The colonies of Portugal were a combination of a large number of overseas territories located in different parts of the world - in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The enslavement of these lands and the peoples inhabiting them lasted for five centuries, starting from the XV and up to the middle of the XX century.
Education
Historically, Portugal was surrounded on almost all sides by strong Spanish kingdoms and was unable to expand its land territory at the expense of other European lands. This state of affairs led to the fact that at the end of the 15th century, great geographical discoveries began to occur, caused by the vigorous activity of the Portuguese nobles and numerous trading elites. As a result, one of the largest colonial powers arose, which lasted for the next several centuries.
The founder of the empire is considered the Infanta Heinrich (Enrique) the Mariner, with the support of whom the Portuguese sailors began to discover hitherto unknown lands, trying to reach the shores of India, bypassing around Africa. However, at the time of his death in 1460, his people did not even reach the equator, having sailed only to Sierra Leone and discovered several islands in the Atlantic.
Further expansion
After this, sea expeditions were temporarily interrupted, but the new king was well aware that his state needed to continue to discover other lands. Soon, Portuguese sailors reached the islands of Principe and Sao Tome, crossed the equator, and in 1486 reached the African coast. At the same time, expansion was taking place in Morocco, and in Guinea, fortresses and new retail outlets were quickly erected. Thus began the emergence of numerous colonies of Portugal.
At about the same time, another famous navigator, Bartolomeu Diash, reached the Cape of Good Hope and went around Africa and went out to the Indian Ocean. Thus, he was able to prove that this continent was not stretched to the very pole, as ancient scientists believed. However, Diash did not see India, as his people refused to move on. A little later, this will be done by another famous navigator, who, finally, will fulfill the task set more than 80 years ago by the Infant Enrique himself.
Empire creation
In 1500, another navigator went to India - Pedro Alvarez Cabral, whose ships deviated strongly to the west. So Brazil was opened to them - the colony of Portugal, which was immediately presented with territorial claims. The next pioneers - Juan da Nova and Tristan da Cunha - annexed the islands of St. Helena and Ascension, as well as an entire archipelago named after the latter. In addition, in East Africa, a number of small coastal Muslim principalities were either abolished or became vassals of Portugal.
One by one, discoveries also took place in the Indian Ocean: in 1501, Madagascar was discovered, and in 1507, Mauritius. Further, the paths of Portuguese ships passed through the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Socotra and Ceylon were occupied. Around the same time, the then ruler of Portugal, Manuel I, established the new public office of the Viceroy of India, which controlled colonies in East Africa and Asia. It was Francisco de Almeida.
In 1517, Fernand Peres de Andrade traveled to Canton and established trade with China, and after 40 years, the Portuguese were allowed to occupy Macau. In 1542, merchants accidentally opened the sea route to the Japanese archipelago. In 1575, the colonization of Angola began. So, at the time of the heyday of the empire, the Portuguese colonies were located in India, Southeast Asia and the African continent.
United monarchy
In 1580, according to the so-called Iberian Union, Portugal unified with neighboring Spain. Only after 60 years she managed to restore her statehood. This raises the reasonable question: was Portugal a colony of Spain in these years? Some historians give a positive answer. The fact is that the union throughout its existence waged a stubborn struggle against such a dynamically developing naval power as the Netherlands, which conquered more and more territories in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The Spanish monarchs defended and expanded only their possessions, not particularly caring for the allied lands. That is why historians have the opinion that Portugal is a colony of Spain from 1580 to 1640.
At the end of the XVI century, the conquerors still continued their expansion deep into Asia. Now their actions were coordinated from Goa. They managed to capture Lower Burma and planned to conquer Jaffna, but occupied only the small island of Mannar. It is known that Brazil owned Portugal, whose colony brought her considerable income. However, Prince Moritz, who acted in the interests of the West Indies company, owned by the Dutch, inflicted a number of rather humiliating defeats on the Portuguese. Because of this, Brazil has a vast strip of foreign territories, now related to the Netherlands.
After the dissolution of the union and the acquisition of statehood by Portugal, in 1654 it re-established its power over Luanda and Brazil, however, the conquest of new lands in Southeast Asia was disrupted by the Dutch. So, from the whole territory of Indonesia, she had only East Timor, which became the subject of the Lisbon Treaty, signed in 1859.
Conquest of the Black Continent
The first colonies of Portugal in Africa appeared at the beginning of the 15th century. Famous seafarers and their teams, getting to the mainland, carefully studied local markets, and also paid special attention to the presence of natural resources. In Ceuta, located in northern Africa, there was lively trade between Europeans and Arabs, with gold, ivory, spices and slaves being the main commodities. The occupiers understood that they could significantly enrich themselves if they took all this under their control. Back in the time of Henry the Navigator, it was known that West Africa had rich gold reserves. This could not but interest the Portuguese, who planned the capture of colonies on the Black Continent.
For the sake of precious metal deposits in 1433, an expedition was organized at the mouth of Senegal. There immediately formed the settlement of Argim. After 8 years, the first ship out of these places was equipped, which carried a load of gold and slaves into the country.
I must say that Portugal, with its expansion, was supported by the Catholic Church, led by the Pope, who gave her all the rights to seize and possess any African territories. Therefore, it is not surprising that for almost a hundred years not one of the ships belonging to other European countries has approached these shores. During this time, the Portuguese gained new knowledge, made accurate maps of the area, and also compiled the best navigation documents. At first, they willingly collaborated with the Arabs and shared their experience of travelers with them, and largely thanks to this, Benin was added to the number of colonies in 1484, and later Liberia and Sierra Leone.
