Would Brazil be able to keep Portugal?

If Brazil continued to be the capital of the Portuguese empire after the fall of Napoleon and the end of the peninsular war.

Would Brazil be able to keep Portugal in the long run? or would the portuguese court have to choose between brazil and portugal?

Could Portugal receive the status of dominion or autonomous kingdom like British domains at the same time that Brazil rules the rest of the empire?
 
Keep the moncharchy in Brazil and government in Brazil and have Portugal put under Napoleonic occupation for a nice long while. A more chaotic Portugal is more inclined to stay united, also more Portuguese in Brazil creates a greater cultural union. Otherwise, I don't see how the Portugese could accept becoming essentially a colony of their former colony.
 
Keep the moncharchy in Brazil and government in Brazil and have Portugal put under Napoleonic occupation for a nice long while. A more chaotic Portugal is more inclined to stay united, also more Portuguese in Brazil creates a greater cultural union. Otherwise, I don't see how the Portugese could accept becoming essentially a colony of their former colony.


So the key is that Napoleonic Portugal last longer and that more Portuguese immigrate to Brazil.

But in the long run entering the 20th and 21st century, do you think Portugal could continue to be united with Brazil?
Let's say that Portugal remains united with Brazil, but when decolonization begins, Brazil grants independence to the rest of the empire, would that union survive until the 21st century?

In my opinion, Portugal can only remain united with Brazil, if the two territories lost their local Portuguese and Brazilian identities and created an Atlantic identity of a great Lusitania, that nation could adopt the name of Lusitania.
 
So the key is that Napoleonic Portugal last longer and that more Portuguese immigrate to Brazil.

But in the long run entering the 20th and 21st century, do you think Portugal could continue to be united with Brazil?
Let's say that Portugal remains united with Brazil, but when decolonization begins, Brazil grants independence to the rest of the empire, would that union survive until the 21st century?

In my opinion, Portugal can only remain united with Brazil, if the two territories lost their local Portuguese and Brazilian identities and created an Atlantic identity of a great Lusitania, that nation could adopt the name of Lusitania.
I don't see them staying together long unless Brazil becomes strong enough to actually keep Portugal as a colony by force. As for Portugal adopting a different identity. Not happening. Either Brazilians consider themselves Portuguese, or nothing. The Portuguese identity, to a degree, was around for over half a millennia. The Portuguese didn't accept any common identiy with the Spanish, who inhabit the same peninsula as them. They're not going to maintain any sort of identity with a people a world away. Brazilians will inevitably become Brazilians, and Portugal will increasingly become nothing by a Brazilian colony. Once the monarchy is seen as more Brazilian than Portuguese, then they'll have nothing connecting the two identities, and unfortunately for Brazil, there's nothing they can do about Portugal declaring independence.
 

Slan

Banned
Portugal would NEVER be fine with being governed from America. Do you realize they were a European nation in the 19th century? The century the Europeans conquered the world and spitted tales of their inherit superiority?? Its beyond humiliating to be governed from a colony. A Portuguese wouldn't dare to look other European in the eye after this, so no.
 
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Portugal would NEVER be fine with being governed from America. Do you realize they were a European nation in the 19th century? The century the Europeans conquered the world with tales of their inherit superiority?? Its beyond humiliating to be governed from a colony.
Yeah the question should be the opposite
 
So the key is that Napoleonic Portugal last longer and that more Portuguese immigrate to Brazil.

But in the long run entering the 20th and 21st century, do you think Portugal could continue to be united with Brazil?
Let's say that Portugal remains united with Brazil, but when decolonization begins, Brazil grants independence to the rest of the empire, would that union survive until the 21st century?

In my opinion, Portugal can only remain united with Brazil, if the two territories lost their local Portuguese and Brazilian identities and created an Atlantic identity of a great Lusitania, that nation could adopt the name of Lusitania.

