The Portuguese Empire 3 of 3 

Having a Portuguese background i am well versed in the history however you did such a great job that you revealed some details that even I was unaware of... Cheers

Great video (as usual)! One minor complaint: when talking about Portuguese Africa you forgot to mention Cabo Verde (the Cape Verde Islands), Guiné-Bissau and the islands of São Tomé & Principe. Historical fun fact: Uruguay was a contested territory between the Portuguese and the Spanish since the 17th century. When Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822 its empire included Uruguay as a province. Uruguay only gained independence from Brazil after the conclusion of the Cisplatine War in 1828. Thanks again for a great historical video!

Very good analysis of the rise and fall of the Portuguese empire. I have seen many amateur historian videos on youtube about the Portuguese empire, and yours is easily amongst the best. I especially liked your succinct information about how the Portuguese managed to conquer the Indian Ocean during the early 16th century. Nevertheless, there are three points I'd like to make, which unfortunately are many times repeated in international historiography, namely relating to the decline, and which are not true. Point number 1: The Portuguese Decline in Asia: There are normally two main reasons used in international historiography to explain Portugal's decline in Asia: 1.) It is many times mentioned that the Dutch and the English overtook the Portuguese in Asia because they were able to build better fleets, or, 2.) because the Portuguese had too few men to protect their colonies due to its small size and population. In reality, the main reason was another; Portugal went into decline and the Dutch and the English simply took advantage of that decline. After the battle of Alcacer Quibir in 1578, arguably the worst defeat in Portuguese history, Portugal became an orphan nation overnight. It lost a good part of its army, its king, had no heir to the throne, and lost the cream of its nobility. A situation which would have been a death sentence for any European kingdom at that time. The Spanish King, Philip II, being a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal, had some legitimacy over the throne, and was supported by a good part of the remaining Portuguese nobility, including the Bragancas (Portugal's future royal house), and thus Portugal fell into a union with Spain for 60 years which would prove disastrous for the empire. During the Iberian Union, which lasted from 1580 - 1640, a good part of the Portuguese ships, soldiers and treasury went to the Spanish war machine. For instance, half of the galleons (11) of the Spanish Armada were Portuguese, including the flagship itself. The defeat proved disastrous for Portugal too. King Philip II of Spain was actually bankrupt three times during his reign, which caused a further drainage of the Portuguese funds from its own colonies and empire. The Dutch traders, after being expelled from Lisbon, were very aware of the poorly defended Portuguese outposts in Asia, and realised that it was a great opportunity to attack the Portuguese colonial outposts in the area. It is also important to understand that shortly before King Sebastian's disastrous campaign in North Africa, the Portuguese had just come out victorious in what was perhaps their most costly naval war in history; the war of the league of the indies, which was fought between 1570 - 1575, and was massively expensive for the Portuguese, where they had to fight off an Asian coalition consisting of 150.000 infantry, 2000 elephants, 70.000 cavalry, 400 cannons, and more than 100 ships, with only 5000 infantry and 20-30 galleons. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_the_Indies It was an extraordinary victory, a war which I personally rate as one of the most amazing Portuguese victories off all time, a war which is relatively unknown, and which was only possible due to the massive amounts of money and effort put into it. After King Sebastian's flunder, and the consequent crowning of King Philip II of Spain, Portugal never again had the same capacity to finance its empire in Asia until the discovery of gold and diamonds in Brazil, more than 100 years later. It was this the main factor behind the Dutch and British succesful incursions into Asia. If one is to analyse the many defeats the Portuguese held in the early 17th century, especially against the Dutch, one is to realize how poorly defended the colonial outposts were, a situation which would have never been so dire until 1578. This fact is grossly ignored by international historiography, especially Anglo historiography, which tends to push forward the idea that Portugal's northern rivals simply "overtook" and "outdid" them. Had King Sebastian not undergone his disastrous campaign in North Africa, leading to Portugal's bankruptcy, loss of independence and consequent relative decline, it is very likely that neither the Dutch or the British would have had a chance in "overtaking" Portugal in the far East. Point number 2: The Portuguese-Dutch War The Dutch- Portuguese war is many times regarded as an overall Dutch victory, but the actual truth is that it ended in a stalemate, not a Portuguese loss. The Portuguese-Dutch war, which lasted 60 years (1601 - 1661), and was Portugal's longest war, actually resulted in a stalemate. The Dutch were the clear victors in Asia, in Africa it was a draw (Portugal won in Angola and the Dutch in Ghana), and in South America the Portuguese were the clear victors. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch%E2%80%93Portuguese_War In fact, it was the English the main victors of that war, since it weakened its other main naval powers in Asia at the time. In addition, saying that the Portuguese were defeated in Asia, but that in South America the "Brazilians defeated the Dutch", in my view, is somewhat incorrect, as it was a victory of the Portuguese empire, consisting of Portuguese colonial troops of mixed race soldiers under the command of Portuguese generals. It was the victory of the Portuguese empire over the Dutch, not a Brazilian victory. Point number 3: Brazil One other point which is mentioned many times by international historiography, is that Portugal went into decline during the 17th century, and was overtook by all the others, and never again reformed its former glory. In reality, Portugal had another period of prosperity during the first half of the 18th century. Although it is true that peak of Portuguese power came in the middle 16th century, the Portuguese global position by the mid 18th century had actually once again surpassed the Dutch, and even the Spanish in South America, and this was because of the success of the Portuguese colonization of Brazil during the reigns of Dom Pedro II and Dom Joao V, which turned Brazil into the largest and wealthiest colony of the Americas, thanks to the great exploits of the "Bandeirantes", Portugal's "conquistadores" in South America. The main decline for Portugal occurred in the 19th century. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandeirantes This great accomplishment, many times overlooked by international historiography, allowed Dom Joao V to be one of the richest Kings in the world, 20 times richer than the King of England, as well as the man on Earth with more gold, putting Portugal on the map again. Gold, diamonds, slaves (unfortunately), coffee, sugar, the exploits of the Bandeirantes, and the good leadership of Dom Joao V is what allowed Brazil to have the size that it has today. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_V_of_Portugal It is extraordinary, in my view, that even after Portugal's horrific decline in the 17th century, it managed to beat back the Spanish to regain independence in Europe, reconquered Brazil and Angola from the Dutch, even managed to surpass the Spanish in South America, and went about rebuilding its empire to create the largest and wealthiest colony of the whole of the American continent. Conclusion: The Portuguese exploits and empire is by far, in my view, the most underrated European empire of all times. It was once the main naval power in the world, built the richest and largest colony in the Americas and once controlled the largest maritime commerce in the globe. Never have so few accomplished so much. Thank you for taking the time and effort into making such a great documentary.

