The Portuguese Empire: A Captivating Guide to the History of Portugal as a Colonial Power and Its Colonies in Asia, North and South America, and Oceania Paperback – March 1, 2022

The Portuguese Empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery, and the power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across the globe. In the wake of the Reconquista, Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418–19, using recent developments in navigation, cartography, and maritime technology such as the caravel, to find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral reached what would be Brazil.Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and trading posts (factories) as they went. By 1571 a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and South Asia. This commercial network and the colonial trade substantially positively impacted Portuguese economic growth (1500–1800) when it accounted for about a fifth of Portugal's per-capita income.This book traces and evaluates the rise and fall of the Portuguese Empire.

This was exactly as expected. It is a SHORT and concise view of the history of Portugal. It will be the catalyst for further research.

Thanks to the tenacity of the Portuguese empire, alternate routes were established to trade goods, especially spices, without having to go through a “middleman”, thereby destabilizing the Arab monopolies and in doing so also opened up new lands for exploration. It will discuss the unstable relationships with countries such as India (which at that time included Ceylon and Sri Lanka). The ruthlessness of explorers such as Vasco de Gama and the establishment of the first Christian missions are also described in this book.Like all other empires, the Portuguese empire was not perfect. It had its share of imperfect and corrupt monarchs/rulers, the age of the Reconquista, the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, and the Pombal period.I would recommend reading the “The History of Portugal” which also available in this series. It would be a great complement to this book.

A well written book about Portugals overseas actions violence and treachery everywhere but the Pacific slaves nutmeg and gold a sad story but not unique

As the title suggests - this book is more about Portugal's external 'Empire' than a history of Portugal itself - for instance: how did Portugal become separate from Spain, how was the border decided…?The book highlights the irrationality of Catholicism vs. Protestantism (same basic beliefs!) and the unmitigated assumption of European 'powers' at the time to just move into another country and take it over. Although: Portugal was highly successful in these actions for such a small country.There is just one mention of the Portuguese in Timor Leste, but nothing about the plight of the local people and the take-over by the Indonesians.There is a tendency for blatant circumlocution and to repeat the same information - tighter proofreading would have improved the readers' experience.However - there is an abundance of interesting information.

This is an excellent book about Portugal, this book is so well researched that you can even learn some of Portugal's state secrets that were so secret that they were threated not to reveal them upon pain of death (no one was harmed during the writing of this book). Portugal started as a small country who was relatively unknown. As Portugal grew, its reputation began to grow as country of exploration, until eventually Portugal became one of the greatest empires. Many famous explorers sailed under the Portugues flag, discovering Brazil and new ways to get to the spice islands. As you read this book you realize that history comes alive and each chapter becomes a new adventure.

This book chronicles the history of Portugal. It mainly concentrates on the time when Portugal was most influential in World Affairs, a period from the 1400s to the 1700s, but does superficially cover Portugal’s history from the end of the first millennium through the last century. It explains how Portugal, physically much smaller that its neighbor Spain, pressed its relatively limited resources and expanded throughout the globe to become a major colonial power with establishments in the Americas, Africa, India and Asia. As is often the case, those that have grown big, will often decline after a period of time. Portugal is no exception. The details of how its once might empire and reach eroded are presented. If you wish to learn how Brazil came to speak Portuguese or why Spain never swallowed up its smaller ‘cousin’, you’ll find the answers here.

Originally I thought a book clocking in at less than 100 pages would be little more than fluff, however I was delighted to be wrong.This book covers the period from around 1400 to the end of the 20th century. It describes not only how the Portuguese constructed their empire but also the failings and horrors that happened along the way. I had some background on the empire and I still learned plenty of new facts. If you can get it for less than $3 it’s worth it.