Some kind of common portuguese identity already existed in Brazil, because, unlike Spain, Portugal never created a caste system, and so there was no *criollo* identity there (at least not in the same way as in Spanish America), so brazilians considering themselves portuguese isn't a problem. The problem is that Portugal (and specially the elite from Lisbon) loses their protagonism to Rio de Janeiro and becomes a periphery of their own empire

I don't see them staying together long unless Brazil becomes strong enough to actually keep Portugal as a colony by force. As for Portugal adopting a different identity. Not happening. Either Brazilians consider themselves Portuguese, or nothing. The Portuguese identity, to a degree, was around for over half a millennia. The Portuguese didn't accept any common identiy with the Spanish, who inhabit the same peninsula as them. They're not going to maintain any sort of identity with a people a world away. Brazilians will inevitably become Brazilians, and Portugal will increasingly become nothing by a Brazilian colony. Once the monarchy is seen as more Brazilian than Portuguese, then they'll have nothing connecting the two identities, and unfortunately for Brazil, there's nothing they can do about Portugal declaring independence.

I mostly agree with you. It's probable Portugal would try to rebel against the Crown for independence. However, brazilian and portuguese identities would develop in a very different way from our timeline. Brazilian identity after the country's independence was heavily based on fighting the portuguese "who stole our gold". On the contrary, TTL Brazil would probably try to stablish itself as the natural continuation of the old Portuguese Empire, and maybe there would be developed some kind of "lusotropicalism" as a ideology to legitimize "Portugal"'s status as a american/transcontinental empire. Meanwhile, portuguese identity would probably emphasize Portugal as a european nation and maybe be very associated with republicanism (as opposed to the "brazilian monarchy").

Edit: a word.
 
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Some kind of common portuguese already existed in Brazil, because, unlike Spain, Portugal never created a caste system, and so there was no *criollo* identity there (at least not in the same way as in Spanish America), so brazilians considering themselves portuguese isn't a problem. The problem is that Portugal (and specially the elite from Lisbon) loses their protagonism to Rio de Janeiro and becomes a periphery of their own empire



I mostly agree with you. It's probable Portugal would try to rebel against the Crown for independence. However, brazilian and portuguese identities would develop in a very different way from our timeline. Brazilian identity after the country's independence was heavily based on fighting the portuguese "who stole our gold". On the contrary, TTL Brazil would probably try to stablish itself as the natural continuation of the old Portuguese Empire, and maybe there would be developed some kind of "lusotropicalism" as a ideology to legitimize "Portugal"'s status as a american/transcontinental empire. Meanwhile, portuguese identity would probably emphasize Portugal as a european nation and maybe be very associated with republicanism (as opposed to the "brazilian monarchy").

So I can imagine that the end of the Portugal-Brazil union would end up similar to the independence of Ireland; ireland was a nation at the same time with a culture similar to the british and also very different from theirs, and the british managed to keep ireland strong for centuries but when the 20th century came and they were not able to keep all ireland and stayed with only the north. The Portugal-Brazil Union could survive the 19th century but when the 20th century arrived, Portugal would become a republic and Brazil would remain a colonial empire

So now I would like to know: since Brazil is not able to maintain Portugal; when Portugal became independent, would Brazil keep the azores and Madeira?
and maybe it’s too much but Brazil would also be able to maintain a part of mainland Portugal like the British kept northern Ireland, maybe Brazil would annex the South of Portugal, the algaves? it would be interesting to see that.

And another thing; when do you think Portugal would become independent; during the first decades of the 20th century at the time of Irish independence or when decolonization took place in the 50s / 60s?
 
and maybe it’s too much but Brazil would also be able to maintain a part of mainland Portugal like the British kept northern Ireland, maybe Brazil would annex the South of Portugal, the algaves? it would be interesting to see that.

It's an interesting idea, but I figure it's unlikely. Britain was helped by the fact that Ireland was right there next to it, and that there was a substantial population in the North that didn't want to be ruled from Dublin at any cost.
 
It's an interesting idea, but I figure it's unlikely. Britain was helped by the fact that Ireland was right there next to it, and that there was a substantial population in the North that didn't want to be ruled from Dublin at any cost.


I think it's unlikely too.

In your opinion; is there any way of portugal when it becomes an independent nation instead of being a republic adopting the monarchy as autralia and canada did?
Thus the Brazilian imperial family would be at the same time also the Portuguese royal family as Queen Elizabeth II is queen of the UK and also queen of Australia and Canada.
 
