Lusitania
Donor
I have thread marked the posts to the one today. If you are asking the second book links those I only update after entire section been posted.
Rebirth of an Empire "O Renascimento de um Império" v2.0
- Thread starter Lusitania
- Start date
another great update, great victories for Portugal, more territory, to colonize, and expand our influence, the Empire is growing strong
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) - 4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (4 of 5)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) (Cont.)
4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (4 of 5)
Treaty of São Salvador (1778)
4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (4 of 5)
Treaty of São Salvador (1778)
With the power of the Congolese effectively shattered, a rightful candidate to the throne allied to the Portuguese and the presence of many thousands of strong professional troops, Governor Lancaster of Luanda was allowed to impose favorable peace terms with little opposition. His main objectives would be the pacification of the Kongo, the reestablishment of favorable, lawful trade links and the compensation of the many Portuguese factions that contributed for the war, including the Ovimbundu tribes.
Whatever treaty would be signed, it was clear to many powerful figures that the Portuguese would be virtually unopposed; international interest in the area was limited to European corporate demands, especially with more pressing issues going on in France (such as its Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, to name a few) distracting the big political powers from what was essentially a commercial squabble in non-colonized Africa. King Álvaro had practically no power left, with most of his organized forces shattered, a dead regent and little time to live. Governor Lancaster thus found himself in a position of extraordinary coercion power, with the Ovimbundu backing his demands and a grateful and aged King Pedro V open to rewarding the Europeans for restoring him to the throne.
The Dutch, however, sought to limit Portuguese gains in the area. Ongoing competition with the British, which had been specially escalated by the American Revolutionary War and would eventually trigger the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, worried the Dutch and made them wary of potential colonial losses. To protect themselves diplomatically, they requested France for help in representation, and Ambassador Paul de la Vauguyon was chosen as ambassador of France to the Estates General in 1776. The French, who also had interests in the Congo, agreed to interfere in the war’s resolution to protect Franco-Dutch possessions and market traffic.
Ambassador Paul François de la Vauguyon
1746-1828
The French Ambassador mediated the Treaty of São Salvador to protect Dutch interests and limit Portuguese aggression
Governor Lancaster’s original intention was to use his overwhelming position to steer Congo trade through Angola, transforming Luanda into the primary political city of the region, but letters of caution would arrive from Lisbon warning him of French interference through Ambassador Paul. The Portuguese capital, however, was not the bearer of solely bad news, for guarantees to Lancaster were made that a request for British ratification under the grounds of combat against slave trade were requested.
The Treaty of Salvador was signed on 10th of May between Governor Lancaster and King Pedro, and later on ratified by Ambassador Paul and Britain, with the following terms:
- Annexation of the ‘Kingdom of Angola’ from the Congo domains to Portuguese Angola, which included all land south of the Loge River;
- Establishment of Pedro V as the rightful, hereditary King of Kongo in São Salvador under recognition of Joseph II of Portugal and the Prelate of Portugal;
- Integration of Congo churches to the Congo-Angola archdiocese under the Verneyist Africa Patriarchy (to be rebased in Luanda);
- Liberation of Angoy, the Kongo domain, as the Cabinda Free Trade Enclave ruled by locals opening commerce in the Congo estuary to all foreign merchants;
- Affirmation of Portuguese claim to central Angola and the Cunene River;
- Establishment of the Ovimbundu tribes as an organized confederation of expanded borders as a protectorate of Angola;
- Payment of War Reparations from Pedro V to Portuguese Angola (80%) and Portuguese Brazil (20%);
- Surrender of two thousand Christian fighters from the Kongo to the Portuguese Army along a period of ten years to be retrained and permanently sent to Portuguese Goa and Macau;
- Abolishment of slave trade in all areas under Portuguese control (Angola, Cabinda and the Ovimbundu Protectorate);
Treaty of São Salvador (N-S):
Metal: Kingdom of Loango
Yellow: Kingdom of Kongo (Post Treaty)
Purple: Cabinda ‘Free Trade’ Enclave
Orange & Grey: Southeastern Kongo Domains
Green: Province of Angola (Post Treaty) & St. Tomé Island
Faint Green: Greater Angola (Portuguese Treaty Claims)
Faint Grey: Ovimbundu Protectorate (Post Treaty)
War Analysis & Lessons
Wars between the Portuguese and the Congolese powers were nothing new, as evident by the numbering of this one as the fourth in history between Portugal and the Kingdom of Kongo. This particular conflict was unprecedented, however, in the extent of military overcoming of Europeans over traditional African skirmishing tactics which still dominated many regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Zimbabwe, the Kalahari, the Congo and the lands of future military genius Shaka Zulu, where they would one day be rendered truly obsolete.
The 4th Luso-Congo War was principally conditioned by the following effects and events:
- Congolese Succession War: The conflict between Álvaro and Pedro to the role of Manikongo brought to light the flaws of the Congolese Succession system, triggering the war as a whole and splitting the Congolese forces between those loyal to Álvaro and those loyal to Pedro. This characterized, steered and plagued the 4th Luso-Kongo War as a whole. As a result of it, the Kongo was unable to mount a full resistance, even possessing the Pedro faction that favored Portuguese intervention. This event alone could allow a Portuguese victory even without the other factors listed below;
- Congolese Large Numeric Superiority: The armies of Álvaro were comparatively vast and his reserves potentially limitless, causing the Portuguese Brigadier Generals to limit their aggressiveness, delay the war’s progression and ultimately resort to Brazilian interference that not only arrived after they could have been useful, but force the splitting of war gains between Angola and Brazil. The relative vastness of the Congo armies, however, also contributed to the demoralizing effect of their successive tactical defeats;
- Congolese Home Advantage: The Congolese Armies were far more adapted to the climate and terrain than the Angolan Brigades despite the length of Portuguese presence in the area. They could march, fight and ambush far more easily and with less strain than a significant segment of the Portuguese forces. This all not to speak of the terrifying spectrum of diseases that still made most European incursions to Sub-Saharan Africa deathtraps. This not only made battles more difficult for the Europeans, but further limited Portuguese initiative and prevented them from enacting full occupation plans;
- Portuguese Technological Superiority: The Bluecoat Brigades possessed a vast superiority in training, discipline and equipment, allowing them to combat much more effectively with the same amount of men than the Congolese. Moreover, the Atlantic Army possessed many troops habituated to tropical climate despite a lack of full genetic adaptation (most of Atlantic Army troops were purposely employed from non-African manpower pools due to government policies).
