Portuguese Empire - wikipedia Portuguese Empire Portuguese Empire Império Português ( Portuguese ) 1415 -- 1999 Coat of arms All areas of the world that were once part of the Portuguese Empire Capital Lisbon Religion Roman Catholicism Government Colonialism Monarchs ( 1415 -- 1433 ) João I ( 1908 -- 10 ) Manuel II Presidents ( 1911 -- 15 ) Manuel de Arriaga ( 1996 -- 99 ) Jorge Sampaio History Conquest of Ceuta 1415 Sea route to India 1498 Discovery of Brazil 1500 Iberian Union Anglo - Spanish War Dutch -- Portuguese War Restoration War 1580 -- 1640 1585 -- 1604 1588 -- 1654 1640 -- 1668 Brazilian independence 1822 Loss of Indian provinces Portuguese Colonial War Carnation Revolution 1961 1961 -- 1974 1974 -- 1975 Handover of Macau 1999 a. ^ The capital was de facto located in Rio de Janeiro from 1808 to 1821. Warning : Value not specified for `` continent '' The Portuguese Empire ( Portuguese : Império Português ), also known as the Portuguese Overseas ( Ultramar Português ) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire ( Império Colonial Português ), was one of the largest and longest - lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire of the Renaissance. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Portuguese Macau to China in 1999. The first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe. Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418 -- 19, using recent developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown 's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South American coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the colonial trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth ( 1500 - 1800 ), when it accounted for about a fifth of Portugal 's per capita income. When Philip II of Spain, I of Portugal, inherited the Portuguese crown in 1580, this began a 60 - year union between Spain and Portugal that has since been given the historiographic term of the Iberian Union. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain : the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts, and the empire began a long and gradual decline. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the second era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century, it broke away in 1822. The third era represents the final stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline ( expanded inland during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century ), Portuguese Timor, and enclaves in India ( Goa ) and China ( Macau ). The disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Under António Salazar, the Second Portuguese Republic made some ill - fated attempts to hold on to its last remaining colonies and overseas provinces after the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa, embarking on the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa which lasted until the final overthrow of the regime in the Carnation Revolution of 1974. Macau was returned to China in 1999. actual possessions explorations areas of influence and trade claims of sovereignty trading posts main sea explorations, routes and areas of influence. Contents 1 Background ( 1139 -- 1415 ) 2 First era ( 1415 -- 1663 ) 2.1 Initial African coastline excursions 2.2 Treaty of Tordesillas ( 1494 ) 2.3 Portuguese enter the Indian Ocean 2.4 Trade with Maritime Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean 2.4. 1 Goa, Malacca and Southeast Asia 2.4. 2 China and Japan 2.4. 3 Spice Islands ( Moluccas ) and Treaty of Zaragoza 2.4. 4 South Asia, Persian Gulf and Red Sea 2.4. 5 Sub-Saharan Africa 2.4. 6 Missionary expeditions 2.5 Colonization efforts in the Americas 2.5. 1 Canada 2.5. 2 Brazil 2.6 Iberian Union, Protestant rivalry, and colonial stasis ( 1580 -- 1663 ) 3 Second era ( 1663 -- 1825 ) 3.1 Minas Gerais and the Gold Industry 3.2 Pombaline and post-Pombaline Brazil 3.3 Brazilian Independence 4 Third era ( 1822 -- 1999 ) 4.1 British Ultimatum and end of Portuguese monarchy ( 1890 -- 1910 ) 4.2 World War I 4.3 Turmoil and decolonization ( 1951 -- 1999 ) 5 Legacy 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links Background ( 1139 -- 1415 ) Main article : History of Portugal ( 1139 -- 1415 ) The Conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, was led by Henry the Navigator, and initiated the Portuguese Empire. The origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. After establishing itself as a separate kingdom in 1139, Portugal completed its reconquest of Moorish territory by reaching Algarve in 1249, but its independence continued to be threatened by neighbouring Castile until the signing of the Treaty of Ayllón in 1411. Free from threats to its existence and unchallenged by the wars fought by other European states, Portuguese attention turned overseas and towards a military expedition to the Muslim lands of North Africa. There were several probable motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate ( in present - day Morocco ). It offered the opportunity to continue the Christian crusade against Islam ; to the military class, it promised glory on the battlefield and the spoils of war ; and finally, it was also a chance to expand Portuguese trade and to address Portugal 's economic decline. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the terminal ports of the trans - Saharan gold and slave trades. The conquest was a military success, and marked one of the first steps in Portuguese expansion beyond the Iberian Peninsula, but it proved costly to defend against the Muslim forces that soon besieged it. The Portuguese were unable to use it as a base for further expansion into the hinterland, and the trans - Saharan caravans merely shifted their routes to bypass Ceuta and / or used alternative Muslim ports. First era ( 1415 -- 1663 ) Part of a series on the History of Portugal Ancient Prehistoric Iberia Pre-Roman Peoples Roman conquest of Hispania Romanization of Hispania Lusitania Gallaecia Suebic Kingdom Visigothic Kingdom Medieval Umayyad conquest of Hispania Al - Andalus Gharb Al - Andalus Almoravid dynasty County of Portugal Reconquista Afonsine Portugal in the Middle Ages Portuguese House of Burgundy 1383 -- 85 Crisis Age of Discoveries Imperial expansion House of Aviz Portuguese Renaissance Portuguese Empire War of the Portuguese Succession Iberian Union Brigantine Restoration and Pombaline Era Restoration War House of Braganza Imperial decline, war, and revolt Transfer of Court Liberal Wars Constitutional Monarchy 1910 Revolution First Republic First Republic Monarchy of the North Portugal during World War I 1926 coup d'état Second Republic Ditadura Nacional Portugal during World War II Estado Novo Portuguese Colonial War Third Republic Carnation Revolution Processo Revolucionário Em Curso Transition to democracy Third Republic Topic Archives - Economy - Language - Military - Music Regions Azorean history Madeiran history Timeline Portugal portal Main articles : History of Portugal ( 1415 -- 1578 ) and Portuguese discoveries Although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. A key supporter of this policy was Infante Dom Henry the Navigator, who had been involved in the capture of Ceuta, and who took the lead role in promoting and financing Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and whether it was possible to reach Asia by sea, both to reach the source of the lucrative spice trade and perhaps to join forces with the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John that was rumoured to exist somewhere in the `` Indies ''. Under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira ( 1419 ) and Azores ( 1427 ) were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Initial African coastline excursions Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henry 's captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to probe further along the coast. In 1443 Infante Dom Pedro, Henry 's brother and by then regent of the Kingdom, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war and trade in the lands south of Cape Bojador. Later this monopoly would be enforced by the papal bulls Dum Diversas ( 1452 ) and Romanus Pontifex ( 1455 ), granting Portugal the trade monopoly for the newly discovered lands. A major advance that accelerated this project was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a ship that could be sailed closer to the wind than any other in operation in Europe at the time. Using this new maritime technology, Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes, advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445. Map of Western Africa by Lázaro Luis ( 1563 ). The large castle in West Africa represents the São Jorge da Mina ( Elmina castle ). The first feitoria trade post overseas was established in 1445 on the island of Arguin, off the coast of Mauritania, to attract Muslim traders and monopolize the business in the routes travelled in North Africa. In 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present - day Sierra Leone, and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s. The Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1456 and settled in 1462. Expansion of sugarcane