Toda a História do Império Português

This is a map
of the world's shipping lanes

showcasing the intricate network
of maritime routes

that connect our modern world
through global trade.

Although some of these routes
were established in more recent times

such as the Suez and Panama canals,

most of these oceanic highways
were chartered long ago

in an age where there was
no reliable way of navigation

other than local knowledge
and some rudimentary maps.

However, just over 500 years ago

at the beginning of the 16th century

these international trade routes
did not even exist.

Only due to the emergence
of the small Iberian nation of Portugal

as a maritime superpower,

were these connections
to other parts of the world

made possible through their daring
voyages and navigational prowess.

Portugal quickly established
an empire for itself,

stretching from Africa, to Asia
and South America.

These maritime exploits
not only fueled Portugal's wealth.

an astonishing rise to power,

but also laid the foundation
for the interconnected global economy

that we benefit from today.

But how did this relatively obscure nation
on the edge of Europe emerged

to forge an Empire that would shape
the course of History

for centuries to come?

This is the History
of the Portuguese Empire.

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The kingdom of Portugal emerged out
of the series of events

known to History as the Reconquista

which was the the gradual reconquest
of Christian lands

on the Iberian Peninsula
from the Muslim Moors

who had invaded the territory
far back in the 8th century,

having established itself
as a sovereign kingdom

by the middle of the 12th century,

the Portuguese went on to push
out the remaining Moors to the South

by capturing the territory
of the Algarve in 1249,

effectively setting out the borders
of their kingdom

along the same lines
to which they exist today.

With their own territory secured
from external threats

and the possibility of further expansion
on the Iberian Peninsula ruled out

on account of their friendly relations

with the neighboring Christian
kingdom of Castile to the east.

Portugal turned its attention
towards the sea

and the possibility
of exerting its own influence

upon both it and the lands
that lay beyond in North Africa.

The year 1415 marked a pivotal
moment in Portuguese expansion

for a decision was made to orchestrate
an attack on the city of Ceuta,

which was held by the Marinid Sultanate.

Although many at the time
considered this

nothing more than a continuation
of the hostilities

between Christians and Muslims,

in reality it paved the way
for the Portuguese

to expand their dominions
and economic interests

beyond the Iberian Peninsula

and marked the beginning
of the Portuguese Empire.

Despite capturing the city,

the Portuguese were not able
to advance further into North Africa

as they had initially planned,

owing to determined resistance
by local Muslim forces.

Nevertheless they continued
to guarnison Ceuta

and used its harbor as a base

to explore the Atlantic
coastline of Africa.

This policy of maritime exploration

was championed by a prominent figure

in the early days
of the Portuguese Empire´:

Prince Henry, the Navigator.

He was curious to know
how far the Muslim territories in Africa

extended Southward,

and whether it would be possible
to reach Asia by an easterly sea route.

Consequently, scores of Portuguese ships
began to set off into the Atlantic Ocean

and around the coast of North Africa

probing further and further into what
were at the time uncharted waters.

The islands of Madeira and the Azores

were first cited in 1419 and 1427,
respectively,

and were subsequently
incorporated

as the latest additions
to the expanding Portuguese Empire.

One of the first natural barriers

the Portuguese encountered
on their explorations

was Cape Bojador.

The violent waters that surround it
had claimed many vessels

that had previously tried to pass through

and it was widely deemed
to be a point of no return.

That was until 1434,

when Gil Eanes successfully
found the navigable passage

around the cape

and opened up further
exploration South

towards subsaharan Africa.

No sooner had this feat been achieved

that the merchants of Lisbon
began to search

for newer and more exotic markets

to which they could trade to.

gold, ivory, pepper, cotton and sugar,
all from Africa,

soon became more commonplace

amongst the trading stools of Lisbon

as did the practice
of selling African slaves

which began the long and dark history
of the transatlantic slave trade

that would continue for the next 400 years

Over the subsequent decades
of the 15th century,

the Portuguese ventured
further and further South

down the coast of Africa.

reaching the Cape Verde Islands
in 1456

and the Gulf of Guinea by the 1460s.

