2. Background
Portugal began in the early Middle
Ages
Portugal is located in the Iberian
Peninsula bordering Spain and the
Atlantic Ocean
Portugal became a world power in
the 15th and 16th centuries, claiming
land in South America, Africa, Asia
and Australasia
The economic base for the empire in
this period was slaves and spices
Gradually Portugal's empire was
whittled away by other European
conquest of their trading posts
In 1975 Portugal granted
independence to all of its African
Colonies
In 1986 Portugal entered the
European Union
3. Portugal’s Age of Discovery
In its height, Portugal’s empire was vast and rivaled England, France
and Spain in all but political power
The Portuguese empire began in 1415 when Portugal captured Ceuta in
North Africa
In the early 13th century the Azorean islands were discovered and
colonized
In the mid 13th century several islands were discovered in the Gulf of
Guinea
In 1487 the Cape of Good Hope was turned, giving a new route to India
In 1500, a Portuguese crew discovered the future colony of Brazil
4. Treaty of Tordesillas
When Columbus discovered
America, the Spanish and
Portuguese quarreled
The compromise between
the two nations was the
Treaty of Tordesillas, which
divided non-European lands
at the North-South meridian
970 miles west of the Cape
Verde islands
The exact boundaries were
disputed because
technology gave them
imprecise measuring
The treaty was not strictly
enforced, for example the
Portuguese were allowed to
expand Brazil westward
uncontested
5. Spice Trade in Southeast Asia
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was
reached by the Portuguese
in 1505. They sought to take
control of the spice trade
their, which was dominated
by the Kottle Empire.
The Portuguese made the
Malaccan Peninsula a new
trading post at the Capitol of
Goa
Good diplomatic relations
between Portugal and the
Kingdom of Siam aided their
presence in the region
A Portuguese fort was
constructed in Ternate in
1512, and a trade base was
allowed at Macau, further
extending trade influence
These trading posts helped
establish the Portuguese
large slice of the spice trade
pie
6. Discovery and Settlement of
Brazil
Brazil was first claimed in
1500 by Pedro Alvares Cabral
A main export of the new
colony was brazil wood, a
valuable tree extracted from
the rainforest which was used
to create a dye for luxury
clothing. The natives
harvested the tree in
exchange for tools and
mirrors.
Competition between the
Portuguese and French
explorers caused conflicts.
Notable missions were carried
out against the French to ban
them from the area
European adventurers aided
the Portuguese in
communicating with the
natives
7. Government of Brazil
Under King John III, Brazil became a
royal enterprise, but in 1549, Tome
de Sousa (the first Governor-General
of Brazil) sought to establish a
central government and travelled to
the colony of Brazil
The capital city of Salvador de Bahia
was constructed first and then the
economies of the villages were
reconstructed
After 1621, Brazil was divided into
two states, each led by its own
governor
Each village had a city council
represented by high ranking
members in society
After 1640, the capital of the Estado
do Brazil was moved to Rio de
Janeiro