The Portuguese empire is very underrated

impressive for a small country with few people. today a million people seems even smaller

Amazing series! I am a big fan of the channel and now I am very happy to see 1) my country, 2) my city and 3) my family member featured in the same video.

Just think if the Portuguese King didn't die in battle how powerful they could have been or kept going strong

Happy new year guys!

Amazing work! I'm Brazilian and this is awesome! edit: Happy new year! :D

Thank you! Great work of yours, we that like history salute you!!

Brilliant. Thank you. This series was my first exposure to this channel, and I immediately subscribed!

This channel is an international treasure that should be protected as an essential work in historical study.

Such a good channel, I have to stop myself from commenting on every vid just to say this each time.

The only true History of the Portuguese Empire is told by Portuguese historians. The Italians are bittered because we Portuguese destroyed their business by founding our Empire in the east.

great job dude love this channel keep up the good work

This size of Brazil in your mapping dones have standing, loved the presentation.

Amazing videos about Portuguese Empire .

Excellent video. Keep up the good work!

these 3 videos where awesome

Finally ! Thank you so much for this 😭

Great series. Watched it fascination. I am Dutch, but never learned about our squimishes and battles with the Portuguese in Brazil, though I did learn about Malakka. Will check out further. Thanks, man!

Great video

Thanks, this was a very good new years' ewe present.

great content on such an influential country not covered much on youtube! hoping u will do one on the dutch

Informative and great video, lovely animations!

It was a great series

The first global empire and the last to cease.

Really good pal thank you 👊🏼👊🏼

Salazar did not fall from power because of the colonial war. He suffered an acident, being replaced with Marcelo Caetano. He then died. His regime only felt years after

Very nice videos, don't forget to put your sources in the description.

keep up the good work!

Man, this guy is amazing! How come his channel is so small! That's so unfair!!! Subscribed!

Interesting and I enjoyed the back ground music, what song is it?

Brasilian here but, Portugal Rules the Waves 🌊🌊🇵🇹🇵🇹

brilliant series of 3 videos on the rise and fall of the Portuguese empire. This is not amateur stuff. If you plan a new improved version, please include also some information about culture, such as the ability of the Portuguese to mix with other peoples and cultures, which made their culture remain in many parts of the world. The Portuguese language is spoken by 279 million people (estimation from 2023) in the world and is the official language of 9 countries. Only less than 4% of Portuguese speakers live in Portugal, most of them live in Brazil (216,4 million in 2023).