- Portuguese Tactical Superiority: Tactically speaking it is no exaggeration that the Portuguese also outperformed the Congolese by a large margin on most fronts. Border-wise, for example, the Portuguese possessed a disproportionate number of soldiers to protect their land and took the fight to Congolese ground before the war even started, allowing supply lines to be maintained in full efficiency and protection from the get-go and meaning war damage was far more significant to Kongo than to Angola. The ‘Battle of Bengo’ was also a preview of how the rest of the war would play out, as it demonstrated that quality training allowed the Portuguese to defeat African tactics while outnumbered two-to-one. The traditional defensive-shock-and-mass-arrows tactic was devastated by up-to-date musket and cannon warfare;
- Ovimbundu Support: The Ovimbundu auxiliaries were very important to ensure Portuguese battles and missions performed well. Being native to Africa they did more than being able to fight with full adaptation to the climate. They enacted vital shock maneuvers during battles to limit the effectiveness of enemy shield-bearers, acted as scouts, assisted sieges, formed specialized forces and offered themselves as terrain advisors for the European Coronels and troops;
- Brazilian Expeditionary Forces: The arrival of Brazil’s reinforcements, albeit late, allowed for the hammering of the last nail on the Congolese coffin. The situation during the siege of São Salvador was critical for Kongo, but also stressful for Luanda’s limited resources, meaning that the sudden appearance of large, fully equipped reinforcements would smash the remaining morale of the pro-Álvaro faction, effectively ending the war before the walls of Salvador were breached;
- Atlantic Army Difficulties: The lingering inefficiency of the Atlantic Army in redeploying forces to a singular theater were demonstrated, stressing the need in reforms, war preparation and transportation funding;
- Expedition Precedent: The States of Brazil demonstrated themselves for future reference willing and capable of sending expeditions from their own self-defense force to support the crown’s ambitions in the South Atlantic;
- Training & Equipment Validation: Lippean and armament reforms were validated as highly effective against African warfare under limited occupation and movement conditions;
- Specialized Warfare Needs: Alternatively, their limitations in adapting to the terrain brought to light the need to have specialized light infantry in African colonies as opposed to professional Bluecoats, reviving the interest in alternative training;
- Diplomatic Exercise: The Treaty of São Salvador demonstrated the capacity to reap gains from unexpected sources by conditioning land that the Portuguese could not demand into favorable terms;
Duchy of Angola – Uplifting & Integration
At the start of the war the colony of Angola was struggling under Lancaster’s governing to overcome the stresses of a major economic shifting. Its primary trade, slavery, had been banned and an expensive effort was being undertaken to plant, fortify and arm the coast cities that composed the territory. A failure to do so could mean the destruction of the colony and a massive setback in Portuguese interests in the Kongo region. Fortunately for Luanda, the armies had been successful and the area directly under Luanda’s control increased fourfold into the hinterland rather than along the coast, with the claimed area of ‘Greater Angola’ being much bigger yet. Threats around it were also neutralized and the Ovimbundu territories were put under indirect rule of the governor.
This paved the path for the fulfillment of the governor’s Land Title Contract terms, much like it happened in Morbeia, but the colony still had a lot of integrative work to do. Between 1778 and 1782, resources, war reparations and funding were focused on the following projects:
- Productivity Regeneration: The previous economy of slave trade needed to be replaced with one of agricultural or manufactory output by settling farmers, building workshops and founding schools;
- Road Construction: Roads needed to be built or widened between the principal port colonies and the primary political and commercial centers of the region;
- Port Adaptation: Docks needed to adapt to the new commercial reality. This did not mean an expansion of ship capacity, but rather an investment in handling trade goods instead of slavery by casting off chains and instead build warehouses and cranes;
- Infrastructural Development: Reformed post offices, bureaucracy centers, embassies and courts needed to be instituted in order to enact law, diplomacy, reforms and communication;
- Domain Charting and Fortification: Annexed lands needed to be documented and studied for development and defense to ensure Angola’s expansion was not mere paper filler;
- Promoting Verneyism: Established Bibles and Churches were untouched but every new one was supplied with Verneyist Catholicism in mind which, as demonstrated in Brazil, was more effective with non-white populations;
- Ensuring Cabinda’s Sovereignty: The enclave of Cabinda/Angoy was, according to the treaty, opening Free Trade to all but Governor Lancaster wished to ensure the primary European merchant presence was Portuguese;
- Political & Scientific Centering: Lancaster’s most ambitious goal. By instituting a laboratory, trade links and a solid legal enforcement, the governor intended to turn Luanda into the primary center of study of the Congo Basin for Europeans despite its distance to the actual estuary;
The reconstruction of the economy, on the other hand, was slower than expected but visibly sure, as dockyard infrastructure transfigured to limit the efficiency of illegal slave trade and instead reap more profits from normal merchandise loading and unloading. The settling of the land and the forming of plantations occurred hand-in-hand and therefore saw a more visible progress, with previously not colonized or slavery lands being reoccupied by farmers and soldiers. The construction of new schools and churches in strategic villages was the most effective method employed, allowing Luanda’s political range to increase more rapidly than by colonizing directly.
Slave trade still occurred illegally but activity had changed completely, with new settlers arriving to develop and inhabit Luanda under loose religious law instead of taking advantage of its slave trade. Brazilian exiles and investors continued to arrive, accelerating the development. The Cuanza River was the primary route of penetration for settling and development, being wide enough to be navigable, emptying near Luanda and going straight to the central Plateau were new mines were being excavated and trade with the Ovimbundu was being conducted.
In 1779, copper and iron mines were confirmed to exist in central Angola, drawing the attention of manufactory corporations to the river estuary. This dawned a period of intense transfiguration in priorities, with mining company ship arriving on Luanda and establishing their processing plants in the colony. The good chunk of the actual territory itself, however, was still in native lands, so trade and leases had to be conducted so mining operations could be undertaken.
In 1781, Angolan iron and copper stocks began to be shared in Lisbon, causing investment to rise dramatically despite the low value of iron and copper in comparison to Brazilian gold. Many manufacturers in Brazil who also wished to rely less on European goods began importing metals from Angola, increasing the demand. In that very same year the first laboratory of the region was established in the city, taking in samples of scientific extractions from the Kongo for study, along with the Catholic University of Angola.