As they explored, they left behind
a series of "padrões",

stone crosses engraved
with the Portuguese coat of arms,

marking out their territorial claims

which were followed up
with the construction of forts

and trading posts.

From these bases they engaged
profitably in the gold and slave trades

which they held a virtual monopoly on

for well over a century.

The real prize for the
portuguese merchants however

was a supposed, but as yet unconfirmed,
sea route to Asia .

They hoped that the discovery
of such a route

would allow them direct access
to the spice markets of the Indies

and bypass the expensive
arab and venetian merchants

who controlled the overland trade routes
through the Middle East

and across the Mediterranean
into Europe.

Then, in 1488 news reached
the ears of the Portuguese authorities

that Bartholomew Dias had rounded
the southern tip of Africa

and reached the Indian Ocean,

proving that such an easterly
passage did indeed exist.

However, this revelation would soon
be eclipsed in magnitude,

just four years later,

when Christopher Columbus sailed
westwards across the Atlantic Ocean

in search of his own theoretical route
to the Indies

and in the process inadvertently
discovered an entirely New World.

The discovery of the Americas

which Columbus claimed
in the name of Spain

and initially believed to be part
of Eastern Asia

quickly created a problem
for the two Iberian Nations.

Not knowing where one set of recently
discovered lands ended

and another began,

they consequently agreed to divide
the world in two spheres of influence,

between themselves, marked
by a north/south line of Meridian

roughly halfway

between the Cape Verde Islands
controlled by Portugal

and the Caribbean Islands of the Americas

which Columbus had recently discovered
and claimed for Spain.

The Treaty of Tordesilhas
ratified this agreement in 1494

and effectively carved the world in two.

with the lands to the East of this line
to be claimed solely by Portugal

and the lands to the West
claimed solely by Spain.

With the dispute settled,
Portugal could finally begin to undertake

its long-standing ambition
of charting a sea route to Asia

and so, on the 8th of July 1497,

the explorer Vasco de Gama left Lisbon

with a fleet of four ships
and a crew of 170 men

bound for the Indian Ocean
in search of Asia.

After a voyage of some 10 months
Vasco da Gama's expedition

finally made landfall
on the Malibar coast of India

in May 1498

and subsequently met with the Zamorin,
or king of Calicut

to establish the trade relations

that they they had long hoped for.

Whilst the Portuguese's arrival
was greeted with hospitality,

the local indian traders
found little value

in the trinkets and commodities

the Europeans had brought with them
to exchange

and so, da Gama's expedition
largely left empty-handed.

Their return journey back to Portugal
took an agonizing amount of time

owing to the monsoon conditions
they had to face up at sea

which took an immense toll
on both the crew and the ships

Nevertheless the survivors arrived back
in Lisbon during the summer of 1499

and were given a hero's welcome.

Despite the meager quantities
of spices and other goods

they had brought back.

Although the expedition itself
may not have been profitable,

it demonstrated that maritime trade
to Asia was possible

and had huge potential .

The second expedition to India
set sail in 1500

under the command of
Pedro Alvares Cabral.

Although while traversing

across the Atlantic Ocean
sailed too far West

and unexpectedly, reached
the coast of what is now Brazi.

Although this discovery
may have been unintentional

some speculation suggests

the Portuguese may have
already been aware of Brazil's existence

and secretly knew that this part
of South America

fell within their designated territory
according to the Treaty of Tordesilhas.

Cabral recommended
to the Portuguese King, Manuel I,

that the land be settled

and two follow-up voyages
were sent in 1501 and 1503.

The land was found to be abundant
in brazilwood

from which it later inherited its name

but the failure to find gold or silver
meant that for the time being

the Portuguese instead decided
to concentrate their efforts

on the invaluable trade out of India.

As the first decade of the 16th century
progressed,

the Portuguese ventured further
into other parts of Asia

such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia,

where they discovered the sources
of cinnamon and nutmeg.

So valuable were these commodities
that Alfonso de Albuquerque.

the first appointed Vice-Roy
of Portuguese India

ordered the construction
of trading posts and fortifications

along the 14,000 miles long route,

stretching from Portugal
to the East Indies.

These served as basis of operations
for conducting trade

and ensured the safeguarding
of their valuable cargos

that were to be transported
on the long arduous journey

back to the markets of Europe.