in Madeira started in 1455, using advisers from Sicily and ( largely ) Genoese capital to produce the `` sweet salt '' rare in Europe. Already cultivated in Algarve, the accessibility of Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders keen to bypass Venetian monopolies. Slaves were used, and the proportion of imported slaves in Madeira reached 10 % of the total population by the 16th century. By 1480 Antwerp had some seventy ships engaged in the Madeira sugar trade, with the refining and distribution concentrated in Antwerp. By the 1490s Madeira had overtaken Cyprus as a producer of sugar. The success of sugar merchants such as Bartolomeo Marchionni would propel the investment in future travels. In 1469, after prince Henry 's death and as a result of meagre returns of the African explorations, King Afonso V granted the monopoly of trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea to merchant Fernão Gomes. Gomes, who had to explore 100 miles ( 160 km ) of the coast each year for five years, discovered the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe and found a thriving alluvial gold trade among the natives and visiting Arab and Berber traders at the port then named Mina ( the mine ), where he established a trading post. Trade between Elmina and Portugal grew throughout a decade. In 1481, the recently crowned João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina in order to ensure the protection of this trade, which was held again as a royal monopoly. The Equator was crossed by navigators sponsored by Fernão Gomes in 1473 and the Congo River by Diogo Cão in 1482. It was during this expedition that the Portuguese first encountered the Kingdom of Kongo, with which it soon developed a rapport. During his 1485 -- 86 expedition, Cão continued to Cape Cross, in present - day Namibia, near the Tropic of Capricorn. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa, proving false the view that had existed since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land - locked. Simultaneously Pêro da Covilhã, traveling secretly overland, had reached Ethiopia, suggesting that a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming. As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they left behind a series of padrões, stone crosses engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims, and built forts and trading posts. From these bases, they engaged profitably in the slave and gold trades. Portugal enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the African seaborne slave trade for over a century, importing around 800 slaves annually. Most were brought to the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where it is estimated black Africans came to constitute 10 per cent of the population. Treaty of Tordesillas ( 1494 ) Main article : Treaty of Tordesillas The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas meridian divided the world between the crowns of Portugal and of Castile. In 1492 Christopher Columbus 's discovery for Spain of the New World, which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between the Spanish and Portuguese. These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish along a north - south meridian 370 leagues, or 970 miles ( 1,560 km ), west of the Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude, the exact boundary was disputed by the two countries until 1777. The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the Portuguese to follow up on Dias 's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it has also been speculated that other voyages were in fact taking place in secret during this time. Whether or not this was the case, the long - standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground - breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama. Portuguese enter the Indian Ocean Main article : Portuguese India Armadas Vasco da Gama 's departure to India, in 1497 The squadron of Vasco da Gama left Portugal in 1497, rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut ( the capital of the native kingdom ruled by Zamorins ) in south - western India in May 1498. The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral. While following the same south - westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese secretly knew of Brazil 's existence and that it lay on their side of the Tordesillas line. Cabral recommended to the Portuguese King that the land be settled, and two follow up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was found to be abundant in pau - brasil, or brazilwood, from which it later inherited its name, but the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the time being Portuguese efforts were concentrated on India. In 1502, to enforce its trade monopoly over a wide area of the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese Empire created the cartaz licensing system, granting merchant ships protection against pirates and rival states. Portuguese discoveries and explorations : first arrival places and dates ; main Portuguese spice trade routes ( blue ) Profiting from the rivalry between the ruler of Kochi and the Zamorin of Calicut, the Portuguese were well - received and seen as allies, as they obtained a permit to build the fort Immanuel ( Fort Kochi ) and a trading post that were the first European settlement in India. They established a trading center at Tangasseri, Quilon ( Coulão, Kollam ) city in ( 1503 ) in 1502, which became the centre of trade in pepper, and after founding manufactories at Cochin ( Cochim, Kochi ) and Cannanore ( Canonor, Kannur ), built a factory at Quilon in 1503. In 1505 King Manuel I of Portugal appointed Francisco de Almeida first Viceroy of Portuguese India, establishing the Portuguese government in the east. That year the Portuguese also conquered Kannur, where they founded St. Angelo Fort, and Lourenço de Almeida arrived in Ceylon ( modern Sri Lanka ), where he discovered the source of cinnamon. Although Cankili I of Jaffna initially resisted contact with them, the Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials soon after for their resistance to missionary activities as well as logistical reasons due to its proximity with Trincomalee harbour among other reasons. In the same year, Manuel I ordered Almeida to fortify the Portuguese fortresses in Kerala and within eastern Africa, as well as probe into the prospects of building forts in Sri Lanka and Malacca in response to growing hostilities with Muslims within those regions and threats from the Mamluk sultan. The Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai carrack exemplified the might and the force of the Portuguese Armada. A Portuguese fleet under the command of Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Socotra at the entrance of the Red Sea in 1506 and Muscat in 1507. Having failed to conquer Ormuz, they instead followed a strategy intended to close off commerce to and from the Indian Ocean. Madagascar was partly explored by Cunha, and Mauritius was discovered by Cunha whilst possibly being accompanied by Albuquerque. After the capture of Socotra, Cunha and Albuquerque operated separately. While Cunha traveled India and Portugal for trading purposes, Albuquerque went to India to take over as governor after Almeida 's three - year term ended. Almeida refused to turn over power and soon placed Albuquerque under house arrest, where he remained until 1509. Although requested by Manuel I to further explore interests in Malacca and Sri Lanka, Almeida instead focused on western India, in particular the Sultanate of Gujarat due to his suspicions of traders from the region possessing more power. The Mamlûk Sultanate sultan Al - Ashraf Qansuh al - Ghawri along with the Gujarati sultanate attacked Portuguese forces in the harbor of Chaul, resulting in the death of Almeida 's son. In retaliation, the Portuguese fought and destroyed the Mamluks and Gujarati fleets in the sea Battle of Diu in 1509. Along with Almeida 's initial attempts, Manuel I and his council in Lisbon had tried to distribute power in the Indian Ocean, creating three areas of jurisdiction : Albuquerque was sent to the Red Sea, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to South - east Asia, seeking an agreement with the Sultan of Malacca, and Jorge de Aguiar followed by Duarte de Lemos were sent to the area between the Cape of Good Hope and Gujarat. However, such posts were centralized by Afonso de Albuquerque after his succession and remained so in subsequent ruling. Trade with maritime Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean Main articles : History of Macau, History of Goa, and Portuguese Malacca Goa, Malacca and Southeast Asia In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese Empire of the East, or Estado da Índia ( `` State of India '' ), with its capital in Goa, included possessions ( as subjected areas with a certain degree of autonomy ) in all the Asian sub-continents, East Africa, and Pacific. By the end of 1509, Albuquerque became viceroy of the Portuguese India. In contrast to Almeida, Albuquerque was more concerned with strengthening the navy, as well as being more compliant with the