A History of the Portuguese

Empire
In <= 6 slides
 India
Rough seas made for a voyage on
which shaving was all but impossible
Cape of Good Hope
In 1498, Vasco de Gama landed a
Portuguese trade fleet in Calicut,
India.
He mistakenly believed all the
Hindus were Christian.
The local traders laughed at the
goods they attempted to sell.
Offended, de Gama used the
cannons on his ship to force the
locals to purchase Portuguese
goods, setting precedent for the
next few centuries of Euro-Asian
relations.
 Brazil

In 1500, a Portuguese ship

attempting to repeat de
Gamas voyage is blown off
course.
They land on what they
believe to be a large island,
actually Brazil.
 The Scramble for Africa

Video unrelated.
In the late 19th century,
most major European
countries become obsessed
with conquering Africa.
Portugal, wanting to fit in,
remembers it has colonies
in Africa too.
It tries to get more, but
nobody really takes it
seriously.
 The loss of Brazil
In the early 19th century, Portugal is invaded
by France. The entire royal family flees to
Brazil and rules the empire from there.
After the war, they go back to Portugal but
most Brazilians dont really want to go back to
being ruled from Portugal.
Brazil declares independence not long after,
Portugal being largely powerless to stop it.
 Everything else
Asia
In 1963, India conquers
Portuguese Goa, the last
Indian colony. Christmas
celebrations in Lisbon are
cancelled in mourning.
In 1999, Macau is handed
back to China, dramatically
increasing the number
casinos in the Peoples
Republic.
Africa
Portugal keeps its African
colonies longer than any other
country.
In 1975, a generation of
Portuguese become tired of
fighting colonial wars in
Angola and Mozambique. A
military coup in Lisbon brings
democracy to Portugal, and
independence to all its
colonies (except Macau).