Now, someone tell me how was it possible to build and keep a global empire with only a million inhabitants? Technology, courage and diplomatic skills. As far as I'm concerned I find it remarkable

You have to read Factos escondidos da História de Portugal, de José Gomes Ferreira

Missing Guinea-Bissau and Damão

Portugal the first global empire. We Brazilians should have received class histories like this, objectively, entertaining and based on facts.

just so we're clear. i know the Dutch get hailed as great seafarers, but they basically road on the coattails of the intrepid Portuguese .

The greatest achievment of the portuguese empire was the creation of several diferent, rich and beautiful cultures. Goa, Brasil, Cabo Verde, etc. In this sense, the portuguese, who mixed with the various people they encountered, were way more sucessful than the dutch. The empire lives on, through the portuguese language

it always makes me sad that seeing an empire's death:(

As a brazillian, I'm impressed with such a simple and great description of the empire that originated my beloved country. Great job! I got some important content that I wrote based on a very detailed book about how Brazil become a great country and developed so many wealth during these centuries. It will be an honor to be part of this great content.

I'm an Indonesian learning about our history, and since the Portuguese colonized parts of Nusantara, I wanted to learned deeper about the Portuguese Empire. Just a little correction on the map, the location of Jakarta/Batavia is inaccurate. Overall, it's a very informative video 🙌

Hey man, this is a great series. Im hoping you could consider the french empire next during their colonial years and competition with the british

3:49 ah, the good old days...

Força Espanha saudações de Portugal ❤🇪🇸

you didnt mentioned Guine Bissau, Cape Verde, and Sao tome

what music is playing?

Falta mencionar Guiné Bissau , S.Tome e príncipe ,cabo verde que tiveram a independência em 1975.

Bruh the Dutch were the covid for the Portuguese hahah

Now yes! We are in Brazilian History! But at 11:35, an error: Dom Joao VI landed in RIO DE JANEIRO, NOT SAO LUIS! In time: it's very funny to see English speakers trying to spell Portuguese nouns. Hehe

Did they look into the Sanskrit Veda’s (the portugese)

The most Brave Man of The ALL history. The portugueses.

What of guinea-bassau ? Why does your map show the guyanas in Portuguese hands ?

Portugal to Dutch: 🥺why are you so mean to me?

Please pay attention to your (major) mistakes. Salazar never fell from power. He died in power. The independence of African colonies happened 4 years after Salazar's death.

pros of the colonies Portugal established: they are strategic cons: most of them are small and can only station small amounts of soldiers.

the portuguese wanted to make another Brazil by joining Angola and Moçambique

Can you do one on the British empire?

You’ve failed to mention Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome in this clip. Also the independence war fought in Guinea Bissau. I’m disappointed. Also.. The Kongo Empire of Angola had ASKED the Dutch to help them defeat the Portuguese, that why they’d sent Dom Miguel to the Netherlands and asked the WIC for help. The Portuguese were also driven out of Great Zimbabwe.

7:43 10:22 10:50 11:28 11:42

With all due respect 🙏 : Where did you get the idea that the Portuguese held the all guyanas or even claimed all the guyanas ? AWAITING YOUR REPLY ...

An English series is needed

sad end

Portuguese where very ambitious, determined, visioned, wants, needy, and greedy

Portugal has been dealt a very bad hand in the XX and XXI centuries by biased historians who are more along the line of the King's Historians of the XI and XII centuries who manipulated and muddied the waters of history to serve the wishes of their respective monarchs and even in this field Portugal was the first European country to have a modern historian that wrote based on investigation, using a scientific method. His name was Fernão Lopes while all the other historians in Europe simply wrote what their monarchs dictated to them. Portugal was the first and the last Global Empire. It was the longest lasting global empire. Portugal discovered more lands than any other country and Spain followed Portugal closely. For a country like Portugal with a population of 1 million people in 1500 Portugal was the tenth largest empire of all time. It was the Portuguese who discovered Australia and we know this today not the Dutch and it was the Portuguese who first set foot on the North American continent in 1511, Columbus never set foot on the North American mainland. Also to top it off in the late XV and early XVI centuries Portugal and Spain were in a kind of "cold war" there were spies travelling between both countries and their colonies. In the case of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) he could have been only one of two things: Either he was a Portuguese spy attempting to throw Spain off the route to India or he was history's most incompetent explorer. There is no third option, but this is a much bigger story.

Luso-brazilian born in Pernambuco. The Portuguese influence there is huge, many portguese with jewish roots went to this state.

Please do a future video on the Dutch and how they managed to have the best navy and beat the Iberian Union in more detail.

