozambique promptly broke out, with
incoming communist governments formed by the former rebels (and backed by the
Soviet Union, Cuba, and other communist countries) fighting against insurgent
groups supported by nations like Zaire, South Africa, and the United
States.[196]
East Timor also declared independence in 1975 by making an
exodus of many Portuguese refugees to Portugal, which was also known as
retornados. However, East Timor was almost immediately invaded by neighbouring
Indonesia, which later occupied up until 1999. A United Nations-sponsored
referendum of that year resulted in a majority of East Timorese choosing
independence, which was finally achieved in 2002.[197]
In March 1987, Portugal signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint
Declaration with the People's Republic of China to establish the process and
conditions for the transfer of sovereignty of Macau, its last remaining colony.
While this process was similar to the agreement between the United Kingdom and
China two years earlier regarding Hong Kong, the Portuguese transfer to China
was met with less resistance than that of Britain and Hong Kong, as Portugal
had already recognized Macau as Chinese territory under Portuguese
administration in 1979.[198] Under the transfer agreement, Macau is to be
governed under a one country, two systems policy, in which it will retain a
high degree of autonomy and maintain its capitalist way of life for at least 50
years after the handover in 2049. The handover on 20 December 1999 officially
marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and end of colonialism in Asia.[199]
Legacy
Member states and associate observer states of the Community
of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).
The Se Cathedral in Goa, India, an example of Portuguese
architecture and one of the largest churches in Asia.
Presently, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries
(CPLP) serves as the cultural and intergovernmental successor of the
Empire.[200]
Macau was returned to China on December 20, 1999, under the
terms of an agreement negotiated between People's Republic of China and
Portugal twelve years earlier. Nevertheless, the Portuguese language remains
co-official with Cantonese Chinese in Macau.[201]
Currently, the Azores, Madeira, and Savage Islands are the
only overseas territories that remain politically linked to Portugal. Although
Portugal began the process of decolonizing East Timor in 1975, Macau during
1999–2002 was sometimes considered Portugal's last remaining colony, as the
Indonesian invasion of East Timor was not justified by Portugal.[202]
Eight of the former colonies of Portugal have Portuguese as
their official language. Together with Portugal, they are now members of the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries, which when combined total
10,742,000 km², or 7.2% of the Earth's landmass (148 939 063 km²).[203] There
are six associate observers of the CPLP: Georgia, Japan, Mauritius, Namibia,
Senegal, and Turkey. Moreover, twelve candidate countries or regions have
applied for membership to the CPLP and are awaiting approval.[204]
Portuguese remains an official language in Macau after the
handover to China.
Today, Portuguese is one of the world's major languages,
ranked sixth overall with approximately 240 million speakers around the
globe.[205] It is the third most spoken language in the Americas, mainly due to
Brazil, although there are also significant communities of lusophones in
nations such as Canada, the USA and Venezuela. In addition, there are numerous
Portuguese-based creole languages, including the one utilized by the Kristang
people in Malacca.[206]
For instance, as Portuguese merchants were presumably the
first to introduce the sweet orange in Europe, in several modern Indo-European
languages the fruit has been named after them. Some examples are Albanian
portokall, Bulgarian портокал (portokal), Greek πορτοκάλι (portokali),
Macedonian portokal, Persian پرتقال
(porteghal), and Romanian portocală.[207][208] Related names can be found in
other languages, such as Arabic البرتقال
(bourtouqal), Georgian ფორთოხალი (p'ort'oxali), Turkish portakal and Amharic
birtukan.[207] Also, in southern Italian dialects (e.g., Neapolitan), an orange
is portogallo or purtuallo, literally "(the) Portuguese (one)", in
contrast to standard Italian arancia.
In light of its international importance, Portugal and
Brazil are leading a movement to include Portuguese as one of the official
languages of the United Nation.
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