Luanda Catholic College
The LCC was the first major education center in Portuguese Africa
This ended a trend of influence that had been working until then in which Angolan elites educated themselves in Brazil, and now instead educated themselves in Luanda. Unfortunately this also rose feelings of autonomy on the region, as elites no longer felt the need to rely on Lisbon or Rio for higher education.
In 1782 development stabilized to a slower rate, with most fast routes for growth having been explored, but by then Angola was a transformed territory; centered around Luanda the lands could then output agriculture, metals and a few processed goods as well as fully educated citizens. The development of education, scientific study and small industries in Luanda allowed it to truly rob Kongo of some of its protagonist role in the region, as regional elites now fulfilled their desires for wealth, culture and class in the growing Angolan city, such as the candidates to Manikongo who now studied in Luanda.
All of this development allowed the fulfillment of the Colonial Profit Doctrine, allowing Joseph II to officially uplift Angola into full feudal status, transforming the territories comprised of the provinces of Benguela, Luanda and the annexed Congo lands to the north into the Duchy of Angola, a domain under the rule of the King of Portugal with full heraldries, archbishopric representation and governing rights.
Angola Duchy Flag
The background red cross represents the native Kingdom of Angola
The cross swords on the shield’s left represented the 4th Luso-Kongo War
The elephant of Benguela and the cross of St. Paul of Luanda are featured on the shield’s right
The shield’s bottom alluded Portugal and represented its de jure servitude to Joseph II
The Duchy of Angola was, however, strictly limited to the Luanda-Benguela coast area that was politically solid. Lands claimed to the south and east were still considered disorganized territory and the Angolan regions annexed to the north were organized into a military buffer, the Marque of Congo, a title that was organized to be inferior in rank to Angola but not necessarily in its jurisdiction.
The Marque of Congo
In 1782 Governor Lancaster met with only remaining male Kimpanzu heir Henrique who had just turned sixteen. The Portuguese province of Angola annexed the majority of the Angola region still in Kongolese hands and the work done in Luanda and Benguela guaranteed Lancaster the awarding of the title of Duke of Angola that was now forming, but the Marque of Congo, a military buffer area, was established as directly vassal to Joseph II and therefore could not be entitled by Lancaster to a person of his choosing.
Joseph II of Portugal, albeit a young king, decided to interfere in this matter while negotiations with Ambassador Paul of France were underway in Lisbon. Understanding he had to choose someone to split power with Lancaster in the area, lest the ‘Lencastre’ dynasty draw the same glory from ruling an isolated colony the same way the ‘Távoras’ had done with Goa, Joseph made the bold and controversial choice of choosing a candidate amongst the Manikongo candidates.
Marquis Henry of Congo
1st Marquis of Portuguese Congo
‘Henry’ was offered the lands between the European Dukedom of Angola and the native Kingdom of Kongo to rule over as a vassal of Joseph II, but not of Lancaster. This important distinction would make him unable to question the primacy of Angola’s rule in the region but would also make it free of its influence by rule of rank. Henry accepted but on condition that he be allowed to attend school and college in Portugal. News of the Portuguese conquests and Congolese demands were sent to Lisbon and in 1783 King Jose of Portugal accepted and Duke Henrique sailed to Lisbon to attend the Noble College.
The pick was, of course, controversial for reasons beyond the fact that Henry was a native and therefore possibly harbored nationalistic resentment; race obviously played a part. It was not entirely unheard-of Africans reaching high posts in European countries, but it was true their history was systematically suppressed; there were obscure paintings depicting black noblemen in dynasties as prominent as the Habsburgs as early as 1520. Congolese men educated in Portugal and Spain as Christians were amongst the most prominent African natives to make strides in European society in fact.
This, however, cemented in a painfully visible way to a conservative age one of the primary ideas of Verneyism; the syncretism of not only religion, but society as a whole. Marque Henry’s ceremony of vassalage to King Joseph in 1783, together with the appointment of António Silva, also an African, to Minister of Justice in the same year, made it clear that the Kingdom of Portugal would not be shy about uplifting races to all segments of the ‘Ancient Regime’.
The fact that King Joseph II purposely made him a direct vassal free of Lancaster’s authority was like an added statement that he would not allow the inhabitants of his colonies to be unjustly treated based on race despite the uprooting policies of the PRP by awarding a black man with an unquestioned representation role that could not be swept under a rug.
Note:
Post War Congo and Angola was a vastly different place. The Treaty and subsequent elevation of both Angola and Kongo to Portuguese Noble status started to continue differentiating Portuguese Empire from all other European empires. Not that it elevated the Portuguese nobility in their eyes but made the Portuguese Empire stronger and more powerful. Of special note is the elevation of Henry as Portuguese Marquis. Interesting note was the fact that the Dutch enlisting French help to limit Portuguese aggression. Showing the different directions both empires were on. Comments / questions???
Please return Sunday December 30 as we wrap up the 4th part of the Rebirth of Empire (2 of 2) - 4th Luso-Congolese War (1778).
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Lusitania
Donor
Hm.... without spoiling any future posts here is best answer I can provide. We have tried to maintain butterfly affect to be as precise as possible. To that affect both the ARW and the French Revolution do start as per iOTL, for nothing short of magic could derail them since their origins and cause were outside of Portuguese influence. Hope that helps.
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) - 4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (5 of 5)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) (Cont.)
4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (5 of 5)
War Impact – Countries and People
4th Luso-Congolese War (1778) (5 of 5)
War Impact – Countries and People
The defeat of the Congolese forces and devastation of the most nobles from both the Kinlaza and Kimpanzu factions as well as the capture of Soyo left the Portuguese as the primary military power in the Congo basin despite a striking numeric inferiority. From 1780 to 1782, effective Portuguese occupation in the region also increased significantly, with the colony’s population increasing almost 50%. Naturally this had a significant impact in the region but, with it being so enclosed, the region’s spread of the impact to other areas was very limited.
