Overview of the possessions of the Portuguese Empire
Cantino planisphere, 1502
This article is a comprehensive list of all the actual possessions of the Portuguese Empire.[1][2][3][4]
Europe
Portuguese founded factories in various places in Europe, with a purely commerce-focused strategy, different from the other continents.
Antwerp – factory [5]
Bruges – factory[5]
Chios – factory (founded in 1499 – ?)[6]
Venice – factory (c. 1508)[7]
Africa
Portuguese presence in Africa started in 1415 with the conquest of Ceuta and is generally viewed as ending in 1975, with the independence of its later colonies, although the present autonomous region of Madeira is located in the African Plate, some 650 km (360 mi) off the North African coast, Madeira belongs and has always belonged ethnically, culturally, economically and politically to Europe, some 955 km (583 mi) from the European mainland.[8]
Angola/Portuguese West Africa: colony (1575–1589); crown colony (1589–1951); overseas province (1951–1971); state (1971–1975). Independence in 1975.
Arguin/Arguim: (1455–1633)
Cabinda: protectorate (1883–1887); Congo district (1887–1921); intendancy subordinate to Maquela (1921–1922); dependency of Zaire district (1922–1930); Intendacy of Zaire and Cabinda (1930–1932); intendancy under Portuguese Angola (1932–1934); dependency under Angola (1934–1945); restored as District (1946–1975). Controlled by Frente Nacional para a Libertação de Angola (National Liberation Front of Angola) as part of independent Angola in 1975. Declared Cabinda a republic in 1975, but not recognized by Portugal nor Angola.
Cabo Verde/Cape Verde: settlements (1462–1495); dominion of crown colonies (1495–1587); crown colony (1587–1951); overseas province (1951–1974); autonomous republic (1974–1975). Independence in 1975.
From Cantino planisphere of 1502.
Benin (1485–1897): Factory. City destroyed by the British in 1897.[citation needed]
Guiné Portuguesa/Portuguese Guinea: colony (1879–1951); overseas province (1951–1974). Unilateral independence declared in 1973, recognized by Portugal in 1974.
Cacheu: captaincy (1640–1879). United with Bissau in 1879.
Bissau: settlement under Cacheu (1687–1696); captaincy (1696–1707); abandoned (1707–1753); separate colony under Cape Verde (1753–1879). United with Cacheu in 1879.
Lagos (1472–1862): Most popular Portuguese slave port. Slave trade declines in the early 19th century. Dirven out in 1862.[citation needed]
Lamu (1506–1652): Subjugated in 1506. Driven out by native Inhabitants.
Tangier: possession (1471–1662). Ceded to England in 1662.
Moçambique/Portuguese East Africa: possession (1498–1501); subordinate to Goa (1501–1569); captaincy-general (1569–1609); colony subordinate to Goa (1609–1752); colony (1752–1951); overseas province (1951–1971); state (1971–1974); local transitional administration (1974–1975). Independence in 1975.
São Tomé: possession (1470–1485); colony (1485–1522); crown colony (1522–1641); administration under Dutch occupation (1641–1648). French occupation in 1648.
Príncipe: colony (1471–1753). United with São Tomé in 1753.
Tanga (1500–1700): Lost to Oman in 1700.[citation needed]
Shanghai International Settlement: (1863–1945). Administered jointly with other trading powers in China. Settlement abolished in 1945.
Macau/Macao: Unofficial Settlement (1553–1557). Leased territory subordinated to Goa (1557–1844). Overseas province (1844–1883). Combined overseas province with Portuguese Timor under Goa (1883–1951). Overseas province (1951–1976). Autonomous region (1976–1999). Returned to full sovereignty of the People's Republic of China as a special administrative region in 1999.
Ilhas de Lapa, Dom João, e Montanha: Lapa occupied in 1654. Dom João occupied in 1849. Ilha de Montanha occupied in 1938. Lost to Japan in 1941.
Portuguese East Indies (1511–1975/2002). Colonial dependency of Goa (1522–1844); Subordinated to Macao (1844–1850); Independent colony (1850–1851); Subordinated to Macao (1851–1856); Subordinated to Goa (1856–1863); Overseas province (1863–1866); Subordinate to Macao (1866–1896); Independent colony (1896–1950); Overseas province (1950–1975); Unilateral Independence and Indonesian Occupation (1975–1999); UN Administration (1999–2002).
Calapa (1522–1619): Port granted to the Portuguese by the Hindu Sunda Kingdom in return for military support against their Muslim neighbors. Lost to the Dutch.[citation needed]
Keling Fort (1613–1645): Destroyed by the Dutch.[citation needed]
Malacca: settlement (1511–1641); lost to the Dutch.
West Timor: part of Timor lost to the Dutch in 1640.
Portuguese Timor: colony subordinate to Portuguese India (1642–1844); subordinate to Macau (1844–1896); separate colony (1896–1951); overseas territory (1951–1975); republic and unilateral independence proclaimed, annexed by Indonesia (1975–1999, UN recognition as Portuguese territory). UN administration from 1999 until independence in 2002.[11]
Ilha de Ataúro (1859–1975): Granted to the Portuguese by the Dutch in 1859.
Japanese Voyages (1550–1639): Portuguese arrive and begin to settle in 1543. Officially established by the government in Goa in 1550. Ended in 1639 by decree of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Deshima (1570–1639): Constructed by the Portuguese. Forced out by the Shōgun and granted to the Dutch in 1641.
Fukuda (1565–1571): Portuguese invited into the port in 1565. Abandoned in 1571 due to bad weather conditions.
Funai/Ōita (16th century): Port of call.
Hirado (1543–1571): Abandoned in favor of Nagasaki.