interests of the kingdom. His first objective was to conquer Goa, due to its strategic location as a defensive fort positioned between Kerala and Gujarat, as well as its prominence for Arabian horse imports. The initial capture of Goa from the Bijapur sultanate in 1510 was soon countered by the Bijapuris, but with the help of Hindu privateer Timoji, on November 25 of the same year it was recaptured. In Goa, Albuquerque began the first Portuguese mint in India in 1510. He encouraged Portuguese settlers to marry local women, built a church in honor of St. Catherine ( as it was recaptured on her feast day ), and attempted to build rapport with the Hindus by protecting their temples and reducing their tax requirements. The Portuguese maintained friendly relations with the south Indian Emperors of the Vijayanagara Empire. In April 1511 Albuquerque sailed to Malacca in Malaysia, the largest spice market of the period. Though the trade was largely dominated by the Gujurati, other groups such as the Turks, Persians, Armenians, Tamils and Abyssinians traded there. Albuquerque targeted Malacca to impede the Muslim and Venetian influence in the spice trade and increase that of Lisbon. By July 1511, Albuquerque had captured Malacca and sent Antonio de Abreu and Francisco Serrão ( along with Ferdinand Magellan ) to explore the Indonesian archipelago. The Malacca peninsula became the strategic base for Portuguese trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia. A strong gate, called the A Famosa, was erected to defend the city and still remains. Learning of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Siam ( modern Thailand ), where he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations and trade between both kingdoms. The Portuguese empire pushed further south and proceeded to discover Timor in 1512. Jorge de Meneses discovered New Guinea in 1526, naming it the `` Island of the Papua ''. In 1517, João da Silveira commanded a fleet to Chittagong, and by 1528, the Portuguese had established a settlement in Chittagong. The Portuguese eventually based their center of operations along the Hugli River, where they encountered Muslims, Hindus, and Portuguese deserters known as Chatins. China and Japan See also : Chinese people in Portugal, Nanban trade, and Slavery in Portugal The Portuguese founded the city of Nagasaki, Japan Jorge Alvares was the first European to reach China by sea, while the Romans were the first overland via Asia Minor. He was also the first European to discover Hong Kong. In 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Estado da India, dispatched Italian Rafael Perestrello to sail to China in order to pioneer European trade relations with the nation. In spite of initial harmony and excitement between the two cultures, difficulties began to arise shortly afterwards, including misunderstanding, bigotry, and even hostility. The Portuguese explorer Simão de Andrade incited poor relations with China due to his pirate activities, raiding Chinese shipping, attacking a Chinese official, and kidnappings of Chinese. He based himself at Tamao island in a fort. The Chinese claimed that Simão kidnapped Chinese boys and girls to be molested and cannibalized. The Chinese sent a squadron of junks against Portuguese caravels that succeeded in driving the Portuguese away and reclaiming Tamao. As a result, the Chinese posted an edict banning men with caucasian features from entering Canton, killing multiple Portuguese there, and driving the Portuguese back to sea. A depiction, from 1639, of the Macau Peninsula, during the golden age of colonization of Portuguese Macau. After the Sultan of Bintan detained several Portuguese under Tomás Pires, the Chinese then executed 23 Portuguese and threw the rest into prison where they resided in squalid, sometimes fatal conditions. The Chinese then massacred Portuguese who resided at Ningbo and Fujian trading posts in 1545 and 1549, due to extensive and damaging raids by the Portuguese along the coast, which irritated the Chinese. Portuguese pirating was second to Japanese pirating by this period. However, they soon began to shield Chinese junks and a cautious trade began. In 1557 the Chinese authorities allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macau, creating a warehouse in the trade of goods between China, Japan, Goa and Europe. Spice islands ( Moluccas ) and Treaty of Zaragoza Portugal was the first European nation to establish trade routes with Japan and China. Portuguese operations in Asia did not go unnoticed, and in 1521 Magellan arrived in the region and claimed the Philippines for Spain. In 1525, Spain under Charles V sent an expedition to colonize the Moluccas islands, claiming they were in his zone of the Treaty of Tordesillas, since there was no set limit to the east. The expedition of García Jofre de Loaísa reached the Moluccas, docking at Tidore. With the Portuguese already established in nearby Ternate, conflict was inevitable, leading to nearly a decade of skirmishes. A resolution was reached with the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529, attributing the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain. South Asia, Persian Gulf and Red sea The Portuguese empire expanded into the Persian Gulf, contesting control of the spice trade with the Ajuran Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at the head of the Persian Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state. Aden, however, resisted Albuquerque 's expedition in that same year and another attempt by Albuquerque 's successor Lopo Soares de Albergaria in 1516. In 1521 a force led by António Correia captured Bahrain, defeating the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil. In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of the southern Persian Gulf for the next hundred years. With the regular maritime route linking Lisbon to Goa since 1497, the island of Mozambique became a strategic port, and there was built Fort São Sebastião and a hospital. In the Azores, the Islands Armada protected the ships en route to Lisbon. In 1534, Gujarat faced attack from the Mughals and the Rajput states of Chitor and Mandu. The Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese, establishing an alliance to regain the country, giving in exchange Daman, Diu, Mumbai and Bassein. It also regulated the trade of Gujarati ships departing to the Red Sea and passing through Bassein to pay duties and allow the horse trade. After Mughal ruler Humayun had success against Bahadur, the latter signed another treaty with the Portuguese to confirm the provisions and allowed the fort to be built in Diu. Shortly afterward, Humayun turned his attention elsewhere, and the Gujarats allied with the Ottomans to regain control of Diu and lay siege to the fort. The two failed sieges of 1538 and 1546 put an end to Ottoman ambitions, confirming the Portuguese hegemony in the region, as well as gaining superiority over the Mughals. However, the Ottomans fought off attacks from the Portuguese in the Red Sea and in the Sinai Peninsula in 1541, and in the northern region of the Persian Gulf in 1546 and 1552. Each entity ultimately had to respect the sphere of influence of the other, albeit unofficially. Sub-Saharan Africa Portuguese carracks unload cargo in Lisbon. Original engraving by Theodor de Bry, 1593, coloured at a later date. After a series of prolonged contacts with Ethiopia, the Portuguese embassy made contact with the Ethiopian ( Abyssinian ) Kingdom led by Rodrigo de Lima in 1520. This coincided with the Portuguese search for Prester John, as they soon associated the kingdom as his land. The fear of Turkish advances within the Portuguese and Ethiopian sectors also played a role in their alliance. The Adal Sultanate defeated the Ethiopians in the battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529, and Islam spread further in the region. Portugal responded by aiding king Gelawdewos with Portuguese soldiers and muskets. Though the Ottomans responded with support of soldiers and muskets to the Adal Sultanate, after the death of the Adali sultan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al - Ghazi in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543, the joint Adal - Ottoman force retreated. The Portuguese also made direct contact with the Kongolose vassal state Ndongo and its ruler Ngola Kiljuane in 1520, after the latter requested missionaries. Kongolese king Afonso I interfered with the process with denunciations, and later sent a Kongo mission to Ndongo after the latter had arrested the Portuguese mission that came. The growing official and unofficial slave trading with Ndongo strained relations between Kongo and the Portuguese, and even had Portuguese ambassadors from Sao Tome support Ndongo against the Kingdom of Kongo. However, when the Jaga attacked and conquered regions of Kongo in 1568, Portuguese assisted Kongo in their defeat. In response, the Kongo allowed the colonization of Luanda Island ; Luanda was established by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 and soon became a slave port. De Novais ' subsequent alliance with Ndongo angered Luso - Africans who resented the influence from the Crown. In 1579, Ndongo ruler Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndamdi massacred Portuguese and Kongolese residents in the Ndongo capital Kabasa under the influence of Portuguese renegades. Both the Portuguese and Kongo fought against Ndongo, and off - and - on warfare between the Ndongo and Portugal would persist for decades. Missionary expeditions St. Francis Xavier requesting John III of Portugal for a missionary expedition in Asia. In 1542, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal, in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature. At the same time Francisco Zeimoto, António Mota, and other traders arrived in Japan for the first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto, who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at Tanegashima, where the locals were impressed by firearms, that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale. By 1570 the Portuguese bought part of a Japanese port where they founded a small part of the city of Nagasaki, and it became the major trading port in Japan in the triangular trade with China and Europe. The Portuguese were defeated in their attempt to capture cities and sultanates, on the Somali coast such as Sultanate of Mogadishu, Merca, and Barawa by the Somalis of the Ajuran Empire. Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only the trade between Asia and Europe, but also much of the trade between different regions of Asia and Africa, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit missionaries, followed the Portuguese to spread Roman Catholicism to Asia and Africa with mixed success. Colonization efforts in the Americas Main article : Portuguese colonization of the Americas Canada The Portuguese mapped and claimed Canada in 1499 and 1500s Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown, under the kings Manuel I, John III and Sebastian, also claimed territorial rights in North America ( reached by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498 ). To that end, in 1499 and 1500, João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and the north Atlantic coast of Canada, which accounts for the appearance of `` Labrador '' on topographical maps of the period. Subsequently, in 1500 -- 1501 and 1502, the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte - Real explored what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Greenland, claiming these lands for Portugal. In 1506, King Manuel I created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. Around 1521, João Álvares Fagundes was granted donatary rights to the inner islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and also created a settlement on Cape Breton Island to serve as a base for cod fishing. Pressure from natives and competing European fisheries prevented a permanent establishment and was abandoned five years later. Several attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland over the next half - century also failed. Brazil Within a few years after Cabral arrived from Brazil, competition came along from France. In 1503, an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho reported French raids on the Brazilian coasts, and explorer Binot Paulmier de Gonneville traded for brazilwood after making contact in southern Brazil a year later. Expeditions sponsored by Francis I along the North American coast directly violated of the Treaty of Tordesilhas. By 1531, the French had stationed a trading post off of an island on the Brazilian coast. The increase in brazilwood smuggling from the French led João III to press an effort to establish effective occupation of the territory. In 1531, a royal expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa and his brother Pero Lopes went to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create some of the first colonial towns -- among them São Vicente, in 1532. Sousa returned to Lisbon a year later to become governor of India and never returned to Brazil. The French attacks did cease to an extent after retaliation led to the Portuguese paying the French to stop attacking Portuguese ships throughout the Atlantic, but the attacks would continue to be a problem well into the 1560s. A map from 1574 showing the 15 hereditary captaincy colonies of Brazil Upon de Sousa 's arrival and success, fifteen latitudinal tracts, theoretically to span from the coast to the Tordesillas limit, were decreed by João III on 28 September 1532. The plot of the lands formed as a hereditary captaincies ( Capitanias Hereditárias ) to grantees rich enough to support settlement, as had been done successfully in Madeira and Cape Verde islands. Each captain - major was to build settlements, grant allotments and administer justice, being responsible for developing and taking the costs of colonization, although not being the owner : he could transmit it to offspring, but not sell it. Twelve recipients came from Portuguese gentry who become prominent in Africa and India and senior officials of the court, such as João de Barros. Of the fifteen original captaincies, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. Both were dedicated to the crop of sugar cane, and the settlers managed to maintain alliances with Native Americans. The rise of the sugar industry came about because the Crown took the easiest sources of profit ( brazilwood, spices, etc. ), leaving settlers to come up with new revenue sources. The establishment of the sugar cane industry demanded intensive labor that would be met with Native American and, later, African slaves. Deeming the capitanias system ineffective, João III decided to centralize the government of the colony in order to `` give help and assistance '' to grantees. In 1548 he created the first General Government, sending in Tomé de Sousa as first governor and selecting a capital at the Bay of All Saints, making it at the Captaincy of Bahia. Tomé de Sousa built the capital of Brazil, Salvador, at the Bay of All Saints in 1549. Among de Sousa 's 1000 man expedition were soldiers, workers, and six Jesuits led by Manuel da Nóbrega. The Jesuits would have an essential role in the colonization of Brazil, including São Vicente, and São Paulo, the latter which Nóbrega co-founded. Along with the Jesuit missions later came disease among the natives, among them plague and smallpox. Subsequently, the French would resettle in Portuguese territory at Guanabara Bay, which would be called France Antarctique. While a Portuguese ambassador was sent to Paris to report the French intrusion, Joao III appointed Mem de Sá as new Brazilian governor general, and Sá left for Brazil in 1557. By 1560, Sá and his forces had expelled the combined Huguenot, Scottish Calvinist, and slave forces from France Antarctique, but left survivors after burning their fortifications and villages. These survivors would settle Gloria Bay, Flamengo Beach, and Parapapuã with the assistance of the Tamoio natives. The Tamoio had been allied with the French since the settlement of France Antarctique, and despite the French loss in 1560, the Tamoio were still a threat. They launched two attacks in 1561 and 1564 ( the latter event was assisting the French ), and were nearly successful with each. By this time period, Manuel de Nóbrega, along with fellow Jesuit José de Anchieta, took part as members of attacks on the Tamoios and as spies for their resources. From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá and his forces eventually destroyed France Antarctique at Guanabara Bay. He and his nephew, Estácio de Sá, then established the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1567, after Mem de Sá proclaimed the area `` São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro '' in 1565. By 1575, the Tamoios had been subdued and essentially were extinct, and by 1580 the government became more of a ouvidor general rather than the ouvidores. Iberian Union, Protestant rivalry, and Colonial stasis ( 1580 -- 1663 ) Main articles : Iberian Union and Council of Portugal See also : Dutch Brazil The Luso - Hispanic ( or Iberian ) Empire in 1598, during the reign of Philip I and II, King of Portugal and Spain. In 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal after a crisis of succession brought about by King Sebastian of Portugal 's death during a disastrous Portuguese attack on Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578. At the Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Philip was crowned Philip I of Portugal, uniting the two crowns and overseas empires under Spanish Habsburg rule in a dynastic Iberian Union. At Tomar, Philip promised to keep the empires legally distinct, leaving the administration of the Portuguese Empire to Portuguese nationals, with a Viceroy of Portugal in Lisbon seeing to his interests. Philip even had the capital moved to Lisbon for a two - year period ( 1581 -- 83 ) due to it being the most important city in the Iberian peninsula. All the Portuguese colonies accepted the new state of affairs except for the Azores, which held out for António, a Portuguese rival claimant to the throne who had garnered the support of Catherine de Medici of France in exchange for the promise to