In my opinion, Portugal can only remain united with Brazil, if the two territories lost their local Portuguese and Brazilian identities and created an Atlantic identity of a great Lusitania, that nation could adopt the name of Lusitania.

It is interesting to note that in the early 18th century the idea to move the royal court to Brazil had already been proposed as it would give the Portuguese monarchs independence to act far from the European powers and under less of a threat of invasion from Spain. The idea was that with the capital in Brazil the king could counteract any the possibility of a Spanish invasion of Metropolitan Portugal with the threat of invading neighboring Spanish territories. In addition much of the "old nobility" remained in Lisbon and João VI could be spared their intrigues.

As late as 1822, the Brazilian elite protested that they were Portuguese and often referred to their nationality as Portuguese. They saw Brazil as an integral part of the Portuguese nation, the idea of the nation being one of territories on different continents united by the king seen as something to protect. It was the metropolitan elite in Lisbon that treated them with derision. The term "Brazilian" had usually been reserved to Brazilian-born Africans or mixed-race pardos. As late as 21 May 1822, Andrada Machado, a deputy to the Cortes from São Paulo wrote to his brother José Bonifácio the following: "there might be one or another fool who thinks about it (Independence of Brazil) but I can confirm there is no independence party" following "I am convinced that Portugal wins with the union with Brazil and Brazil with Portugal, for that reason I will defend that union".

What is even more telling is that the overwhelming number of the governing and military elite under Pedro I had been born in Portugal. These were individuals particularly in Rio de Janeiro who had benefited by the opening of Brazil's ports to foreign trade. It is also important to note that in late 1822 only 3 provinces supported independence, they were Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais. During their time in Lisbon, the deputies of Para, Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia overwhelmingly voted with the Metropolitan deputies, showing that their interests were not aligned with those of southern Brazil. Diogo Antonio Feijó, a deputy and future regent of Brazil stated "we are not deputies from Brazil...because each province is independent of one another" meaning that there was not yet a united Brazil.

Pedro I was able to unite Brazil and the tepid response from his father showed that by 1824 the separation of the states was a fait accompli and the new Empire of Brazil was simply a continuation of the existing social order.

While I do agree that elites in Portugal would have tried to breakaway from Brazil if the king refuses to leave, one has to remember that the Portuguese army was fairly weak and had been largely led by the British during the Napoleonic wars. With a literacy rate of less than 10% Portugal's economic and social backwardness in Europe was only matched in Russia and the Balkans, meaning the majority of the population is largely indifferent. Taking over Portugal by military force was not a complicated task as Dom Miguel proved in 1828. His brother returned from Brazil in 1832 and with a fairly small force of troops also able to defeat him as well. In the 1820s if Britain did not support a reconquest of Portugal, France most certainly would have. The result would have likely been a further marginalization of Portugal's role within the Portuguese Empire and and more than likely a much larger wave of emigration to Rio de Janeiro, particularly of the commercial elite during the following decades.
 
It is interesting to note that in the early 18th century the idea to move the royal court to Brazil had already been proposed as it would give the Portuguese monarchs independence to act far from the European powers and under less of a threat of invasion from Spain. The idea was that with the capital in Brazil the king could counteract any the possibility of a Spanish invasion of Metropolitan Portugal with the threat of invading neighboring Spanish territories. In addition much of the "old nobility" remained in Lisbon and João VI could be spared their intrigues.

As late as 1822, the Brazilian elite protested that they were Portuguese and often referred to their nationality as Portuguese. They saw Brazil as an integral part of the Portuguese nation, the idea of the nation being one of territories on different continents united by the king seen as something to protect. It was the metropolitan elite in Lisbon that treated them with derision. The term "Brazilian" had usually been reserved to Brazilian-born Africans or mixed-race pardos. As late as 21 May 1822, Andrada Machado, a deputy to the Cortes from São Paulo wrote to his brother José Bonifácio the following: "there might be one or another fool who thinks about it (Independence of Brazil) but I can confirm there is no independence party" following "I am convinced that Portugal wins with the union with Brazil and Brazil with Portugal, for that reason I will defend that union".