State course
As is known from the history of the Black Continent, the invaders conducted a well-designed secretive and aggressive policy here. Having opened the sea route to the Hindustan Peninsula, which runs along the coast of Africa, the Portuguese carefully concealed data not only about all the equipped expeditions, but also about the occupied lands. In addition, the continent was flooded with crowds of spies working for them, who collected information about the local states. In particular, they were interested in the size of countries, population and armies. All data obtained in this way was kept in the strictest confidence so that competitors, such as the United Kingdom, France and Holland, could not take possession of them.
In the sixteenth century, the Portuguese empire reached its peak, while other European powers often experienced difficult war times and therefore could not intervene in its colonial policy. It is no secret that African tribes practically did not stop fighting among themselves. This situation was in the hands of the Portuguese, as the natives easily fell under the influence of Europeans.
Heritage
Colonial domination in Africa, which lasted for five centuries, practically did not bring any benefit to the conquered underdeveloped countries, except, perhaps, for new crops such as cassava, pineapple and maize. Even the culture and religion of the Portuguese did not take root here because of their extremely aggressive and therefore hated policies.
No technical innovations were introduced on these lands intentionally, since it was not beneficial to the colonists. Based on this, we can conclude that the former colonies of Portugal and their enslaved peoples received from the expansion more harm than good. This is especially true of the spiritual and social spheres both in the West and in East Africa.
India - colony of Portugal
The world-famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama opened the sea route to the Hindustan Peninsula. After a long journey, he and his ships, circling the African continent, finally entered the port of Calicut (now Kozhikode). This happened in 1498, and after 13 years he became a Portuguese colony.
In 1510, the Duke of Alfonso de Albuquerque thoroughly strengthened in Goa. From this moment began the history of the Portuguese colonization of India. From the very beginning, the duke planned to turn these lands into a stronghold for the further penetration of his people deep into the peninsula. A little later, he gradually began to convert the local population to Christians. It is worth noting that faith has taken root, since so far the percentage of Catholics in Goa is much higher than in the rest of India, and makes up about 27% of the total population.
The colonists almost immediately started building a European-style settlement - Old Goa, but the city in its present form was built in the 16th century. Since then, it has become the capital of Portuguese India. In the next two centuries, due to several malaria epidemics that raged in these places, the population gradually moved to the suburbs of Panaji, which later became the capital of the colony and renamed New Goa.
The loss of Indian territories
In the 17th century, the more powerful English and Dutch flotillas reached the shores of India. As a result, Portugal lost part of its once vast territory located in the west of the country, and at the beginning of the last century it could control only a small part of its colonial lands. Three coastal areas remained under her authority: islands on the Malabar coast, Daman and Diu, annexed in 1531 and 1535, respectively, and Goa. In addition, the Portuguese colonized the island of Salset and Bombay (present-day Mumbai is now one of the largest Indian cities). In 1661, he passed into the ownership of the British crown as a dowry of Princess Catherine de Braganza to the English king Charles II.
The city of Madras (originally called the port of Sao Tome) was also erected by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Subsequently, this territory passed into the hands of the Dutch, who built reliable fortifications in Pulikat north of present Chennai.
Here the colonies of Portugal lasted until the middle of the last century. In 1954, India first captured Nagar Haveli and Dadra, and in 1961, Goa finally became part of the country. The Portuguese government recognized the independence of these lands only in 1974. A little later, four regions were combined into two territories, called Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as well as Daman and Diu. Now these former colonies of Portugal are included in the list of the most popular tourist centers of India.
Start of decay
By the eighteenth century, Portugal was losing its former power as a colonial empire. The Napoleonic Wars significantly contributed to the fact that it lost Brazil, after which the economic decline began. It was followed by the liquidation of the monarchy itself, which inevitably led to the cessation of expansionism and the subsequent rejection of the remaining colonies.
Many researchers are convinced of the failure of the version that Portugal is a colony of France during the Napoleonic Wars. Most likely, it was one of the vassal republics. At the end of the 19th century, Portugal tried to save the remnants of its possessions by developing a special plan for the unification of Mozambique and Angola, presented at the conference of colonial empires in Berlin. However, he failed, having encountered the opposition and the ultimatum of Great Britain, put up by it in 1890.
Struggle for independence
By the beginning and middle of the last century, only Cape Verde (Cape Verde Islands), Indian Diu, Daman and Goa, Chinese Macau, as well as Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Angola , Principe, Sao Tome and East Timor.
The fascist regime in the country, established by the dictators Kaetanu and Salazar, also did not contribute to the decolonization process, which at that time embraced the possessions of other European empires. However, leftist rebel organizations that fought for the independence of their lands still operated in the occupied territories. The central government responded to this with constant terror and specially designed punitive military operations.
Conclusion
Portugal as a colonial empire disappeared only in 1975, when democratic principles were adopted in the country. In 1999, the UN formally recorded the loss of overseas territory - East Timor, after the so-called carnation revolution took place there . In the same year, the former Portuguese colony in China - Macau (Macau) was returned. Now the only remaining overseas territories are the Azores and Madeira, which are part of the country on the basis of autonomy.