cede Brazil. Spanish forces eventually captured the islands in 1583. The Tordesillas boundary between Spanish and Portuguese control in South America was then increasingly ignored by the Portuguese, who pressed beyond it into the heart of Brazil, allowing them to expand the territory to the west. Exploratory missions were carried out both ordered by the government, the `` entradas '' ( entries ), and by private initiative, the `` bandeiras '' ( flags ), by the `` bandeirantes ''. These expeditions lasted for years venturing into unmapped regions, initially to capture natives and force them into slavery, and later focusing on finding gold, silver and diamond mines. The Recovery of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, by Philip III of Portugal, from the Dutch Republic. However, the union meant that Spain dragged Portugal into its conflicts with England, France and the Dutch Republic, countries which were beginning to establish their own overseas empires. The primary threat came from the Dutch, who had been engaged in a struggle for independence against Spain since 1568. In 1581, the Seven Provinces gained independence from the Habsburg rule, leading Philip II to prohibit commerce with Dutch ships, including in Brazil where Dutch had invested large sums in financing sugar production. Spanish imperial trade networks now were opened to Portuguese merchants, which was particularly lucrative for Portuguese slave traders who could now sell slaves in Spanish America at a higher price than could be fetched in Brazil. In addition to this newly acquired access to the Spanish asientos, the Portuguese were able to solve their bullion shortage issues with access to the production of the silver mining in Peru and Mexico. Manila was also incorporated into the Macau - Nagasaki trading network, allowing Macanese of Portuguese descent to act as trading agents for Philippine Spaniards and use Spanish silver from the Americas in trade with China, and they later drew competition with the Dutch East India Company. In 1592, during the war with Spain, an English fleet captured a large Portuguese carrack off the Azores, the Madre de Deus, which was loaded with 900 tons of merchandise from India and China estimated at half a million pounds ( nearly half the size of English Treasury at the time ). This foretaste of the riches of the East galvanized English interest in the region. That same year, Cornelis de Houtman was sent by Dutch merchants to Lisbon, to gather as much information as he could about the Spice Islands. The Dutch eventually realized the importance of Goa in breaking up the Portuguese empire in Asia. In 1583, merchant and explorer Jan Huyghen van Linschoten ( 1563 -- 8 February 1611 ), formerly the Dutch secretary of the Archbishop of Goa, had acquired information while serving in that position that contained the location of secret Portuguese trade routes throughout Asia, including those to the East Indies and Japan. It was published in 1595 ; the text was then included in the larger volume published in 1596 under the title `` Itinerario : voyage, ofte schipvaert van Jan Huygen van Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien, 1579 -- 1592, Volume 2, Issue 2, by Jan Huygen van Linschoten, Linschoten - Vereeniging ( Hague, Netherlands ) ''. Dutch and English interests used this new information, leading to their commercial expansion, including the foundation of the English East India Company in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company in 1602. These developments allowed the entry of chartered companies into the East Indies. The Portuguese victory at the Second Battle of Guararapes ended Dutch presence in Pernambuco. The Dutch took their fight overseas, attacking Spanish and Portuguese colonies and beginning the Dutch -- Portuguese War, which would last for over sixty years ( 1602 -- 1663 ). Other European nations, such as Protestant England, assisted the Dutch Empire in the war. The Dutch attained victories in Asia and Africa with assistance of various indigenous allies, eventually wrenching control of Malacca, Ceylon, and São Jorge da Mina. The Dutch also had regional control of the lucrative sugar - producing region of northeast Brazil as well as Luanda, but the Portuguese regained these territories after considerable struggle. Meanwhile, in the Arabian Peninsula, the Portuguese also lost control of Ormuz by a joint alliance of the Safavids and the English in 1622, and Oman under the Al - Ya'arubs would capture Muscat in 1650. They would continue to use Muscat as a base for repetitive incursions within the Indian Ocean, including capturing Fort Jesus in 1698. In Ethiopia and Japan in the 1630s, the ousting of missionaries by local leaders severed influence in the respective regions. Second era ( 1663 -- 1825 ) Further information : History of Portugal ( 1640 -- 1777 ) and History of Portugal ( 1777 -- 1834 ) The loss of colonies was one of the reasons that contributed to the end of the personal union with Spain. In 1640 John IV was proclaimed King of Portugal and the Portuguese Restoration War began. Even before the war 's final resolution, the crown established the Overseas Council, conceived in 1642 on the short - lived model of the Council of India ( 1604 - 1614 ), and established in 1643, it was the governing body for most of the Portuguese overseas empire. The exceptions were North Africa, Madeira, and the Azores. All correspondence concerning overseas possessions were funneled through the council. When the Portuguese court fled to Brazil in 1807, following the Napoleonic invasion of Iberia, Brazil was removed from the jurisdiction of the council. It made recommendations concerning personnel for the administrative, fiscal, and military, as well as bishops of overseas dioceses. A distinguished seventeenth - century member was Salvador de Sá. In 1661 the Portuguese offered Bombay and Tangier to England as part of a dowry, and over the next hundred years the English gradually became the dominant trader in India, gradually excluding the trade of other powers. In 1668 Spain recognized the end of the Iberian Union and in exchange Portugal ceded Ceuta to the Spanish crown. After the Portuguese were defeated by the Indian rulers Chimnaji Appa of the Maratha Empire and by Shivappa Nayaka of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom and at the end of confrontations with the Dutch, Portugal was only able to cling onto Goa and several minor bases in India, and managed to regain territories in Brazil and Africa, but lost forever to prominence in Asia as trade was diverted through increasing numbers of English, Dutch and French trading posts. Thus, throughout the century, Brazil gained increasing importance to the empire, which exported Brazilwood and sugar. Minas Gerais and the gold industry In 1693, gold was discovered at Minas Gerais in Brazil. Major discoveries of gold and, later, diamonds in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Goiás led to a `` gold rush '', with a large influx of migrants. The village became the new economic center of the empire, with rapid settlement and some conflicts. This gold cycle led to the creation of an internal market and attracted a large number of immigrants. By 1739, at the apex of the mining boom, the population of Minas Gerais was somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000. The Portuguese Cortes sought the disbandment of the United Kingdom. The gold rush considerably increased the revenue of the Portuguese crown, who charged a fifth of all the ore mined, or the `` fifth ''. Diversion and smuggling were frequent, along with altercations between Paulistas ( residents of São Paulo ) and Emboabas ( immigrants from Portugal and other regions in Brazil ), so a whole set of bureaucratic controls began in 1710 with the captaincy of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. By 1718, São Paulo and Minas Gerais became two captaincies, with eight vilas created in the latter. The crown also restricted the diamond mining within its jurisdiction and to private contractors. In spite of gold galvanizing global trade, the plantation industry became the leading export for Brazil during this period ; sugar constituted at 50 % of the exports ( with gold at 46 % ) in 1760. Africans and Afro - Brazilians became the largest group of people in Minas Gerais. Slaves labeled as ' Minas ' and ' Angolas ' rose in high demand during the boom. The Akan within the ' Minas ' group had a reputation to have been experts in extrapolating gold in their native regions, and became the preferred group. In spite of the high death rate associated with the slaves involved in the mining industry, the owners that allowed slaves that extracted above the minimum amount of gold to keep the excesses, which in turn led to the possibility of manumission. Those that became free partook in artisan jobs such as cobblers, tailors, and blacksmiths. In spite of free blacks and mulattoes playing a large role in Minas Gerais, the number of them that received marginalization was greater there than in any other region in Brazil. Gold discovered in Mato Grosso and Goiás sparked an interest to solidify the western borders