What is even more telling is that the overwhelming number of the governing and military elite under Pedro I had been born in Portugal. These were individuals particularly in Rio de Janeiro who had benefited by the opening of Brazil's ports to foreign trade. It is also important to note that in late 1822 only 3 provinces supported independence, they were Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais. During their time in Lisbon, the deputies of Para, Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia overwhelmingly voted with the Metropolitan deputies, showing that their interests were not aligned with those of southern Brazil. Diogo Antonio Feijó, a deputy and future regent of Brazil stated "we are not deputies from Brazil...because each province is independent of one another" meaning that there was not yet a united Brazil.

Pedro I was able to unite Brazil and the tepid response from his father showed that by 1824 the separation of the states was a fait accompli and the new Empire of Brazil was simply a continuation of the existing social order.

While I do agree that elites in Portugal would have tried to breakaway from Brazil if the king refuses to leave, one has to remember that the Portuguese army was fairly weak and had been largely led by the British during the Napoleonic wars. With a literacy rate of less than 10% Portugal's economic and social backwardness in Europe was only matched in Russia and the Balkans, meaning the majority of the population is largely indifferent. Taking over Portugal by military force was not a complicated task as Dom Miguel proved in 1828. His brother returned from Brazil in 1832 and with a fairly small force of troops also able to defeat him as well. In the 1820s if Britain did not support a reconquest of Portugal, France most certainly would have. The result would have likely been a further marginalization of Portugal's role within the Portuguese Empire and and more than likely a much larger wave of emigration to Rio de Janeiro, particularly of the commercial elite during the following decades.

Great text. So, for Brazil to maintain Portugal, it would need the support of a great power, France or more likely Great Britain, and once Portugal was regained and the Portugal-Brazil union became a reality, countless Portuguese immigrants would move to Brazil. , over the following decades. But do you think that when the 20th century arrived, Portugal would become independent similarly to Irish independence? Or when decolonization began and Brazil gave independence to most of the empire, the Portugal-Brazil union would survive until the 21st century?
 
Great text. So, for Brazil to maintain Portugal, it would need the support of a great power, France or more likely Great Britain, and once Portugal was regained and the Portugal-Brazil union became a reality, countless Portuguese immigrants would move to Brazil. , over the following decades. But do you think that when the 20th century arrived, Portugal would become independent similarly to Irish independence? Or when decolonization began and Brazil gave independence to most of the empire, the Portugal-Brazil union would survive until the 21st century?

Britain most likely would have assisted I imagine as they did assist Pedro in reclaiming the Portuguese throne for his brother. Its not out of question that eventually Carlota Joaquina and Prince Miguel would return to Lisbon at some point and if a liberal government is proclaimed, they will look to Spain and France to intervene. Remember the French intervened in Spain in 1823, and Charles X of France would not hesitaste to do the same even if it meant establishing an absolutist puppet regime. This would almost certainly make Britain intervene by providing ships and commanders at the very least.

One thing that an imperial government might do is continue to push for agricultural settlements of Portuguese peasants in Southern Brazil. If I remember correctly one of the last was in 1817 in Espírito Santo with Azoreans. In OTL though the Portuguese were by far the largest immigrant group during the imperial period, there seemed to be a push to settle Germans and Swiss in the agricultural settlements. You might see the government be more concerned with settling peasants from Portugal in the interior of Southern Brazil, as a way to relieve the poverty there.

I think the difference between Britain and Ireland is a bit different, particularly as the majority of Ireland was Catholic and the Irish were forced to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland until 1838, and were most certainly a disenfranchised group. This was not the case of the Portuguese and if anything in the 1820s and 1830s some were still resented for the positions of power they held in an independent Brazil. Into the XX century, a significant number Portuguese who did move to Brazil often were able to occupy positions of political and commercial significance. The two identities were much closer than those of English and Irish as they were usually interchangeable, with Portugal having been ruled by a Brazilian-born Queens until 1853. Until the early 1950s, the overwhelming majority of emigrants who left Portugal headed for Brazil, I imagine if the two remain united, that this will be even more significant. As they are not "foreigners" they might get first choice of lands as they open up, whereas Rio de Janeiro will be even more Portuguese than it was (in 1890 51.2% of the city's inhabitants were either born in Portugal or had a parent who had been).