Shortly thereafter,
the Portuguese trading network

stretched to cover an area
surrounding the coastlines of Africa,

Arabia, India, Indonesia
and even as far as China and Japan.

Although the Portuguese were
primarily motivated

to establish trade relations
through peaceful means

their arrival into Asia was often met
with a fair degree of suspicion

from local merchants
who saw them

as nothing more than foreign
interlopers on their territory.

Consequently as tensions grew,

the Portuguese took to enforcing
their trading activity

with the use of force

Throughout the 16th century
numerous conflicts broke out

across the wider indopacific region,

as the Portuguese engaged in warfare

against the numerous
sultanates and empires of Asia.

Often possessing
superior military technology

over their adversaries,

the Portuguese were largely successful
at defending their commercial enterprises

as well as going on the offensive
to capture strategic targets

that they wish to take for themselves.

However, it was not just
trade and conquest

that advanced the realms
of the Portuguese Empire.

Religion also had its part to play

Accompanying the officials, merchants,
mariners and soldiers,

on board the ships leaving Lisbon

were small numbers
of priests and missionaries

typically belonging to the Jesuit order.

They had been ordered
by the Portuguese monarchy

to spread the Catholic faith

amongst the native peoples
of Asia and Africa

who they had come into contact with.

this policy had mixed successes

for, though their efforts
help towards establishing relations

and new settlements, such as the port
of Nagasaki in Japan, in 1571,

Elsewhere the priests and missionaries

spread the word of God
through violence and coercion.

In the case of the Goa,
Inquisition for example,

they heavily persecuted the Hindu
population of Portuguese India

in a bid to convert them
to Christianity.

The early period
of the Portuguese Empire

was concentrated on developing
trade across Asia and Africa,

which were much more lucrative
and easily accessible compared to Brazil.

attitudes towards this quickly changed.

However, when other European explorers,
particularly the French,

began to develop interests
of their own in the territory

and established a trading post
there, in 1531,

the Portuguese response,

as decreed by King John III
on the 28th of September 1532

was to deter further
French incursions to the region

by initiating a large-scale
colonization program

that would see the land divided up
and ruled by 15 separate captaincies

with instructions to build settlements,

grant allotments and administer Justice.

Each Captain was responsible
for developing and absorbing

the costs of colonization,

although they were not allowed
to own the land outright.

Despite their best efforts, however,

only two of the captaincies reached
any stage of significant development,

owing principally to their dedication

in growing the highly profitable
crop of sugar cane.

This required an enormous amount
of labor to produce

and over time it became exclusively
reliant on enslaved Africans

to work in its fields.

Such was the scale and importance
of the sugar industry

that of the estimated 4 million Africans

who were sold into slavery in the Americas

between the 16th and 19th centuries,

up to 40% ended up in Brazil.

The Portuguese presence in South Americ

began to slowly develop,
as time passed,

with the cities of Bahia, São Paulo
and Rio de Janeiro,

all being founded in the
mid-6th century.

However, a significant change
in the progress of the Portuguese Empire

occurred in 1580,
when a succession crisis

triggered by the untimely death
of King Sebastian, two years earlier,

saw Philip II of Spain invade Portugal
and take the throne for himself.

With that, the two crowns
and overseas empires of Spain and Portugal

were united under the Iberian Union

although they would continue
to be ruled separately and distinctly

from one another.

During this time, however,
in the late 16th century,

Spain was at war with England,
France and the Netherlands

and as a result of the union
with its Iberian neighbor,

Portugal quickly found itself
embroiled in the wider conflict

with European rivals

who were all competing to establish
overseas empires of their own.

The Dutch, in particular, posed
the most comprehensive threat to Portugal

at this time,

for they had just gained
their independence

from the Spanish Habsbourg monarchy
in 1581

and being adept merchants
and maritime explorers

were keen to participate in the lucrative
trade to Asia for themselves.

These ambitions were also shared
by the English

and both soon learned
of the navigational routes

established by the Portuguese

that would take them
to the spice markets

of India and Indonesia.