Internal Powers – The Kings, the Duke and the Marquis
Governor Lancaster, as per the terms of his Land Title Contract, surrendered all claims to the titles of his brother’s branch of the family (the dukedom of Aveiro) and was awarded with the hereditary peerage of the newborn Dukedom of Angola, the first colonial territory to be transformed to such a high rank since Afonso de Albuquerque was made Duke of Goa two hundred years earlier. This Dukedom in turn ruled over the port cities of Angola and a few solidified hinterland outposts which possessed no clear feudal rank. This was a reflection of the new peerage system in Portugal, which handled hereditary representation only at levels close to the king and with limited powers. Lancaster’s administration was of then officially ended and his line was now a servant of Angolans within the nation.
Together with Marquis Henry of Congo, King Pedro V of Kongo and the semi-Christian King Buatl of Loango, these four men formed the dominant set of land powers in the Congo region, with two of them being direct vassals to the King of Portugal back in Lisbon.
The Cabinda Enclave also possessed significant power in the sense that it allowed foreign powers to freely act commerce in the Congo Estuary, and was thus an unofficial protectorate of a whole array of European interests, mainly the French, the Portuguese and the Dutch, but also of the Kongo and Loango Kings themselves. The Ovimbundu Protectorate, on the other hand, acted entirely through Portuguese representation while fiercely maintaining their borders, allowing only a small administrative uplifting under Lancaster’s influence from a loosely connected confederation of tribes to a more organized council allied to the Dukedom of Angola.
Thus the balance of power was tipped most surely in Portuguese favor, who could maintain the best army and forts of the region despite possessing only 6,000 troops and an undetermined number of Ovimbundu auxiliaries. This supremacy was split, however, between Duke Anthony of Angola and Marquis Henry of Congo, two vassals of the Portuguese King unable to act in each other’s territory directly but with clear missions in mind. Duke Anthony, who had secured Angola’s safety through the buffer territories and claims he established in the war, focused his efforts in developing the economy and prestige of Luanda in the region, syphoning academic, colonial and bureaucratic work to his capital. The rise of the iron mining industry would allow him to reduce unemployment and diversify the economy even more, creating a new primary export for his domain.
Another important aspect of his rule over the territory was the combat against slave trade, which he fought primarily by substituting slave trade profits with businesses. Metal mining and processing was a thriving option, but one so harsh that it did little to alleviate the economic situation of the black population. In the port cities many new shops had emerged, but due to the circumstances of the investment and colonial settling the white men found themselves in a situation of relative systemic privilege, being able to find employment and, most importantly, their own private businesses far more frequently than black men.
Slavery was banned in Angola, but whites remained the majority in business owning
This was unfortunately a product of its age and the age’s colonial policies, which funded the expeditions of white settlers in such a way that they would be able to quickly establish independent living upon arriving in Angola, such as a farm or a small shop, rather than actual intentional racism on the government’s part. Schools were also more prevalent close to the coast, where the white population percentage was higher, meaning that a disproportionate amount of white men received basic education. Social inequality thus arose in a shadowy manner with no possible fair resolution.
The uplifting of Angola to dukedom had, however, still proven itself a remarkable feat in colonial work akin to the development made in Morbeia. In 1782, upon his entitling, Governor Lancaster celebrated the event by commissioning the construction of a statue not of itself, not of the Portuguese, but of Queen Nzinga of Ndongo, a historical Angolan figure of resistance against colonization.
The Statue of Nzinga was erected to honor the Bantu people of the Angola Dukedom
Marquis Henry, on the other hand, ruled over a land of his own kin freshly annexed from his former nation, and was tasked with ensuring its military fortification. His funds, therefore, went to securing strategic routes and forts rather than any societal work. One of the most important measures he took was housing the 1st Luanda Brigade in his territory. Economic growth and native assimilations was therefore much slower and ineffective than in the south and the military focus allowed the PRP traffickers to operate almost indiscriminately, emptying whole villages of uncooperative natives to send them to India and the Far East, dooming most of them to death by long voyage stress.
He did, however, make a more prominent effort to employ and educate Africans, which counteracted the lack of infrastructure in his territory in comparison to Angola. He made sure to send many of his kin’s administrators to Luanda for education and promoted many successful African soldiers to officer and major posts in the Atlantic and Indic Armies.
The combined work of these two aristocrats reflected a deeper involvement of Europeans in the Congo region, though it was still very limited to areas close to the coast. The final result was a region of more hospitable powers and visible civility, but also one of evolved hierarchies. Combat against human trafficking became more organized as a result of the renewed authority pyramid, with both the Marquis, the Duke and King Pedro of Kongo cracking down on slave raiding with the assistance of the British Royal Navy.
Congolese Powers – Rivalries and Religion
Turmoil had beset the native powers of the Congo basin, however, as the defeat of King Álvaro was nothing to glaze over. At the price of restoring the rightful king, the kingdom of Kongo was shrunk, fractured and contained, causing its prestige to drop significantly before its more autonomous regions and the northernmost kingdom of Loango. Their traditional fighting had also suffered a disastrous defeat against European tactics, forever solidifying the belief that significantly superior numbers were necessary to match the Bluecoats on even ground. Military reforms were, however, mostly unviable due to a lack of weaponry manufactory, naval supplies, shipyards and even simple modern schools making it impossible to build modern, organized land armies or navies that could make proper use of muskets and cannons.
The Congolese Army, as a result, rebuilt itself with many soldiers but also many of the same flaws that caused it to collapse against the Angolan Bluecoats but were still applicable against rival native powers. King Pedro V therefore concerned himself with developing his kingdom along the lines that his resources would allow, by building up new frontier defenses, an acceptable standing force and a more cohesive power structure. The power vacuum created in his realm by the death of so many rivals in the war allowed him, in his last years of life, to quickly enforce a more direct law of succession, making the Manikongo a title passed down to the eldest son with less contestation from minor cultures.
To combat the cultural fragment that first lead to the collapse of the succession system and the usurpation of his throne, Pedro V doubled his efforts to evangelize the Kongo, allowing Verneyist missionaries, known for their new syncretic beliefs, to build churches in many important cities of the realm. The ultimate objective would be to unify the houses, such as the Kinlaza, under his Kimpanzu authority through the sheer strength of Christian divine mandate.
The losses in territory, however, still stung the kingdom. With the Ovimbundu firmly under Portuguese influence and with guaranteed, expanded borders to the south against his own, Pedro’s options for expansion were limited to the North and East. As such he concentrated the growth of his forces to make them adept and well positioned against his native rivals rather than against the Europeans in preparation for future conflict.
