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==== Portuguese imperialism in the 19th century ====
[[File:PORTUGAL IN 1900.png|thumb|Kingdom of Portugal and colonial holdings in 1900. The Autonomous Territory of Brazil is also shown.]]
In 1900, the Portuguese colonial holdings consisted of large chunks of land in continental Africa and city ports across the Gulf of Guinea, islands in North Atlantic, Madagasikara, India and the Canton coast.
===== Portuguese Southern Africa =====
Portuguese Southern Africa stretches from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the west coast. It is composed by the colonies of Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and many protectorates near the Congo river and the Zambezi basin.
===== Angola =====
The Portuguese first arrived in the future colony of Angola in the late 15th century. The region was explored with the main goal of develop the Atlantic Slave Trade, one of the most lucrative economic activities of Portugal at the time. From the end of the 15th century to the early 19th century, more than a million individuals were forced to leave Africa to the other side of the Atlantic, especially to northeastern Brazil, but also to the Caribbean and North America.
In a period of more than 200 years, Portugal expanded Angola from the settlement of Luanda, created in 1575, all the way down to the borders of the Namibian desert, either by military conquest, or by treaties with native kingdoms, establishing protectorates. In the late 19th century, the race for dominance over Africa started among the European powers, and Portugal sent diverse expeditions to the interior of the continent. The objective was to establish relations with the kingdoms in the Zambezi river basin and unite the two sides of Africa. By 1900, Angola comprised an enormous amount of land, bordering to the north British Soudan, to the south the Portuguese colony of Namibia, and to the east the many Portuguese protectorates in Zambezia.
===== Mozambique =====
The Mozambique coast was first explored in the late 15th century by Portuguese voyages in the search of routes to India. Later in the 16th century, the first permanent settlements in the region were established. By 1900, the colony of Mozambique expanded into the interior of the continent to the point of reaching Lake Malawi. In the beginning of the 20th century, Mozambique borders British East Africa to the north, the Zambezi Protectorates to the west and the British South African protectorates to the southwest.
===== Namibia =====
Composed for the most part by hot deserts, Namibia wasn’t of interest to European nations until the late 19th century. Competing with Britain, and fearing at some point the Cape Republic might get the territory, Portugal sent expeditions to the region in the late 19th century, and discovered rich mineral deposits in the interior of the Namibian Desert. After the discovery, the Portuguese government quickly started settlement missions in the area.
===== Zambezian Protectorates =====
The Zambezi Protectorates are composed of various African kingdoms, such as the Lunda, Ndembu, Rozvi and others. Although not proper colonies, these nations were completely dependent on Portugal economically, and their politics were heavily influenced by the Portuguese interests.
In 1873, the Lisbon Geographic and Scientific Society and the Geographic Section of the Ministry of Marine, worked in a joint expedition to map, collect local flora and establish relations with the kingdoms along the Zambezi River basin. The expedition reached the Lunda and the Ndembu kingdoms, where a trading relation between the Portuguese and the two kingdoms were established.
In 1875, Britain and Portugal signed a treaty establishing the Limpopo river as the border between Mozambique and British Natal. Also in 1875, Portugal launched an expedition to reach Angola from Mozambique through the Zambezi River. During this period, Britain was having troubles dealing with the many South African nations above Natal, and Portugal saw this as a perfect opportunity to explore and claim the whole Zambezi basin. The expedition took many weeks. Scientists collect plant samples and small animals. After reaching the Lunda Kingdom, the Portuguese dream to connect the two sides of the continent was fulfilled.
From 1875 to 1879, the encounters between Portuguese and British explorers in the region were very common, due the lack of proper documents stating the ownership of those lands, Britain started to build outposts in Rozvi territory, and many times Portuguese forces tried to convince the British to leave the area. Tensions were high during this period, only a spark was needed to start a conflict, but the two nations agreed to discuss the situation diplomatically.
On July 10th, 1879, the Treaty of Birmingham was signed between Britain and Portugal. Portugal was capable of proving their presence in the region was prior to the British, therefore their claims should be respected. In the end, the region was recognized as part of Portuguese Southern Africa, but British ships and explorers could travel freely through the rivers.
===== North Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea =====
Explorations in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea made Portugal reach Cape Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe and Bioko in the late 15th century. The majority of these islands, with the exception of Bioko, didn't had any human inhabitant until European arrival, so it was necessary to bring enslaved individuals from the Africa mainland to serve as the work force. The economy of those islands were based on plantations of sugar, cocoa, shiping activities and slave trade.
Portuguese Guinea is the largest holding in the region, and the only one which is not an island. The Portuguese presence in the coast of Guinea dates since the XIV century, when outpost for trade, especially slave trade, with the natives were build. In the late 19th century, Portugal expanded into the African interior, reaching the Niger River basin. By 1900, Portuguese Guinea bordered Swedish Guinea, Genoese Guinea, Spanish Guinea, French Niger and many African states such as the Tukulor Empire.
===== IndianGulf cityof portsGuinea =====
Portugal had control over five city ports on the coast of India by 1900. Goa, Diu, Daman, Baçaim, Calicut and Nagapatnam. The Portuguese voyages were the first to reach the Indian subcontinent, still in the end of the 15th century. The control over the ports had a key role in the first phase of the empire. In the busy markets of these towns, the Portuguese could find very lucrative products to be brought to the western markets, such as textiles and spices of all kinds. These ports were either conquered, such as in the case of Goa, or cedded to Portugal by the local nations, such as in the case of Diu.
===== MatatanaPortuguese India =====
Matatana is a city port bordering the British protectorate of Sackalava in the south of Madagasikara. The island of Madagasikara was already known by the Portuguese since 1500. Due to its strategic location in the middle of the path to India, the Portuguese Crown showed interest in building an outpost on the island. In 1508, settlers built a small village and a fort in a cape near a river delta.
===== MacauPortuguese on the Far-East =====
Macau was established by a deal between Portugal and Ming China in 1557. Portugal could annex a small portion of the coast and build a port for their ships, in exchange, China would receive an annual payment. Portugal kept the payment until the mid-19th century, when the Kingdom of Canton was established.
=== United kingdom with Brazil ===
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