The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa and various islands in Asia and Oceania. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, while at its greatest extent in 1820, covering over 5.5 million square km, making it among of the largest empires in history. Composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and later overseas territories, governed by the Kingdom of Portugal, and later the Republic of Portugal, it was one of the longest-lived colonial empires in European history, lasting 584 years from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 to the transfer of sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999. The power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across the globe.Wikipedia
The Carnation Revolution of April 1974 in Lisbon led to the hasty decolonisation of Portuguese Africa and to the 1975 annexation of Portuguese Timor by Indonesia. Decolonisation prompted the exodus of nearly all the Portuguese colonial settlers and of many mixed-race people from the colonies. Portugal returned Macau to China in 1999.
Nov 11, 2024Discover the formerPortuguesecolonies worldwide, from Brazil to Mozambique, exploring their histories, influences, and the legacy of Portuguese exploration.
The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications, there were larger territorial colonies like Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique. White Europeans dominated trade, politics, and society, but there was also a significant mixing of races, and in many places ...
The rapid decolonization lead to a huge refugee crisis of nearly all of the Portuguese settlers, and many other people from the formercolonies, to Portugal. These were known as the "retornados" (the returnees) and they numbered over 500,000 people.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) is the cultural successor of the Empire. On the one hand, the Portuguese Empire, like most imperial projects, was exploitative and oppressive. Formercolonies inherited economies designed to benefit Portugal, while few indigenous people had been equipped to lead their own state.
Jan 25, 2023Legacy Portugal had influence over some communities in the Americas and established many colonies in South America, particularly Brazil. The impacts of Portugal's colonization are still seen today in South America. The Portuguese created the largest commercial and maritime empire the world had ever seen, extending from South America to the Far East, and along the coastlines of Africa and India.