Both the Kingdom of Loango and the Kingdom of Kongo continued to trade with Europeans, but the British and the Portuguese had prohibited slave trade, limiting their traditional bargain coin for modern guns. While they could still turn to the French and Dutch for this commerce, news arrived to Pedro and Buatl from Luanda that the British seemed to be preparing themselves to wage war on the Dutch Navy, an information piece purposely fed by Duke Lancaster to discourage them from resorting to Amsterdam to sell their slaves.
As a result of a failure to adapt to the new commercial reality, the gravitas of commerce began to escape Loango-Congo hands towards Cabinda, the free trade enclave established by the intervention of French Ambassador Paul in the treaty of São Salvador, where the presence of a myriad of new merchants and adventurers was growing by the year despite Luanda’s efforts to steal prominence. The centers of trade, science, politics and war were therefore scattered into four rival directions, turning the Congo River into an artery ruled by one lord but contested by many. This tendency of growing political fragility was only countered by the adoption of Verneyist Christianity, which began to bring together the disparate houses of the Kongo Kingdom.
European Powers – Science, Commerce and Religion
The Portuguese expansion in Angola had grown almost unnoticed by Europe’s statesmen except by the Franco-Dutch faction that prepared to wage a trade and colonial war against England. The changes occurred in the region went therefore largely unnoticed as well, with the exception of the merchants, explorers and missionaries that found the estuary of the Congo River now open to their entrance. Although serious exploration expeditions would not begin until another century with the rise of steamboats, the scientific and navigation studies of its first branches, particularly the Kwango tributary that originated from annexed Angola, began as early as 1780 from the Cabinda-Angoy Enclave.
In 1785, the scouts of Marquis Henry would confirm the flowing of the Kwango into the Congo River, triggering the first projects of riverside traffic between the two territories. Even earlier in 1781, the opening of the laboratory and pharmacies in Luanda allowed samples obtained in the tropical river to be studied in relative proximity to the region, deepening the possibilities for scientific study.
Botanical samples from the Congo River began to be studied in Luanda pharmacies and laboratories
The rise of external interest in the Congo, however, remained capped due to Africa’s renowned reputation as the white man’s grave. It was true that the region was now more stable and organized to the eyes of the outsiders, but interest in African colonization and exploration remained respectively limited to South Africa and discovering the route to Timbuktu. Religious missions continued, however, with Protestant incursions from Germany and England making especially deep incursions and conversions.
Metallic industry, on the other hand, took a deep hold of the Angola region, especially in the mine of Cassinga, with many British industrialists now selling machinery to Luso-Brazilian investors to install in the colony. The region first became a stable supplier of iron, pig iron and copper ingots in 1781 and would receive an influx of PRP migrants from India over the years to further increase the available workforce.
Cassinga Iron Mining Stock
Commerce in Angola became increasingly dominated by mineral and metallic interests, who replaced slavery as the primary trade of the colony. Africans stopped being exported as live commodities, ending a centuries-old migratory trend, and instead miners and businessmen from Goa, Portugal and England specialized in iron work infested the region to form a solid iron harvesting community which became increasingly resentful of the need to appease Ovimbundu protectorate for authorization to extract the richer metal veins. Moreover, with the rise of machinery and advanced metallurgy, this community would eventually lead to a much higher demand for coal whether to extract the iron or process it into steel, dropping Angolan profits in the iron trade between 1790 and 1800. It would not be until after the end of the Napoleonic Wars that the colony would suffer an investment comparable to the one of the 4th Luso-Congo War.
All of the humanistic capital that was growing in Luanda and the neutral port of Cabinda, however, would attract enemy attention in future wars thanks mostly to the resulting modernization in the location’s utility (Luanda had become the primary scientific base for Congo explorers’ findings). In 1782, during the Three Years War, the port of Luanda would come repeatedly under attack by Portugal’s enemies.
Portugal – Dehumanization, Slavery and the ‘Chained Hands’ Rhetoric
The Luso-Congo War was followed from a safe distance by Portugal despite its direct participation in it. The themes that most often surged while discussing the far away conflict were the questions of ‘why’, ‘what’ and sometimes even ‘where’. This was because of a lack of understanding from the people of what was really going on in Angola during a time of tremendous political transition in the capital. The church had just been debunked by Verneyist thought, the nobility’s powers were growing increasingly self-limited and slavery as a whole was being questioned more than ever after both Lisbon and southern Brazilian states signed the liberation of Africans from slavery.
There was also the fact that the ongoing Luso-Mysore war drew more attention due to the prominence of Goa in people’s minds when the words ‘India’ and ‘Portugal’ were joined. There wasn’t a full understanding from the people of what was going on in Angola or why they should care until well after the war. This was because the publication of the new maps, settlement plans and the war news only really hit home in people’s heads what had just happened when they heard Angola was raised to dukedom and had a black Marquis, apparently, as a result of a war that was sparked because of the end of slave trade.
So why should slavery be allowed to be practiced when they had a Congolese man, walking up to the king in the tents of Ajuda, swearing vassalage to the crown? Why should slavery be tolerated and comprehended in other countries when so many cries were heard about Moroccan pirate raiding during the Morbeia War? Why should the attack on the country motivated by a royal rejection of slavery be any argument in favor of slavery, instead of against it? The idea that a man could be inherently inferior to another by virtue of his skin and held in chains, previously supported by social, religious, cultural, historical and even biblical motivations, was now questioned beyond the Pombaline idea that it was simply inefficient; it became an atrocity in itself in people’s minds.
The vacuum in people’s morals that arose after the collapse of traditional Catholicism in the country was therefore filled with one of the first ideas that would characterize national culture after the 1770s; that slavery was a crime against civilization and be combated at all costs, lest it be brought to Portuguese shores as well by its remaining enthusiasts. The Carmelite Order of Nuns, one of the Orders protected from secularization by the Verneyist Church and devout worshippers of the female African saint Iphigenia, took to the streets with this message and argued against the dehumanization of the pious.
Should ‘hands that pray’ be in ‘chains’?
The Carmelite Nun Order, which was protected by the Verneyist Church, used religious messages and African icons to advocate against slavery and dehumanization as immoral acts after the Luso-Congo War
This effort was allied to that of secular elites in the country that no longer wished to associate themselves with slavery and members of the people that saw little profit or morality in slavery in general, intensifying the ideological transition the country undertook in the last years of Pombal from a zealous, conservative society that happily fed the Brazilian sugar and gold machine into one that sought to constantly renovate itself for the sake of survival and saw enemies and causes to fight against and fight for on all sides.
