Portugal was the most successful imperial power

Case 1: Portugese Colonies were incredibly wealthyIn order to properly anaylize the success of the Portugese, we must break up their imperial tendencies into era's. Let us quickly define each era.....Era 1: Portugese Early ExplorationEra 2: Contemporary Colonial Period of the 1700's Era 3: The Imperial Era and Scramble for Africa Era 4: The Dissolution of Empires and Neo ImperialismAlso, in order to prevent defining conflicts and confusion, I will actually take the time to define a few things suc·cess səkG2;ses/ noun 1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.' "the president had some success in restoring confidence" synonyms: favorable outcome, successfulness, successful result, im·pe·ri·al·ism imG2;pi(ə)rēəG6;lizəm/ noun 1. a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. With that being said, I will begin with my contention.......Using the definition of success, Portugal's goal was to become wealthy and develop its nation. Lets start with era one.......Era One: As most people know from history, the 1400's were dominated by the colonial dominance of Spain and Portugal. After the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas, the new worlds in Asia and America were effectively divided between the two powers. [1] Following the treaty, every thing west of the Brazillian coast would belong to Spain, while all colonial potential east of the Tordesilla's line would belong to Portugal. Portugal took advantage of this oppurtunity to its utmost power.A high emphasis was placed on exploration as the new form of chivalry. Prestige was no longer placed on military victory but oceanic discovery. Portugese explorers like Magellan set up 100's of trading posts in India, Africa, China, and the East Indies [2]. By the 1600's, Portugal had a monopoly on gold, spice, and sugar. By the 1700's, Portugal was the wealthiest trade nation in the world, and made 65% of its income on taxes overseas. [3] This meant that the high standards of livings and substantial commercial markets that developed in Portugal were almost entirely a result of trade. In a time when almost all of the civilized world was living in serfdom, Portugal was a haven for wealth, idealisms, and progress, as a result of colonialism and imperialism. If that's not success, then I don't know what is. [4]Era 2: Lets progress to the second era, where colonialism had finnaly become popularized among the European rulers, who began uniting feudal lords under one sovereign. In the 1700's, contrary to popular belief, France, Russia, Britain, and Spain were the poorest nations in the world. Many were in massive debt, and colonial possessions only offset the costs at home. During this time, the Dutch and Portugese prospered, as they monopolized trade in every corner of the world, including India, which under the Mughal Empire, was the wealthiest nation in the world [5]. And who had a monopoly over the trade posts? Portugal, who was considered a much better trade partner then other powers, because rulers felt less threatened militarily. They had dibs on all of Africa, West India, and the Indies.[6] Throughout the 1700's, Portugal was the second largest trade nation in the world, and by a very narrow margin. Britain was making over 50% of its GDP on foreign trade, and it controlled a lot more land then Portugal [7]. The very fact that Portugal was making over half of Englands economy with 10% (guesstimate) of the land, has to count for something. Once again, its evident who was on top in the 1700's. Era 3: Portugal in the 1800's was the most established power in Africa. Once the scramble began, they already had control of Africa's most profitable lands. Guinnea-Bissau was a wealthy slave land, full of gold and salt needed for European diets. Angola had vast diamond deposits, along with other irons and minerals. The most profitable lands were Portugals Islands in the West Indies and West Africa, which became collosal ports for shipping. [8] The most notable aspect of Portugese rule in the 1800's though, was the level of stability in its colonies. We all know about the massacres that happened in the period, where 10,000's of tribals would charge into a gatling gun. That did not happen as often in Portugese Colonies. Since they had been known to the natives for centuries, they were more accepted among the populations. And their tactic of keeping their rule limited to trade and coastal aquisition even made them popular among some nobility. [9]And while my opponent may take a shot at the loss of Brazil, the portugese Still maintained a capitalistic monopoly on Brazzilian trade, along with Javain. So, by the very fact that Portugal was still able to maintain its massive trade network and wealthy colonies, with minimum unrest and casualties, prove a win for era 3. Era 4: Ahhh, the final era, and indeed the easiest for me to prove. After WW2, only two imperial powers really existed anymore. At least true imperialism. Lets quickly examine the state of the two surviving imperial empires, France and Portugal.France, was in an abysmal state. It was trying its hardest to maintain its last colonies in Algeria, Indochina, and Oceania. France was so ineffective in maintaining its lands, that manyseceded without a fight. The wars to liberate these lands cost many lifes as well. [10]Now I'm not going to lye, and say that Portugal was faring much better, but in comparison, it was. Portugese lands were much more profitable then France's, and stayed profitable for most of their occupation. Portugal was also able to control its lands for much longer. Almost all of France's land was lost by 1960, but Portugal was able to keep colonial possesions as long as 1990. They even still control the African Azores, which remain immensely profitable, up until the portugese colonial war. [11][12] Now I would begin my next case, but I would run out of characters. By creating this debate, I hope I have now proven that the greatest imperial power should't be judged by land, prestige, or power, but in stability, wealth, and development, all of which Portugal was far ahead of the world in. Thanks for the debate Con, and good luck. * Note: These sources relate speciffically to my points. I don't guarantee to agree with everything else they contain. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_pPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPps[s[s[s[1] http://www.thenagain.info...[2] http://www.historyguide.org...[3] http://www.theworldeconomy.org...[4] http://history-world.org...[5] http://www.democraticunderground.com...[6] http://www.historyworld.net...[7] http://humanscience.wikia.com...[8] http://www.bbc.com...[9] http://www.learner.org...[10] https://sites.google.com...[11] http://www.worldatlas.com...[12] http://balagan.info...