of the colony. In the 1730s contact with Spanish outposts occurred more frequently, and the Spanish threatened to launch a military expedition in order to remove them. This failed to happen and by the 1750s the Portuguese were able to implant a political stronghold in the region. In 1755 Lisbon suffered a catastrophic earthquake, which together with a subsequent tsunami killed between 40,000 -- 60,000 people out of a population of 275,000. This sharply checked Portuguese colonial ambitions in the late 18th century. According to economic historians, Portugal 's colonial trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth, 1500 - 1800. Leonor Costa et al. conclude : intercontinental trade had a substantial and increasingly positive impact on economic growth. In the heyday of colonial expansion, eliminating the economic links to empire would have reduced Portugal 's per capita income by roughly a fifth. While the empire helped the domestic economy it was not sufficient to annul the tendency towards decline in relation to Europe 's advanced core which set in from the 17th century onwards. Pombaline and post-pombaline Brazil Unlike Spain, Portugal did not divide its colonial territory in America. The captaincies created there functioned under a centralized administration in Salvador which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon. The 18th century was marked by increasing centralization of royal power throughout the Portuguese empire. The Jesuits, who protected the natives against slavery, were brutally suppressed by the Marquis of Pombal that lead to the dissolution of the order in the region by 1759. Pombal wished to improve the status of the natives by declaring them free and increase the mestizo population by encouraging intermarriage between them and the white population. Indigenous freedom decreased in contrast to its period under the Jesuits, and the response to intermarriage was lukewarm at best. The crown 's revenue from gold declined and plantation revenue increased by the time of Pombal, and he made provisions to improve each. Although he failed to spike the gold revenue, two short - term companies he established for the plantation economy saw the increase in production of cotton, rice, cacao, tobacco, sugar. Cotton, cacao, and rice saw a significant rise in importance in the second half of the 18th century. Slave labor increased as well as involvement from the textile economy. The economic development as a whole was inspired by elements of the Enlightenment in mainland Europe. However, the diminished influence from states such as the United Kingdom increased the Kingdom 's dependence upon Brazil. Encouraged by the example of the United States of America, which had won its independence from Britain, the attempt centred in the colonial province of Minas Gerais took place in 1789 to achieve the same objective. However, the Inconfidência Mineira failed, the leaders arrested and, of the participants of the insurrections the one of lowest social position, Tiradentes, was hanged. Among the conspiracies led by the Afro - population was the Bahian revolt in 1798, led primarily by Joao de Deus do Nascimento. Inspired by the French Revolution, leaders proposed a society without slavery, food prices would be lowered, and trade restriction abolished. Impoverished social conditions and a high cost of living were among reasons of the revolt. Authorities diffused the plot before major action began ; they executed four of the conspirators and exiled several others were exiled to the Atlantic Coast of Africa. Several more smaller - scale slave rebellions and revolts would occur from 1801 and 1816 and fears within Brazil were that it would become a `` second Haiti ''. In spite of the conspiracies, the rule of Portugal in Brazil was not under serious threat. Historian A.R. Disney states that the colonists did not until the transferring of the Kingdom in 1808 assert influence of policy changing due to direct contact, and historian Gabriel Paquette mentions that the threats in Brazil were largely unrealized in Portugal until 1808 because of effective policing and espionage. More revolts would occur after the arrival of the court. Brazilian independence Further information : Independence of Brazil ; Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil ; and United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves Brazilian Independence crippled the Portuguese Empire, both economically and politically, for a long time. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal, and Dom João, Prince Regent in place of his mother, Dona Maria I, ordered the transfer of the royal court to Brazil. In 1815 Brazil was elevated to the status of Kingdom, the Portuguese state officially becoming the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ( Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves ), and the capital was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, the only instance of a European country being ruled from one of its colonies. There was also the election of Brazilian representatives to the Cortes Constitucionais Portuguesas ( Portuguese Constitutional Courts ), the Parliament that assembled in Lisbon in the wake of the Liberal Revolution of 1820. Although the royal family returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to a growing desire for independence amongst Brazilians. In 1822, the son of Dom João VI, then prince - regent Dom Pedro I, proclaimed the independence of Brazil on September 7, 1822, and was crowned Emperor of the new Empire of Brazil. Unlike the Spanish colonies of South America, Brazil 's independence was achieved without significant bloodshed. Third era ( 1822 -- 1999 ) Main articles : Portuguese East Africa, Portuguese West Africa, and Portuguese Guinea Further information : Liberal Wars and History of Portugal ( 1834 -- 1910 ) The façade of St. Paul 's College in Macau, 1854 At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation - sized territories to compete with other European powers there. Portugal pressed into the hinterland of Angola and Mozambique, and explorers Serpa Pinto, Hermenegildo Capelo and Roberto Ivens were among the first Europeans to cross Africa west to east. British Ultimatum and end of Portuguese monarchy ( 1890 -- 1910 ) In the 19th century, Portugal launched campaigns to solidify Portuguese Africa. The project to connect the two colonies, the Pink Map, was the main objective of Portuguese policy in the 1880s. However, the idea was unacceptable to the British, who had their own aspirations of contiguous British territory running from Cairo to Cape Town. The British Ultimatum of 1890 was imposed upon King Carlos I of Portugal and the Pink Map came to an end. The King 's reaction to the ultimatum was exploited by republicans. In 1908 King Carlos and Prince Luís Filipe were murdered in Lisbon. Luís Filipe 's brother, Manuel, became King Manuel II of Portugal. Two years later he was overthrown and Portugal became a republic. World War I Main articles : German campaign in Angola, East African Campaign ( World War I ), and Portugal during World War I In 1914, the German Empire formulated plans to usurp Angola from Portuguese control. Skirmishes between Portuguese and German soldiers ensued, resulting in reinforcements being sent from the mainland. The main objective of these soldiers was to recapture the Kionga Triangle, the territory having been subjugated by Germany. In 1916, after Portugal interned German ships in Lisbon, Germany declared war on Portugal. Portugal followed suit, thus entering World War I. Early in the war, Portugal was involved mainly in supplying the Allies positioned in France. In 1916, there was only one attack on the Portuguese territory, in Madeira. In 1917, one of the actions taken by Portugal was to assist England in its timber industry, imperative to the war effort. Along with the Canadian Forestry Corps, Portuguese personnel established logging infrastructure in an area now referred to as the `` Portuguese Fireplace ''. Throughout the year, Portugal dispatched contingents of troops to the Allied front in France. Midway in the year, Portugal suffered its first World War I casualty. Meanwhile, in Portuguese Africa, Portugal and the British fought numerous battles against the Germans in both Mozambique and Angola. Later in the year, U-boats entered Portuguese waters again and, once more, attacked Madeira, and sunk multiple Portuguese ships. Through the beginning of 1918, Portugal continued to fight along the Allied front against Germany, including participation in the infamous Battle of La Lys. As autumn approached, Germany found success in both Portuguese Africa, and against Portuguese vessels, sinking multiple ships. After nearly three years of fighting ( from a Portuguese perspective ), World War I ended, with an armistice being signed by Germany. At the Versailles Conference, Portugal regained control of all its lost territory, but did not retain possession ( by the principle of uti possidetis ) of territories gained during the war, except for Kionga, a port city in modern - day Tanzania. Portuguese territories in Africa eventually included the modern nations