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I hope every one had a great Xmas and holidays.
This part of the 4th Luso-Congo War was written to provide readers with a clear divergence of the place Africans started playing in the Empire. The changes started with both the Brazilians and then Goans has continued. Other groups also elevated to new status as country small in size and limited in manpower recruited those around it and in it to become partners and participants. Comments / questions???
Have a Happy new year and please return Sunday January 13 as we take a trip to the farthest reaches on the planet and explore new places in an section we called Rebirth of Empire (2 of 2) - The New Frontiers.
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Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) - The New Frontiers (1 of 3)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) (Cont.)
The New Frontiers (1 of 3)
The New Frontiers (1 of 3)
Following the end of Undeclared War, many settlers in Brazil began moving southwards for a variety of reasons; to occupy the new land, to escape the northern laws regarding agriculture and slavery, to make their own fortune or even simply to escape perceived despotism. The land of Cisplatina, however, was mostly carved up and granted to RVR veterans who fought to conquer the territory to begin with, so free adventurers, missionaries and colonists found little left for them upon reaching Montevideo and Sacramento. This brought social strife as the war was partially motivated on the promise of seizing new lands for Brazilian settlers.
The monarch of the time, Joseph I, signed a guarantee to the settlers that he would grant new lands “to them, their children or their grandchildren whether in Brazil or beyond” and many settlers accepted to move instead to the Guapore river border or Mato Grosso, where settler occupation was also needed to press Brazilian claims to central South America. Many, however, found the prospect of moving to underdeveloped hinterlands unappealing and established fishing lives instead in Banda Oriental.
To tackle the problem, Lisbon and Rio began organizing naval expeditions to seize new lands. The initial objective was to form new basic outposts in South Atlantic islands off the coast of Brazil like Fernando de Noronha, but resources and development opportunities were scarce here. The proposition to find new colonies in the Pacific and Indic Ocean was proposed by the science academies, who wanted to push for new colonial HQs.[1]
Two major expeditions would occur as a result of this and constitute the most important exploration movements in Portugal in the 18th century; the first, led by physician João Barbosa, headed for the distant Australia Incognita sea territory, also known as ‘Nova Zeeland’, and the second, led by botanist Alexandre Ferreira and of comparable magnitude, explored the Amazon and La Plata river outline in Brazil.
[1] See Nova Zelândia – Barbosa Expedition & Brazilian Interior Exploration – The Ferreira Expedition
Note:
We now turn our attention to different part of the world. We have been dealing with Indian Subcontinent then moved to Africa now we turn our attention to the Pacific before going to explore the Amazon. Comments / questions???
For those reading this before part 2 of the Rebirth of Empire (2 of 2) - The New Frontiers is published please return back in few minutes when we post part 2.
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Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) - The New Frontiers (2 of 3)
Lusitania
Donor
Rebirth of Empire (Part 2 of 2) (Cont.)
The New Frontiers (2 of 3)
Nova Zelândia – The Barbosa Expedition
“This was our last great voyage and, once again, to a land everyone already knew was there and this time with no gold or spices to plunder.”
Mariano José Pereira da Fonseca in ‘Terra á Vista’, describing New Zealand as the final great discovery for the Portuguese
The New Frontiers (2 of 3)
Nova Zelândia – The Barbosa Expedition
“This was our last great voyage and, once again, to a land everyone already knew was there and this time with no gold or spices to plunder.”
Mariano José Pereira da Fonseca in ‘Terra á Vista’, describing New Zealand as the final great discovery for the Portuguese
Lord João Mendes Sachetti Barbosa
1714-1774
Physician, Enlightenment Advocate, Scientific Explorer and Royal Academy Member
Born in Estremoz, Lord John was a son of humble parents but still managed to study philosophy in Évora and medicine in Coimbra, where he distinguished himself as top of his class. Even before the Undeclared War he had a distinguished career, moving through several prestigious posts at the Elvas Royal Hospital, a brief stay through the Inquisition’s Holy Office and eventually obtained a medical post as part of Lord Manuel’s Chamber. In 1747 he secured international renown when he became a member of the Madrid Academy of Sciences and eventually contributed to the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ of the London Royal Society in 1755. In 1762, he was appointed Grand Physician in the Undeclared War, where he accompanied War Minister Lippe to the battlefield in southern Brazil, but financial difficulties put him in debt to gentlemen that would eventually become members of the Royal Academy of Sciences.
Despite all this, Lord John’s practical scientific contribution was null, being confined to his clinical activity. His apex work had been his contributions to raising awareness of the dangers of epidemics and contagious infections in the 1755 Earthquake. Lord Barbosa was more recognized as part of the new wave of philosophical movement in the country, heading Newtonian arguments in the wing that defended that Pombalist Portugal should be an adept of the Scientific Revolution.
In 1768, with the Undeclared War nearly wrapped up and the Marines preparing to move on to the Mazagan War, Lord Barbosa lost his post as Grand Physician and instead began discussing with the local scientist’s propositions for new scientific expeditions on uncharted territories. He was called to assist the ‘Australia Incognita’ proposition, whose opponents argued that was too dangerous a naval expedition due to naval health hazards.
Coincidentally, four years earlier, the English explorer John Byron, also known as Foul-Weather Jack, had been detained in Rio de Janeiro in the midst of his expedition to conduct a west-to-east circumnavigation of the globe as part of a British effort to begin securing new South American and Pacific bases. This was how Brazil learned that the English were gaining serious interest in the South Atlantic and brought the political angle to the debate regarding the Australia Incognita expedition.[1] The governor of Rio de Janeiro agreed to let Byron go on condition of supporting the Brazilian naval battles against Spanish La Plata in the Undeclared War and, eventually, the peace negotiations.
John Byron’s HMS Dolphin detainment in Rio de Janeiro in 1764 alerted Luso-Brazilians that the window of opportunity for obtaining new territories in the Pacific was slowly closing
But bringing politics to the affair brought another important impediment; the ancient albeit still-binding Treaty of Tordesillas that stated that Portugal agreed to respect Spanish colonial spheres of influence based on the East-West doctrines. The 1529 Zaragoza Anti-Meridian that delineated that lands east of Timor were in the Spanish sphere was the main impediment to Portugal obtaining Spanish diplomatic support to its own Australia Incognita expedition. With the Undeclared War growing increasingly unfavorable to the Spanish and political tensions rising back in Lisbon due to the gradual but yet-to-climax unfolding of the Order of Christ Conspiracy (from the outlook of the debate years of 1768-1769), it seemed increasingly difficult to get enough sympathy from the Spanish to negotiate an exception.
