Portuguese Colonialism

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Fernando de Noronha was discovered by the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci in 1503. In 1504 the Crown granted the archipelago as a “capitania hereditária” to a Portuguese lord, Fernão de Noronha, from whom it takes its name. The archipelago was occupied by two other European nations (Dutch and French) during the ...

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. THE PORTUGUESE CONQUEST At the time of the Portuguese arrival in the Asian seas, Malacca thanks to its strategic position on the strait bearing the same name, was a remarkable trading center for the trade and shunting of spices. At that time, Malacca was ruled by a Muslim Sultan. The ...

Written by Marco Ramerini. On this page I want to write about an interesting book that has just been published. The book tells the story of the spice islands and focuses on the fortifications that Europeans built on these islands to control their trade. The story narrated in Simon Pratt’s book begins with the first contacts with Europeans and reaches ...

Written by Marco Ramerini. Photos by Prof. Rahul Basu. Tangasseri or Thangassery / Kollam is a city located along the coast of the ancient Malabar, in the Indian state of Kerala in southern India. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in this port of Malabar, they landed there in 1502. In the following years Tangasseri or Thangassery / Kollam that the Portuguese called ...

Written by Prof. Stefan Halikowski Smith, Dept. of History, Swansea University. The Bengal mission was one of the most Christian successful mission-fields in the Orient in early modern times, despite relatively small numbers of active missionaries. However, the mission, despite its successes in ‘harvesting souls’, encountered bitter political vituperation between the two orders active here, the Augustinians and Jesuits, who ...

Photos by João Sarmento. Written by Marco Ramerini. The Cidade Velha (Old Town) of the island of Santiago in Cape Verde islands is located 15 kilometers west of the city of Praia, along the Santiago island coast. It constitutes the first city built by Europeans in the tropics and the first capital of the Cape Verde archipelago. The settlement was originally named ...

Photos by João Sarmento. Written by Marco Ramerini. The Portuguese Fort São Sebastião, São Tomé, São Tomé e Príncipe. The fort was built in 1575. The fort was occupied by the Dutch on 16 Oct. 1641. The Portuguese recaptured the fort on 15 December 1644. The Fort São Sebastião is square-shaped with bastions at each corner and now houses the São Tomé and Príncipe National Museum.

Photos by João Sarmento. Written by Marco Ramerini. Some pictures of what remains of forts built by the Portuguese in Morocco in the 15th and 16th century. Here are presented photos of Azamor (Azemmour), Safim (Safi) and Mazagão (El Jadida) taken by João Sarmento. The fort of Azamor (Azemmour) was under Portuguese control between 3 September 1513 and October 1541. The fort of Safim (Safi) called by ...

Written by Dietrich Köster Portuguese India/Estado da Índia Portuguesa – Goa, Daman/Damão and Diu Until the invasion of Nehru’s troops in December 1961 Portuguese was the official language, while after the annexation English received this status. The local languages Konkani in Goa and Gujarati in Damão and Diu only play a minor role in public life. Even during the Portuguese ...

Written by Simon Pratt Forts of the Banda Islands The Banda Islands, reached via Ambon, contain some of the most historic and evocative forts of the old Dutch East Indies. Most impressive is Dutch-built Fort Belgica (constructed 1611) towering over the tiny township of Bandaneira. Following refurbishment in the 1990’s it remains the best preserved of all forts scattered across ...

Written by Marco Ramerini. Photos by João Sarmento. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. The Portuguese Fort of Qal’ at Arad, Bahrain. The fort of Arad is located on the island of Muharraq – the northernmost island of the archipelago of Bahrain – the fort rises in front of the beach in a cove along the southern coast of the ...

Written by Marco Ramerini The fort of Halat Bu Maher (also know as Qal’at Abu Mahir) is located on Muharraq island – the northernmost island of the archipelago – and was strategically situated to control both the straits between Bahrain and Muharraq, and the bay between Muharraq Town and Arad Fort. In 1630s. the Portuguese maps (“Livro das Plantas de ...