Kagoshima (1543–1639): center of Jesuit activity. Anti-Christian bans forced out the Jesuits in 1639.
Nagasáqui/Nagasaki (1543–1639): Unofficial settlement (1543–1570). Leased territory (1570–1580). Administrative control (1580–1587). Trading post and settlement (1587–1639). Pottuguese forced out as a part of the Shōgun's policy of Sakoku.
Vocoxiura/Yokoseura (1562–1571): Initial base for Jesuit activities in Japan. Abandoned in favor of Nagasaki.
Liampó/Ningbo (1522–1548): Heavy Portuguese presence in the city itself and settlement in nearby Shuangyu. Settlement destroyed by Ming authorities in 1548 as a part of an anti-piracy campaign.[citation needed]
Maçuá/Massawa (1513–1557). Driven out by the Ottomans[citation needed]
São João Island/Shangchuan Island: possession (15??–1557). Abandoned in favor of Macao.
Socotra: possession (1506–1511). Became part of Mahri Sultanate of Qishn and Suqutra
Tamão: (1513–1521) Trade settlement. Driven out by the Ming Navy.
Yuegang: (1533–???) Popular trading and smuggling port for Portuguese merchants. Unknown when Portuguese merchants ceased trading. Port closed in 1727.
Latin America
From Vaz Dourado atlas of c. 1576
Brazil was explored and claimed in 1500, and become independent in 1822. Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese did not divide their possession in South America in several vice-royalties.
Barbados: Possession known as Os Barbados, discovered by Pedro Campos between 1532 and 1536. The only Caribbean possession the Portuguese ever held, until Portugal abandoned the island in 1620 to continue exploring nearby Brazil.
Cisplatina (Uruguay): occupation (1808–1822). Captaincy in 1817 (of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves). Adhered as a province of the new Empire of Brazil in 1822. Became independent 1827, changing its name to Uruguay.
French Guiana: occupation (1809–1817). Restored to France in 1817.
The Azores were discovered early in the Discovery Ages. Labrador and Corte-Real brothers later explored and claimed Greenland and eastern modern Canada from 1499 to 1502.
Azores: colonies (1427–1766); captaincy-general (1766–1831); autonomous districts of Angra do Heroismo, Horta and Ponta Delgada (1831–1976). Made an autonomous region in 1976.
Land of the Corte-Real: (1501–?) claimed after the voyages of the Corte-Real brothers. Over the 16th century, several larger, permanent settlements were established, but many more seasonal trading posts and fishing villages were established at the same time and beyond.
Terra Nova (Newfoundland): (1501–?) claimed by Miguel and Gaspar Corte-Real, latter by João Álvares Fagundes. Also known as Terra Nova dos Bacalhaus (New Land of Codfish). Portuguese had two settlements in Newfoundland, one in Portugal Cove – St. Philips and the other in Portugal Cove South.
Nova Scotia (1519?–?): explored and claimed by João Álvares Fagundes. In Nova Scotia, Portuguese had two settlements, one in Saint Peters and another one in Ingonish.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portuguese Empire.
^A. J. R. Russell-Wood, The Portuguese empire, 1415–1808: a world on the move (JHU Press, 1998).
^W. G. Clarence-Smith, The Third Portuguese Empire, 1825–1975: a study in economic imperialism (Manchester University Press, 1985).
^Timothy J. Coates, "The Early Modern Portuguese empire: A commentary on recent studies." Sixteenth Century Journal 37.1 (2006): 83–90 online.
^Norrie MacQueen, The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution of Empire (1997).
^ abMontenegro, António (2001). "A feitoria portuguesa na Flandres e Manuel Cirne". Público. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
^Lopes, Paulo (2019). Portugal e a Europa nos séculos XV e XVI: Olhares, Relações, Identidade(s) (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Instituto de Estudos Medievais (IEM). p. 353. ISBN 978-989-99567-3-5.
^Rau, Virgínia (1966). Feitores e feitorias, "instrumentos" do comércio internacional português no século XVI: comunicação apresentada, em francês, no 3o. Congresso Internacional de História Económica que se realizou em Munique, de 25 a 27 de agosto de 1965 (in Portuguese). Edições Brotéria. p. 10.
^Filipe Ribeiro De Meneses and Robert McNamara, eds. The White Redoubt, the Great Powers and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1960–1980 (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017.)
^Hair, P.E.H. (2000). "Franciscan Missionaries and the 1752 «Donation of Sierra Leone»". Journal of Religion in Africa. 30 (4): 408–432. doi:10.2307/1581582. JSTOR 1581582 – via JSTOR.
^F. M. Hunter, An Account of the British Settlement of Aden in Arabia, Trübner & Co., London, 1877, p. 162–163.
^James Cotton, East Timor, Australia and regional order: intervention and its aftermath in Southeast Asia. (Routledge, 2004).
Further reading
Cotton, James. East Timor, Australia and regional order: intervention and its aftermath in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2004).
De Meneses, Filipe Ribeiro, and Robert McNamara, eds. The White Redoubt, the Great Powers and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1960–1980 (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017).
James, W. Martin. Historical dictionary of Angola (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
Lloyd-Jones, Stewart, and António Costa Pinto, eds. The last Empire: thirty years of Portuguese decolonization (Intellect Books, 2003).
MacQueen, Norrie. The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution of Empire (1997).
MacQueen, Norrie. "Belated Decolonization and UN Politics against the Backdrop of the Cold War: Portugal, Britain, and Guinea-Bissau's Proclamation of Independence, 1973–1974." Journal of Cold War Studies 8.4 (2006): 29–56.
Springhall, John. Decolonization since 1945: the collapse of European overseas empires (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001).
1 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.