Fun fact. The alliance signed between Portugal and England is the longest surviving Alliance in world history. 1386 signed and never broken...

You forgot to mention Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa) was once taken by the Dutch. Anyways, nice work.

Batavia was in western java

its a bit hypocrite and unfair that Portugal had to be forced to give up its territories overseas when TODAY french and british still have theirs around the world.

well... go find where Ternate is please! Very wrong in your map....

It was the brazilians who recaptured northeast occupied territories from Dutch, in the famous Battle of Guararapes. Also, it was a fleet built in Rio de Jabeiro who took Angola back from Holland. The continental Portuguese have given up from overseas colonies that time, thinking they were unrecapturable.

F

Prince Pedro really fucked shit up.

O melhor estado do Brasil é o Ceará 😊Fortaleza ❤

What a primorous job! Thank you. I love all the timeline and explanations. Really interesting!

*PORTUGEE **#1COMMICOSTA**🤡NATION*

Thanks for this history lesson ❤️🇮🇶

This video is excelente. As a Brazilian, I had a new view of our colonization !

It's mainly rape by Portuguese conquistadors. Very few relations between Portuguese men and Indigenous/Black women in colonies was consensual. Raping and using slaves to mine gold in Brazil; heinous crimes kept quiet in Portuguese history to cover the shame of reality.

PORTUGUESE WERE SEAFARERS.

What a great series, excellent!

How come people forget the Portuguese empire conquered, killed indigenous peoples, and destroyed cultures wherever they set foot? Very Shameful to put it politely from a Portuguese perspective.

Awesome. Educational. Great video. I will watch more from you.

well this again doesn't talk about the importance of Bandeirantes, the Jesuits,...

Why do none of the three videos you made about the Portuguese empire mention how they committed mass genocide in Brazil, by enslaving every group they came accross in the amazon, literally working them to death?

nossas colónias foram um desastre de genocídio, que comportamento ignorante e vergonhoso😞

Portugal y España llevamos progreso y civilizacion

not proud to be Portuguese because of my country's destruction of African, Asian and Indian civilizations!

you totally don't know Portuguese history 1890 to 1974. makes me question your facts in first videos also, as I have studied Portuguese history some 45 years and never once heard or read or seen documents showing the Dutch were making 50% of the profits off spice of Portuguese. Your clearly mixing up wholesale ( Portugal)verses local pricing ( Dutch, German. Baltics) Salazar never had a downfall. he died in 1970 while Portugal was winning the major wars of Angola and Mozambique. only the April 25 revolt cause Portugal's downfall and Africa and millions of Portuguese Africans paid for it with 25 years of civil way. for Spinola and Orelo treason.

Proud to be a 2nd gen Portuguese American, 2nd gen German American, and an English Mayflower descendant.

Fun fact (Not). Portugal started the Atlantic slave trade and desperately tried to hang on to it even after nearly everyone else had realised it was a disgusting and awful trade. They never really understood how empire truly could work and tried to be lazy and put as little in as possible. The French, Dutch and English were very different with their style of empire.

False advertising should be retitled rise and fall of the *first era* of the Portuguese colonial empire, I just spent 40 minutes watching what I thought was going to be a full history of Portuguese colonialism and instead was treated to basically half the story. As I recall the Portuguese imperial wars of the 1970s were fairly brutal and bloody…

Well, I still don’t understand why Portugiese are so proud of such a bloody history. Trading human from Africa and depredations are absolutely shameful.

sucks to see it fall ngl. same as for the spanish, the swedes, the polish, the mongols, the romans, and so on... kinda makes u wonder... if the United States Empire might fall someday?? i can only hope not, at least not in this lifetime

Richness isn't only measured in gold, silver , rubies-gems , coin or any other material things & so on but yes it is measured in something more valuable & more important to human kind & that is loyalty, heart , bravery , ingenuity , kindness , tolerance & so on... Portugal has all that still today even though it does not have the material things although Portugal is still 4th or 5th in Gold reserves :)).. but there is no denying that the great history of a small nation that took on the oceans , seas & the unknowns to become the first & longest lasting GLOBAL EMPIRE our world has ever known , the achievements of Portugal which have yet to be matched today by any other nation sure did benefit greatly other countries - cultures into their future or the world would be centuries behind where it is today, think about that for a minute with an honest mind... Portugal & its people deserve a much over do of RESPECT! & you know who else owes Portugal well that would be the Vatican along with the Catholic Religion which is in every corner of the planet all because of that small nation called PORTUGAL & the ORDER of CHRIST TEMPLARS .