So much so, by the turn
of the 17th century,

Dutch and English mercantile interests
had been established in Asian ports

such as Surat, Madras,
Bantam and Sri Lanka

much to the dislike of the Portuguese
traders in the region.

Not only did this posed
a commercial threat

to the Portuguese Empire

with other European merchants
now competing for the same trade

but it also led to colonial conflict

as the Dutch began to attack
Portuguese trading posts and colonies..

The Dutch-Portuguese War
which was fought from 1598 to 1663

saw battles rage across the globe

wherever the colonial interests
of the two European powers

came into contact.

Although the Portuguese were able
to successfully repel the Dutch,

some areas such as the Second Battle
of Guararapes in northeastern Brazil,

many of their territories in Asia,

such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka
and the Gold Coast of Africa

were lost.

The wider fallout from this conflict

also resulted in further losses
for the Portuguese Empire

around the Persian Gulf and in Japan,

where local rulers sought to capitalize
on the weakened position of the Portuguese

and expel them
from their respective regions.

The loss of these colonial territories
spurred the Portuguese to end

the personal union
with the Spanish monarchy,

believing they had largely been
abandoned by their Iberian neighbor

who had prioritized
their own colonial interests

at the expense of Portugal's.

The resulting Portuguese Restoration War
which broke out in 1640

saw John the 4th proclaimed as king

and the establishment
of the Overseas Council

which was to govern all aspects
of the Portuguese Empire

from that point onward.

However, as the second half
of the 17th century progressed,

Portugal's colonial might
continue to decline

and other European nations
began to fill the power vacuum

which had had once occupied

with the English becoming
the most dominant power in India

and the Dutch cementing their control
over what is now Indonesia.

This, for the most part, left only Brazil

as the remaining territory
of significance within the Empire

and consequently became viewed
with increasing importance.

The interest in developing Brazil
was quickly helped in 1693

by the discoveries of gold
and later diamonds

in the Minas Gerais region,

which led to a gold rush

and a large influx of migrants
to the territory.

within four decades,
the population of Minas Gerais

had reached somewhere
between 200,000 and 250,000 people

as migrants from Portugal
arrived as prospectors

and African slaves were brought in
to work in the mines.

The Gold Rush considerably increased
the revenue of the Portuguese Crown

and, by the middle of the 18th century,

it constituted for some 46%
of the exports from Brazil,

although the sugar industry
remained the primary source of wealth.

Although the Portuguese Empire
had regained

some of its former prestige
and wealth by this time,

a devastating earthquake,

which struck the capital of Lisbon in 1755

marked what would ultimately become

the beginning of the end
for Portuguese colonial ambitions-

The natural disaster not only
put a huge financial strain on the Empire,

but the loss of life, estimated
to be somewhere in the region

of 40 to 60,000 people,

also significantly diminished
the ability of the Portuguese

to fully recover.

As the 18th century progressed,

a wave of Revolution began to sweep
across the wider Atlantic region,

first starting in North America
with the 13 colonies

declaring their independence
from Britain in 1775,

which in turn inspired
the French Revolution of 1789.

The Portuguese Empire soon began
to experience this phenomenon for itself

with the air of dissension finding its way
to their largest colony of Brazil.

Despite being initially confined
to localized slave revolts

that were quickly suppressed

there was a growing sentiment
within the South American territory

that it should embark
on its own journey

towards self-determination
outside of colonial rule.

The year 1808 would mark
a significant step in this direction

when the Portuguese royal family
led by the prince regent John VI

decided to flee Lisbon

in response to Napoleon Bonaparte
invasion of Portugal

and relocate the Royal Court to Brazil .

Seven years later, in 1815,

Brazil itself was elevated
to the state of a kingdom

within the wider United Kingdom
of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves,

and witnessed to the unprecedented honor

of having the capital moved from Lisbon

to its own city of Rio de Janeiro.

This further emboldened sentiment
within Brazil for independence

and within a year of the royal family
returning to Portugal,

the fourth son of John VI, Don Pedro I,

who had remained behind in Rio,

saw the chance to capitalize
upon the opportunity

to declare himself as emperor

of a newly independent
Empire of Brazil in 1822.

