6/29/2023 0 Comments A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire 2 Volume Pape... by Anthony R. DisneyWith no geographical raison dĂȘtre and no obvious roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europes outer fringe. The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. The stories of the colonization of Morocco, the Atlantic islands, and the West African coast were, predictably, the most interesting. Sinopsis de A HISTORY OF PORTUGAL AND THE PORTUGUESE EMPIRE VOL. Trade with the metropole clearly counted for little past the 16th century (with the obvious and huge exception of Brazil.) The empire was clearly maintained - especially past its prime - by trade between its feitoria and other colonial feitoria or, more commonly, trade with non-Europeans. The creation of Afro/Indian/Asian-Portuguese communities across the empire was fascinating. The Portuguese clearly did not have any Anglo-Saxon scruples about races intermingling. But it remains an interesting story nonetheless. I would have appreciated some higher-level analysis of how this small country was able to project power over thousands of miles with a handful of carracks. The ability of the Portuguese to project power in such a shoestring manner was astonishing - only a few ships annually tied the metropole to Goa, for example. The speed with which the 16th century empire was created by Da Gama, Almeida, and Albuquerque was genuinely impressive, especially given the distance and technology involved. Thing to remember/Things I found surprising: Definitely the more interesting of the two entries in the series - Portugal's influence outside Europe being so much greater than within it.
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