Albeit globally disrespected by other nations and being ignored by the Spanish and Portuguese themselves on multiple historical occasions, the Tordesillas Treaty was still a valid diplomatic objection argument against obtaining Spanish sympathy and support to a Portuguese Australia Incognita expedition
The increasing Spanish presence in the Philippines, however, served as a counter-argument to this as it had been accepted as a forgiven violation of the treaty in the Madrid Treaty of 1750 in exchange for the Amazon River basin after many, many decades of colonization under the argument of King Phillip himself that the islands ‘had no spices for the Portuguese to get mad about’. This brought the precedent that exploration and colonization could still occur in the others’ sphere of influence provided a recognition agreement was signed in the future.[2]
Following the new Portuguese mentality towards colonialism of seizing scientific opportunities, the pro-Australia faction eventually secured their win in Rio de Janeiro and began organizing a bold expedition to cross the Cape Horn pass, transverse the South Atlantic, observe the Venus passage across the face of the sun and bring the team of explorers to any perceived landmass they could find in the region, the objective being to ultimately reach Timor itself.
Navigating on the HMS Trindade with a team of scientist, artists, escorting sailors, botanists, cartographers and astronomy enthusiasts and followed by the HMS Esperança boarded by hopeful settlers, adventurers and traders, Lord Barbosa departed on January 1766 from Rio de Janeiro, crossed Cape Horn, made the voyage of thousands of kilometers across the South Pacific using the known island routes through Rapanui/Easter Island and eventually reached Fiji in 1767.
Barbosa Expedition passing through Fiji
After reaching this vital milestone, Barbosa sailed southwards and became the first major European explorer to visit Tonga Island since Abel Tasman first mapped it in the 17th century. After this, he mapped and named an entire uninhabited archipelago that seemed to head even further south, thus including the ‘Vale da Cruz Archipelago’[3] in European maps for the first time, named for the suspicion the voyagers had due to their placement that it formed an underwater valley corridor to their long-awaited destination. They kept following its stretch hoping that it would lead them to a greater landmass, but bad weather and navigation difficulties threatened to ruin the expedition as the HMS Esperança, being a ship less adequate for exploration, continued to suffer attrition.
Contributing to the perseverance of the voyagers was the wealth of knowledge and healthcare ensured by Barbosa, who practically forced the sailors and passengers to live on a diet of vitamin C. In April 1770, the Tauranga coast of North Island was finally discovered, rewarding the Portuguese hardships.
The HMS Trindade spots the Tauranga harbor, renamed Bahia Nova
This was an historical landmark as it was the first entrance of such a well-equipped exploration team in Nieuw Zeeland, as it was named by Abel Tasman, outpacing the James Cook expedition that would reach the same area not but a few months later. They also brought gifts to the Maoris of Tauranga, including muskets and jewelry, which ensured the quick establishment of Portuguese friendship and influence among them. The HMS Esperança became permanently docked to establish an unofficial frontier outpost and preemptively press Portuguese claim to the region ahead of other Europeans, even if just nominally.
Said settlers conducted scientific and exploration expeditions in their own to the heart of Ilha Norte in the hopes of securing their claims to be the pioneers of New Zealand and eventually chartered enough hinterland to discover what would become one of the great sights of the land, the ‘Rose Terraces’.
Discovery of Terraços Rosa, painted by Leandro Joaquim
The discovery of this site, soon to be briefly nicknamed one of the Wonders of the World, was an extraordinarily significant event of Portuguese exploration of Ilha Norte for it granted the otherwise uninteresting island an ‘El Dorado’ factor, with reports of the site being sent back to Brazil and Portugal inspiring many new scientists and adventurers to want to visit it years later. While the wonder would be unfortunately destroyed in 1886 in an eruption of the Teravada Volcano (romanized from Terawada), more than a century of presence in the mind of Portuguese and European settlers was enough to inspire many to accept invitations to colonize the territory later on.
The HMS Trindade and Lord Barbosa continued the voyage, however, using the tactics of establishing friendship with the north Island Maoris to quickly obtain knowledge and peaceful passage through the region, ensuring a swift exploration of the entire coast of ‘Ilha Norte’ in just a few months and confirming the existence of ‘Ilha Sul’ upon crossing the newly named Barbosa Strait, documenting an immense amount of information along the way.
Many new major geographical features not previously present in Abel Tasman’s maps were mapped and named in this sweep. In early 1770, the eastern coast of North Island, which was at the time noted by Barbosa as ‘the most distant land yet found by Lusitanians’ was drawn unto charters and named Navigator Bay and Navigator Coast in tribute to Henry the Navigator, the original proponent of Portuguese Discoveries. Later on, the critical pass between ‘Ilha Norte’ and ‘Ilha Sul’ was found and crossed, securing Portuguese encirclement around ‘Ilha Norte’ and named Barbosa Strait after the leader of the expedition.
Eventually, around May 1770, the southern route upwards to the Kaipara harbor in the northwestern peninsula was found and cross-referenced with Tasman’s 17th century maps, allowing the expedition to claim to have completed the exploration of the entire northern island’s coast. They docked within the bay, finding it to be one of the largest natural harbors they’ve ever seen, possessing not only fishing and shellfish stocks, but also nearby forests of kauri trees used to construct the typical boats employed by natives.
Lord John’s team named the site Ponta d’Albuquerque, predicting it to become the future entry point of Portuguese voyages coming from the Indian Ocean and the first significant Portuguese port in the land.[4] The Portuguese claim to the territory, however, would be challenged in just a few days afterwards by the arrival of Captain Cook to Ponta. Following a similar mission to map the South Pacific and observe the path of Venus, the British adventurer met Barbosa in February 1770. With scientific and colonialist goals in mind, both Cook, and Barbosa were rivals in their missions, but the event was resolved peacefully mostly due to an understanding between the two that they would not jeopardize each other’s findings. The fact that both Barbosa and the trade outpost established in Bahia Nova at Tauranga had accumulated a solid amount of information on the northern island already helped make the Portuguese case against Cook.
