What countries were colonized by Portugal?

What countries were colonized by Portugal?

Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau In the 1500s, Portugal colonized the present-day west African country of Guinea-Bissau and the two southern African countries of Angola and Mozambique. The Portuguese captured and enslaved many people from these countries and sent them to the New World.

When did Portugal lose its colonies?

On December 20, 1999, Portugal gave up the last colony in its once vast overseas empire. Macao, the longest permanent European settlement in Asia, reverted to China after 442 years of Portuguese rule.

What caused the decline of the Portuguese empire?

Fall. The Portuguese Empire, like the British, French and German empires, was fatally damaged by the two world wars fought in the 20th century. These European powers were pressured by the Soviet Union and the United States and by independence movements inside the colonial territories.

How did Portugal colonize Africa?

Portuguese expansion into Africa began with the desire of King John I to gain access to the gold-producing areas of West Africa. The trans-Saharan trade routes between Songhay and the North African traders provided Europe with gold coins used to trade spices, silks and other luxuries from India.

What did the Portuguese colonize?

Portugal colonized parts of South America (Brazil, Colónia do Sacramento, Uruguay, Guanare, Venezuela), but also made some unsuccessful attempts to colonize North America (Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia in Canada).

What did Portugal colonize?

How were Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires weakened?

During the early 19th century, however, there was a conspicuous exception to the trend of colonial growth, and that was the decline of the Portuguese and Spanish empires in the Western Hemisphere. The occasion for the decolonization was provided by the Napoleonic Wars.

Were Portuguese colonies successful?

With ‘colonization’ defined as “the establishment of a colony; the establishment of control over the indigenous people of a colony; appropriating a place for one’s own use[2]”, it is clear that there was indeed substantial Iberian success, evidenced by the large-scale exportation of goods, the effective operation of …

Who sold African slaves to the Portuguese?

Benin’s conflict over slavery is particularly intense. For over 200 years, powerful kings in what is now the country of Benin captured and sold slaves to Portuguese, French and British merchants.

What was the main goal of the Portuguese empire?

The main Portuguese goal was trade, not colonization or conquest. Soon its ships were bringing into the European market highly valued gold, ivory, pepper, cotton, sugar, and slaves.

Why was Portugal the first to explore?

The Portuguese hoped they could find their own route to the Indies and break the Venetian stranglehold. Because of their ignorance of the large size of the African continent, the Portuguese were obsessed with conquering Morocco in North Africa, which they saw as a stepping stone to control the gold trade.

What is the history of the Portuguese colonies?

Portuguese Colonies: History, Development and Decline. The Portuguese colonies Were a vital part of the Portuguese Empire, which settled with Portugal as a country plus all its territories, settlements and colonies since the fifteenth century, driven by the discovery of America and rivalry with the Spanish and English.

Who started the age of discovery in Portugal?

Their son, Prince Henry the Navigator, inaugurated Portuguese exploration and the Age of Discovery. The other powerful Portuguese dynasty, the Bragança, gained the throne after a 1640 rebellion against Spanish rule.

What was the last Portuguese colony in China?

By 1542 Portuguese merchants settled at Liampo (Ning-po) in China, and in 1557 Portugal founded what would become its last remaining twentieth-century colonial possession, the colony of Macau (Macao) in the South China Sea.

Why did the French fail to colonize Portugal?

The French did establish a major colony, France Équinoxiale, in 1611, but Portuguese troops captured the settlement in 1615 and permanently prevented any further French settlement. There were long-running colonial conflicts between Portugal and Spain, which were exacerbated by political struggles in Europe.