of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea - Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique. Turmoil and decolonization ( 1951 -- 1999 ) Main articles : Portuguese Colonial War, Carnation Revolution, Transfer of sovereignty over Macau, and Annexation of Goa In the 20th century, Portugal no longer called itself an empire, but a pluricontinental nation with overseas provinces. In the wake of World War II, decolonization movements began to gain momentum in the empires of the European powers. The ensuing Cold War also created instabilities among Portuguese overseas populations, as the United States and Soviet Union vied to increase their spheres of influence. Following the granting of independence to India by Britain in 1947, and the decision by France to allow its enclaves in India to be incorporated into the newly independent nation, pressure was placed on Portugal to do the same. This was resisted by António de Oliveira Salazar, who had taken power in 1933. Salazar rebuffed a request in 1950 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to return the enclaves, viewing them as integral parts of Portugal. The following year, the Portuguese constitution was amended to change the status of the colonies to overseas provinces. In 1954, a local uprising resulted in the overthrow of the Portuguese authorities in the Indian enclave of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The existence of the remaining Portuguese colonies in India became increasingly untenable and Nehru enjoyed the support of almost all the Indian domestic political parties as well as the Soviet Union and its allies. In 1961, shortly after an uprising against the Portuguese in Angola, Nehru ordered the Indian Army into Goa, Daman and Diu, which were quickly captured and formally annexed the following year. Salazar refused to recognize the transfer of sovereignty, believing the territories to be merely occupied. The Province of Goa continued to be represented in the Portuguese National Assembly until 1974. António de Oliveira Salazar sought the preservation of a pluricontinental Portugal. The outbreak of violence in February 1961 in Angola was the beginning of the end of Portugal 's empire in Africa. Portuguese army officers in Angola held the view that it would be incapable of dealing militarily with an outbreak of guerilla warfare and therefore that negotiations should begin with the independence movements. However, Salazar publicly stated his determination to keep the empire intact, and by the end of the year, 50,000 troops had been stationed there. The same year, the tiny Portuguese fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá in Ouidah, a remnant of the West African slave trade, was annexed by the new government of Dahomey ( now Benin ) that had gained its independence from France. Unrest spread from Angola to Guinea, which rebelled in 1963, and Mozambique in 1964. The rise of Soviet influence among the Movimento das Forças Armadas 's military ( MFA ) and working class, and the cost and unpopularity of the Portuguese Colonial War ( 1961 -- 1974 ), in which Portugal resisted to the emerging nationalist guerrilla movements in some of its African territories, eventually led to the collapse of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. Known as the `` Carnation Revolution '', one of the first acts of the MFA - led government which then came into power -- the National Salvation Junta ( Junta de Salvação Nacional ) -- was to end the wars and negotiate Portuguese withdrawal from its African colonies. These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal 's African territories ( mostly from Angola and Mozambique ), creating over a million Portuguese refugees -- the retornados. Portugal 's new ruling authorities also recognized Goa and other Portuguese India 's territories invaded by India 's military forces, as Indian territories. Benin 's claims over São João Baptista de Ajudá were accepted by Portugal in 1974. According to one historian, Portuguese rulers were unwilling to meet the demands of their colonial subjects ( unlike other European powers ) in part because Portuguese elites believed that `` Portugal lacked the means to conduct a successful `` exit strategy '' ( akin to the `` neocolonial '' approach followed by the British, the French, or the Belgians ) '' and in part due to the lack of `` a free and open debate ( in Salazar 's dictatorial state ) on the costs of upholding an empire against the anti-colonial consensus that had prevailed in the United Nations since the early 1960s ''. Civil wars in Angola and Mozambique promptly broke out, with incoming communist governments formed by the former rebels ( and backed by the Soviet Union, Cuba, and other communist countries ) fighting against insurgent groups supported by nations like Zaire, South Africa, and the United States. East Timor also declared independence in 1975 by making an exodus of many Portuguese refugees to Portugal, which was also known as retornados. However, East Timor was almost immediately invaded by neighbouring Indonesia, which occupied it until 1999. A United Nations - sponsored referendum resulted in a majority of East Timorese choosing independence, which was finally achieved in 2002. In 1987, Portugal signed the Sino - Portuguese Joint Declaration with the People 's Republic of China to establish the process and conditions for the transfer of sovereignty of Macau, its last remaining colony. While this process was similar to the agreement between the United Kingdom and China two years earlier regarding Hong Kong, the Portuguese transfer to China was met with less resistance than that of Britain and Hong Kong, as Portugal had already recognized Macau as Chinese territory under Portuguese administration in 1979. Under the transfer agreement, Macau is to be governed under a one country, two systems policy, in which it will retain a high degree of autonomy and maintain its capitalist way of life for at least 50 years after the handover in 2049. The handover in 1999 officially marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and end of colonialism in Asia. Legacy Member states and associate observer states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries ( CPLP ). The Se Cathedral in Goa, India, an example of Portuguese architecture and one of the largest churches in Asia. Presently, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries ( CPLP ) serves as the cultural and intergovernmental successor of the Empire. Macau was returned to China on December 20, 1999, under the terms of an agreement negotiated between People 's Republic of China and Portugal twelve years earlier. Nevertheless, the Portuguese language remains co-official with Cantonese Chinese in Macau. Currently, the Azores, Madeira, and Savage Islands are the only overseas territories that remain politically linked to Portugal. Although Portugal began the process of decolonizing East Timor in 1975, Macau during 1999 -- 2002 was sometimes considered Portugal 's last remaining colony, as the Indonesian invasion of East Timor was not justified by Portugal. Eight of the former colonies of Portugal have Portuguese as their official language. Together with Portugal, they are now members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, which when combined total 10,742,000 km2, or 7.2 % of the Earth 's landmass ( 148 939 063 km2 ). There are six associate observers of the CPLP : Georgia, Japan, Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, and Turkey. Moreover, twelve candidate countries or regions have applied for membership to the CPLP and are awaiting approval. Portuguese remains an official language in Macau after the handover to China Today, Portuguese is one of the world 's major languages, ranked sixth overall with approximately 240 million speakers around the globe. It is the third most spoken language in the Americas, mainly due to Brazil, although there are also significant communities of lusophones in nations such as Canada, the USA and Venezuela. In addition, there are numerous Portuguese - based creole languages, including the one utilized by the Kristang people in Malacca. For instance, as Portuguese merchants were presumably the first to introduce the sweet orange in Europe, in several modern Indo - European languages the fruit has been named after them. Some examples are Albanian portokall, Bulgarian портокал ( portokal ), Greek πορτοκάλι ( portokali ), Macedonian портокал ( portokal ), Persian پرتقال ( porteghal ), and Romanian portocală. Related names can be found in other languages, such as Arabic البرتقال ( bourtouqal ), Georgian ფორთოხალი ( p'ort'oxali ), Turkish portakal and Amharic birtukan. Also, in southern Italian dialects ( e.g., Neapolitan ), an orange is portogallo or purtuallo, literally `` ( the ) Portuguese ( one ) '', in contrast to standard Italian arancia. In light of its international importance, Portugal and Brazil are leading a movement to include Portuguese as one of the official languages of the United Nations. 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Bowman, John Stewart ; Isserman, Maurice, eds. Exploration in the World of the Middle Ages, 500 -- 1500. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 3 - 87294 - 202 - 6. Whiteway, Richard Stephen ( 1899 ). The Rise of Portuguese Power in India, 1497 -- 1550. Archibald Constable & Co. Yamashiro, José ( 1989 ). Choque Luso No Japão Dos Séculos XVI e XVII. Ibrasa. ISBN 1 - 74059 - 421 - 5. External links Library resources about Portuguese Empire Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Portuguese Empire Timeline Dutch Portuguese Colonial History Dutch Portuguese Colonial History : history of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil. Language Heritage, lists of remains, maps. `` The Present State of the West - Indies : Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe '' by Thomas Kitchin Forts of the Spice Islands of Indonesia Senaka Weeraratna, Repression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese ( 1505 -- 1658 ) < http://vgweb.org/unethicalconversion/port_rep.htm>2005 ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portuguese Empire. Portuguese overseas empire North Africa 15th century 1415 -- 1640 Ceuta 1458 -- 1550 Alcácer Ceguer ( El Qsar es Seghir ) 1471 -- 1550 Arzila ( Asilah ) 1471 -- 1662 Tangier 1485 -- 1550 Mazagan ( El Jadida ) 1487 -- 16th century Ouadane 1488 -- 1541 Safim ( Safi ) 1489 Graciosa 16th century 1505 -- 1541 Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué ( Agadir ) 1506 -- 1525 Mogador ( Essaouira ) 1506 -- 1525 Aguz ( Souira Guedima ) 1506 -- 1769 Mazagan ( El Jadida ) 1513 -- 1541 Azamor ( Azemmour ) 1515 -- 1541 São João da Mamora ( Mehdya ) 1577 -- 1589 Arzila ( Asilah ) Sub-Saharan Africa 15th century 1455 -- 1633 Anguim 1462 -- 1975 Cape Verde 1470 -- 1975 São Tomé 1471 -- 1975 Príncipe 1474 -- 1778 Annobón 1478 -- 1778 Fernando Poo ( Bioko ) 1482 -- 1637 Elmina ( São Jorge da Mina ) 1482 -- 1642 Portuguese Gold Coast 1508 -- 1547 Madagascar 1498 -- 1540 Mascarene Islands 16th century 1500 -- 1630 Malindi 1501 -- 1975 Portuguese Mozambique 1502 -- 1659 Saint Helena 1503 -- 1698 Zanzibar 1505 -- 1512 Quíloa ( Kilwa ) 1506 -- 1511 Socotra 1557 -- 1578 Accra 1575 -- 1975 Portuguese Angola 1588 -- 1974 Cacheu 1593 -- 1698 Mombassa ( Mombasa ) 17th century 1645 -- 1888 Ziguinchor 1680 -- 1961 São João Baptista de Ajudá 1687 -- 1974 Bissau 18th century 1728 -- 1729 Mombassa ( Mombasa ) 1753 -- 1975 Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 19th century 1879 -- 1974 Portuguese Guinea 1885 -- 1974 Portuguese Congo Part of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1753. Or 1600. A factory ( Anosy Region ) and small temporary coastal bases. Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879. Part of Portuguese Angola from the 1920s. Middle East ( Persian Gulf ) 16th century 1506 -- 1615 Gamru ( Bandar Abbas ) 1507 -- 1643 Sohar 1515 -- 1622 Hormuz ( Ormus ) 1515 -- 1648 Quriyat 1515 -- ? Qalhat 1515 -- 1650 Muscat 1515 ? -- ? Barka 1515 -- 1633 ? Julfar ( Ras al - Khaimah ) 1521 -- 1602 Bahrain ( Muharraq Manama ) 1521 -- 1529 ? Qatif 1521 ? -- 1551 ? Tarut Island 1550 -- 1551 Qatif 1588 -- 1648 Matrah 17th century 1620 -- ? Khor Fakkan 1621 ? -- ? As Sib 1621 -- 1622 Qeshm 1623 -- ? Khasab 1623 -- ? Libedia 1624 -- ? Kalba 1624 -- ? Madha 1624 -- 1648 Dibba Al - Hisn 1624 ? -- ? Bandar - e Kong Indian subcontinent 15th century 1498 -- 1545 Laccadive Islands ( Lakshadweep ) 16th century Portuguese India 1500 -- 1663 Cochim ( Kochi ) 1501 -- 1663 Cannanore ( Kannur ) 1502 -- 1658 1659 -- 1661 Quilon ( Coulão / Kollam ) 1502 -- 1661 Pallipuram ( Cochin de Cima ) 1507 -- 1657 Negapatam ( Nagapatnam ) 1510 -- 1961 Goa 1512 -- 1525 1750 Calicut ( Kozhikode ) 1518 -- 1619 Portuguese Paliacate outpost ( Pulicat ) 1521 -- 1740 Chaul ( Portuguese India ) 1523 -- 1662 Mylapore 1528 -- 1666 Chittagong ( Porto Grande De Bengala ) 1531 -- 1571 Chaul 1531 -- 1571 Chalé 1534 -- 1601 Salsette Island 1534 -- 1661 Bombay ( Mumbai ) 1535 Ponnani 1535 -- 1739 Baçaím ( Vasai - Virar ) 1536 -- 1662 Cranganore ( Kodungallur ) 1540 -- 1612 Surat 1548 -- 1658 Tuticorin ( Thoothukudi ) 1559 -- 1961 Daman and Diu 1568 -- 1659 Mangalore ( Portuguese India ) 1579 -- 1632 Hugli 1598 -- 1610 Masulipatnam ( Machilipatnam ) 1518 -- 1521 Maldives 1518 -- 1658 Portuguese Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ) 1558 -- 1573 Maldives 17th century Portuguese India 1687 -- 1749 Mylapore 18th century Portuguese India 1779 -- 1954 Dadra and Nagar Haveli East Asia and Oceania 16th century 1511 -- 1641 Portuguese Malacca ( Malaysia ) 1512 -- 1621 Maluku ( Indonesia ) 1522 -- 1575 Ternate 1576 -- 1605 Ambon 1578 -- 1650 Tidore 1512 -- 1665 Makassar 1557 -- 1999 Macau ( China ) 1580 -- 1586 Nagasaki ( Japan ) 17th century 1642 -- 1975 Portuguese Timor ( East Timor ) 19th century Portuguese Macau 1864 -- 1999 Coloane 1851 -- 1999 Taipa 1890 -- 1999 Ilha Verde 20th century Portuguese Macau 1938 -- 1941 Lapa and Montanha ( Hengqin ) 1975 is the year of East Timor 's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor 's independence was fully recognized. North America & North Atlantic 15th century ( Atlantic islands ) 1420 Madeira 1432 Azores 16th century ( Canada ) 1500 -- 1579 ? Terra Nova ( Newfoundland ) 1500 -- 1579 ? Labrador 1516 -- 1579 ? Nova Scotia South America & Antilles 16th century 1500 -- 1822 Brazil 1534 -- 1549 Captaincy Colonies of Brazil 1549 -- 1572 Brazil 1572 -- 1578 Bahia 1572 -- 1578 Rio de Janeiro 1578 -- 1607 Brazil 1621 -- 1815 Brazil 1536 -- 1620 Barbados 17th century 1621 -- 1751 Maranhão 1680 -- 1777 Nova Colónia do Sacramento 18th century 1751 -- 1772 Grão - Pará and Maranhão 1772 -- 1775 Grão - Pará and Rio Negro 1772 -- 1775 Maranhão and Piauí 19th century 1808 -- 1822 Cisplatina ( Uruguay ) 1809 -- 1817 Portuguese Guiana ( Amapá ) 1822 Upper Peru ( Bolivia ) Coats of arms of Portuguese colonies Evolution of the Portuguese Empire Portuguese colonial architecture Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia Portuguese colonization of the Americas Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia Articles and topics related to the Portuguese Empire Topics related to the Portuguese monarchy Major events Battle of São Mamede Battle of Ourique Treaty of Zamora Manifestis Probatum 1383 -- 85 Crisis Battle of Aljubarrota Battle of Alfarrobeira Battle of Alcácer Quibir Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 War of the Portuguese Succession Iberian Union Forty Conspirators Portuguese Restoration War Transfer of the Portuguese Court Liberal Revolution of 1820 April Revolt Portuguese Civil War Municipal Library Elevator Coup Lisbon Regicide 5 October 1910 revolution Royalist attack on Chaves Monarchy of the North Royal houses Portuguese House of Burgundy House of Aviz House of Habsburg House of Braganza House of Braganza - Saxe - Coburg and Gotha ( disputed ) Royal residences Ajuda Palace São Jorge Alcáçova Belém Palace Buçaco Palace Évora Palace Mafra Palace Necessidades Palace Pena Palace Queluz Palace Quinta da Boa Vista Rio de Janeiro Palace Ramalhão Palace Ribeira Palace São Cristóvão Palace Santa Cruz Estate Sintra Palace Vila Viçosa Palace Miscellaneous Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of the Algarve Kingdom of Brazil United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves Portuguese Monarchs Line of succession to the former Portuguese throne Miguelism Sebastianism Portuguese Empire Portuguese Cortes Portuguese nobility List of titles and honours of the Portuguese Crown Council of Portugal Pantheon of the House of Braganza Most Faithful Majesty Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza ( current pretender ) Genealogical tree of the monarchs of Portugal Portuguese Crown Jewels Style of the Portuguese sovereign His Most Faithful Majesty 's Council Portugal articles History Timeline Oestriminis Ophiussa Hispania Lusitania Gallaecia Lusitanians Suebi Buri Visigoths County of Portugal Kingdom of Portugal Monarchs 1383 -- 85 Crisis Consolidation Discoveries Odyssey Empire Renaissance Treaty of Tordesillas 1755 Lisbon earthquake Peninsular War Liberal Revolution Civil War Constitutional Monarchy Republican Revolution First Republic World War I 28 de Maio Estado Novo Carnation Revolution Third Republic By topic Economy Military Geography Cities Estrela Mountains Islands Lakes Regions Rivers Volcanoes Politics Administrative divisions Autonomous regions Municipalities Elections Foreign relations Government Judiciary Law Constitution Law enforcement LGBT history Military Parliament Political parties President Economy Agriculture Central bank Economic history Energy Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ ) Fishing Mining Science and technology Stock Exchange Telecommunications Internet Tourism Transport Society Crime Demographics Education Health Healthcare Housing Immigration Languages People Time Culture Architecture Portuguese pavement Cinema Cuisine wine Literature Media Newspapers Radio TV Monuments Music Public holidays Religion Sport Symbols Coat of arms Flag Anthem Outline Index Book Portal Colonial empires American Austro - 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Question: what was the colonial holding in south america that was governed by portugal
Answer: Brazil