Cook went on with his voyage to also cross Barbosa Strait, this time following the Northwest-to-Southeast direction and explore South Island over which many territories would be mapped and named by the British, instead of the Portuguese.
Barbosa & Cook Voyages
After returning to Bahia Nova to confirm and duplicate its findings with the peregrines, the Trindade sailed north towards New Guinea, now confirming the circumnavigation, and headed west towards Timor, finally arriving at Dili in February 1771, from where he could now make the voyage back to Brazil. Upon presenting his findings to the Academies of Sciences, the explorers in Lisbon immediately requested permission from King Joseph II himself to conduct a new voyage to Nova Zelândia, as it was being now Latinized, to double-check Barbosa’s discoveries. In 1775, a new team of observers and settlers boarded the HMS Fronteira, HMS Santa Teresa and HMS Conimbriga, made the trip to the islands following the opposite direction in the globe from Lisbon and, after many tribulations, would complete it in 1780, almost five years later, having successfully dropped off new settlers, merchants, missionaries and guards in Bahia Nova.
Green: 1769-1771 Barbosa Voyage
Blue: 1775-1780 Dili Expedition Confirmation Voyage
A third trip was made by Captain D Francisco Javier Morales of the famous battle of Sacramento, who joined together with several Brazilian investors, first and foremost Captain Jose Antonio de Lacerda (who was father to Francisco Jose de Lacerda e Almeida, the first person to travel from Angola to Mozambique) to form the Rio Maior Navigation Company. The company wanted import Chinese and Oriental products to Brazil following a Pacific route and was formed with two ships one of which had been captured from Spanish during the Undeclared War. The two ships sales from Rio Maior and arrived in Macao 1777. While there, one ship sailed back to Brazil being fully loaded while the other moved to Dili to take on sandalwood, outdated arms and coffee which he brought to Bahia Nova to conduct the first significant trade trip to Maori tribes. The trip to North Island yielded little profit but secured in assuring the natives that the Bahia Nova settlers were good to their word of bringing new commercial opportunities to the Maori tribes, particularly guns, allowing the influence of the Portuguese crown to spread even further.
The three trips, however, were assailed by logistical issues, as Portuguese exclusive ports were few and far between past the Cape of Good Hope as well as Cape Horn and these were necessary to maintain the secrecy of the colonial expeditions, lest it attract further Dutch and English rivalry. Even the distance between Goa and Dili for the second voyage that hailed from Lisbon had cost them lives and goods due to growing hostilities with the Dutch, lack of discipline amongst the sailors in maintaining a Vitamin C diet and most devastatingly the impact of Javanese tropical diseases.[5] It would not be until the end of the Three Years War that the situation would be alleviated through the return of the Portuguese to a previously owned port in Malaysia.[6]
This problem would eventually escalate into the introduction of the diseases from both Europe and the trip itself to Nova Zelandian tribes, where a second Colombian Exchange would occur and wipe out large portions of native tribes throughout the early 19th century.
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[1] iOTL Captain John Byron was detained by Portuguese authorities in Rio and Portuguese authorities discovered about British interests in the Pacific. Captain John Byron was released but the Portuguese without the current resources were both unable and uninterested in Pacific exploration.
[2] In 1792 Spain had joined the war against the French Republic and invaded southern France. The war quickly turned against the Spanish and they requested Portuguese assistance. The Portuguese eager to establish friendly relations with Spain after more than two decades of no diplomatic and economic contact agreed to assist Spain. The “Treaty of Pardo” between Portugal and Spain re-established diplomatic relations, opened Spanish Empire to Portuguese goods and Spain recognized Portuguese claims over New Zealand.
See Section: The French Revolution – First Coalition War.
[3] iOTL they are called Kermadec Archipelago.
[4] The island’s northmost landmass would become known as Ponta d’Albuquerque Peninsula, iOTL the peninsula’s name is Northland Peninsula. In 1820 the region’s capital moved from PA to the settlement of ‘Braga-Beatriz’ further south at the fertile and strategic isthmus where Auckland is located IOTL.
[5] iOTL Captain Cook expedition suffered similar fate sailing close to Batavia. Here attrition was less amongst Portuguese sailors due to Vitamin C diet (although lack of adherence to the diet by some crew members tempered Portuguese advantages).
[6] See section: The Second Colonial Accord – Guinea, Cape, Australia and Zeeland.
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This is an important development in Portuguese history for as noted was the last hurray for discovery in the 18th century. While distant from both Brazil and Dili it provided a much needed Brazilian element to the Empire one that added to its growing political and economic importance. For the islands became a destination for Portuguese/Brazilians of all types including Indians and even Africans. Comments / questions???
Please return Sunday January 27 as we go and explore the Amazon in section 3 of Rebirth of Empire (2 of 2) - The New Frontiers.
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Indeed, it was. I hope the Maori aren't treated badly later on though.
another great update, so good that the Portuguese empire is expanding, and a great exploration of the Pacific, I hope the Maori are easily integrated into the Portuguese Society, and I believe when the 20 century arrives, when WWII happens Portugal will be at war with the Japanese empire .can hardly wait for the next update.
Lusitania
Donor
The Maori will be treated no differently then the natives of Amazon or other territories. Their survival unfortunately has more to do with their ability to resist new diseases due to their lack of exposure to European diseases than to how Portuguese treat them. As with all isolated people when exposed to European/Asian diseases their numbers can have major devastating affects. As documented in reports Native American population had a death rate of 50-80% due to disease, famine and wars. Iotl i believe that several tribes in new zealland were able get European weapons and that had a devastating impact on the local indigenous too.
There is a great deal of interest in discovering and cataloguing native species both plant and animal. Our next post will detail one of the largest and most profound expeditions to do just that. The best part it is based on iotl person.
At moment it is one of those places that might be claimed but not really acted upon just as iotl.
Thank you.
First thanks, secondly as for Maori they will be both better off and worse off than with British. Portuguese are more adepts at integrating societies into the overall lusophone world. But that comes at a price by loss of their unique culture and language.
Now for 20 century. What I can tell you is that Great War will be different so not even counting on WW2. The players will be different. Do we have to idea? No. Heck we could see lusophone against British Great War. ( before you ask, no not written or planned, was just saying anything is possible depending on who comes to power and how things evolve)
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