This left the Portuguese Empire
a shadow of its former self

now comprising only
of a few outposts in Asia

and the territories of Angola
and Mozambique, in Africa.

For the remainder of the 19th century,

the efforts of the Portuguese to retain
what little remain of their empire

were focused on southern Africa

and a proposal was soon made
to connect the two colonies

on either side of the continent
with one another

by expanding across the hinterland.

This project known as the "Pink Map"

was highly unpalatable to the British

who had become the world's
most powerful Empire by this point

for it directly affronted their own policy

for a connected system
of colonies across Africa

that was to stretch
from Cairo to Cape Town.

The British delivered an ultimatum
to the Portuguese in 1890

to end the "Pink Map" policy,

which subsequently brought any hint

of reviving Portuguese
colonial ambition to an end.

Having been humiliated
on the world stage in such a manner,

exposed the weakness

of the Portuguese government
in monarchy

which played into the hands of a growing
Republican movement within the country.

Sensing an opportunity
to further their cause,

on the 1st of February 1908,

King Carlos and Prince Louis Philipe
were assassinated in Lisbon

by two revolutionary Republican activists.

Although King Manuel II
immediately succeeded the throne,

he too had to flee the country
just 2 years later in 1910,

when the monarchy and government
were overthrown entirely

and Portugal was declared a Republic.

The continuing weakening position
of the Portuguese Empire

was exploited further by the outbreak
of the I World War in 1914.

The German Empire planned to expand

its own dominions
and influence in Africa

at the expense of the neighboring
Portuguese colonies

of Angola and Mozambique.

As there was only sporadic
skirmishing in the region at first,

Portugal did not formerly declare war
against Germany until 1916

but from that point on
much of the war effort

was fought in supplying the Allies
fighting in France

and neglected to defend
its African colonies

from further German attacks.

As the war came to an end, in 1918,
with the Treaty of Versailles, however,

Portugal was able to regain control
of all its lost territory.

The interwar years bore witness
to another coup in Portugal,

this time replacing the unstable
Republican government

with a more right-wing regime
called the "Estado Novo" in 1933.

The new administration
chose to remain neutral

during the II World War

and instead preserve what remained
of its overseas Empire.

By the war's conclusion however
there was a growing shift in attitudes

towards European imperialism

and calls for decolonization
began to grow louder around the world.

The efforts of Britain and France

in granting independence
of the colonies under their control

put great pressure on Portugal
to do the same,

although it remained reluctant to do so.

The establishment of Indian
independence from Britain in 1947

created a flash point on this issue.

As the Portuguese enclaves
of Goa, Damon and Diu

were not permitted to join the newly
independent state,

the Indian army was eventually
ordered into the territories, in 1961.

But Portugal, under the dictatorship
of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar,

continually refused to acknowledge
their incorporation into India.

Further reluctance to grant independence
of their colonies in Africa

resulted in the Portuguese Colonial War

which was fought from 1961 to 1974.

Many African Independence Movements

received support from the Soviet Union

as part of the wider Cold War
during this time

and as a result guerilla warfare
soon became widespread

across Portugal's African colonies.

The growing cost and unpopularity
of the war at home, however,

saw another military coup
carried out against the Estado Novo regime

in what became known
as the "Carnation Revolution"

on the 25th of April 1974.

The new government quickly ended
the hostilities overseas

and began withdrawing its troops

to start the process of recognizing
the independence of its colonies.

Angola and Mozambique
declared an independence in 1975

as did East Timor.

And the Portuguese government also finally
recognized its former colonies in India

as now being part of the Indian State.

The final piece of the Portuguese
overseas territory

to undergo a transfer of sovereignty
was that of Macau,

which was handed over
to the People's Republic of China

on the 20th of December 1999

and officially marked the end
of the Portuguese.

With that, one of the longest lived
maritime and commercial empires in History

came to an end.

Although the territories
of the Azores and Madeira

are now governed as
autonomous regions of Portugal,

the legacy
of the Portuguese Empire lives on,

with the Portuguese language
continuing to be spoken

by some 250 million people
around the world

and, perhaps most importantly,

the sea roots that were established
by those early maritime explorers

continue to carry the world's trade
over 5 centuries on.