2. History Of Portugal
Portugal is a European nation which
ascended to power during the 15th and 16th
century.
1415 marked the beginning of the
Portuguese empire when they conquered
Ceuta, a city on the coast of North Africa.
In 1500 thirteen ships set sail and claimed
what was to become the Portuguese
colony of Brazil.
In the beginning of 16th century two
million Portuguese ruled a vast empire
with inhabitants in the Americas, Africa,
the Middle East and Asia.
3. History Of Portugal
In 1578, King Sebastian died without an heir to
the throne.
Portugal became under Spanish rule from
1580-1640 and Spain’s enemies became
Portugal’s.
A great nobleman, John IV, launched a war of
independence against Spain which ultimately
led to Portuguese independence in 1668.
It gradually lost its power to the Dutch,
English and French who took control of
Portugal’s main economic interests; the spice
and slave trade
4. The Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history and also
the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning
almost six centuries.
The conquest of the city of Ceuta located in North Africa in 1415
marked an achievement of the Portuguese beyond the Iberian
Peninsula.
Following the capture of Ceuta, Infante Dom Henry the Navigator
played a crucial role in securing the islands of Madeira and Azores
which exported wheat to Portugal.
The introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century allowed the ship
more maneuverability which helped the Portuguese advance south
more efficiently.
In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope on Southern
Africa proving the Indian Ocean was not land-locked.
5. The Portuguese Empire
By the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century,
the Portuguese had reached India through the Indian
Ocean and Brazil across the Atlantic.
In the beginning of the 16th century a Portuguese fleet
sailed to Malacca in Malaysia which was the most
important east point in the trade network.
In 1534 John III organized the colonization of Brazil
through land grants which promoted settlement to
overcome the need to defend the territory.
King Phillip II of Spain invaded Portugal in 1580
uniting the two crowns, but fractured Portugal’s
alliance with England while inheriting Spain’s enemies.
The Portuguese eventually lost many of their colonies
due to conflict in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Following an earthquake and tsunami in 1755 which
killed more than a third of Lisbon’s population,
Portugal put its colonial ambitions on hold.
6. Colonial brazil
Colonial Brazil is comprised from the period 1500 until 1815.
The treaty of Tordesillas divided newly discovered lands between Spain
and Portugal which led to the discovery of Brazil.
The Portuguese soon began exporting the valuable brazilwood from
Brazil following their arrival in 1500.
Brazilwood contained a precious red dye which was used to stain
luxury textiles.
The Portuguese realized other European countries, especially France,
were sending expeditions to Brazil to extract brazilwood which forced
the Portuguese to create colonial villages on the coast.
The most successful captaincy, Pernambuco, prospered with sugarcane
mills which became the main Brazilian colonial produce for the
following 150 years.
The Portuguese imported many black African slaves to work on the
sugarcane harvesting.
7. Colonial brazil
Only a few of the fifteen captaincies succeeded which forced the king
to establish a central form of government in Brazil.
Jesuits were brought to Brazil to set up missions, save the natives from
slavery, study native languages, and to convert the natives to Roman
Catholicism.
The success of the Jesuits to convert the indigenous people to
Catholicism was due to their ability to learn the native language.
The discovery of gold became the main economic activity of colonial
Brazil throughout the 18th century.
The Portuguese established settlements in southern Brazil which led to
conflict with Spain.
In 1750 the Treaty of Madrid was signed regulating the territories of
Brazil between Portugal and Spain.