Portugal's position in the empire would be more akin to that of Northeast Brazil within Brazil, meaning a place of former prestige and grandeur, but now of declining relevance. The rise of gold mining and later coffee would mean that growth was focused in the south and as a result the Northeast never regained its prominence. Initially, Southern Brazil was a backwater, but with the discovery of gold, Rio became prominent as a port and finally in 1763 became the Viceregal seat. Portugal might just end up like a larger version of the Azores, where the populace was largely resigned to rule by Lisbon, but with an ever-growing population dependent on emigration. One thing that Portugal does have in importance is the University of Coimbra, which would remain the place where much of the Brazilian elite was educated until Brazil established its first university in 1920. Porto too would continue to grow in the 19th century particularly with the importance of the wine industry in the Douro Valley, and this would remain Portugal's leading export for decades to come.

The war in Banda Oriental might also go differently, particularly without the Portuguese/Brazilian in Brazil still joined. Again this might be another territory they might want to settle quickly with peasants from the Azores and Madeira. They had already done this decades before in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná so this might be the most obvious course of action.
 
Britain most likely would have assisted I imagine as they did assist Pedro in reclaiming the Portuguese throne for his brother. Its not out of question that eventually Carlota Joaquina and Prince Miguel would return to Lisbon at some point and if a liberal government is proclaimed, they will look to Spain and France to intervene. Remember the French intervened in Spain in 1823, and Charles X of France would not hesitaste to do the same even if it meant establishing an absolutist puppet regime. This would almost certainly make Britain intervene by providing ships and commanders at the very least.

One thing that an imperial government might do is continue to push for agricultural settlements of Portuguese peasants in Southern Brazil. If I remember correctly one of the last was in 1817 in Espírito Santo with Azoreans. In OTL though the Portuguese were by far the largest immigrant group during the imperial period, there seemed to be a push to settle Germans and Swiss in the agricultural settlements. You might see the government be more concerned with settling peasants from Portugal in the interior of Southern Brazil, as a way to relieve the poverty there.

I think the difference between Britain and Ireland is a bit different, particularly as the majority of Ireland was Catholic and the Irish were forced to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland until 1838, and were most certainly a disenfranchised group. This was not the case of the Portuguese and if anything in the 1820s and 1830s some were still resented for the positions of power they held in an independent Brazil. Into the XX century, a significant number Portuguese who did move to Brazil often were able to occupy positions of political and commercial significance. The two identities were much closer than those of English and Irish as they were usually interchangeable, with Portugal having been ruled by a Brazilian-born Queens until 1853. Until the early 1950s, the overwhelming majority of emigrants who left Portugal headed for Brazil, I imagine if the two remain united, that this will be even more significant. As they are not "foreigners" they might get first choice of lands as they open up, whereas Rio de Janeiro will be even more Portuguese than it was (in 1890 51.2% of the city's inhabitants were either born in Portugal or had a parent who had been).

Portugal's position in the empire would be more akin to that of Northeast Brazil within Brazil, meaning a place of former prestige and grandeur, but now of declining relevance. The rise of gold mining and later coffee would mean that growth was focused in the south and as a result the Northeast never regained its prominence. Initially, Southern Brazil was a backwater, but with the discovery of gold, Rio became prominent as a port and finally in 1763 became the Viceregal seat. Portugal might just end up like a larger version of the Azores, where the populace was largely resigned to rule by Lisbon, but with an ever-growing population dependent on emigration. One thing that Portugal does have in importance is the University of Coimbra, which would remain the place where much of the Brazilian elite was educated until Brazil established its first university in 1920. Porto too would continue to grow in the 19th century particularly with the importance of the wine industry in the Douro Valley, and this would remain Portugal's leading export for decades to come.

The war in Banda Oriental might also go differently, particularly without the Portuguese/Brazilian in Brazil still joined. Again this might be another territory they might want to settle quickly with peasants from the Azores and Madeira. They had already done this decades before in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná so this might be the most obvious course of action.


In our timeline the south of Brazil had numerous German and Italian settlers, in that timeline these territories were colonized mainly by Portuguese, Brazil would use this immigration for 'Brazilification' 'Uruguay and guarantee its assimilation maybe even Paraguay and the part of Argentine Mesopotamia.

In this timeline, regions of the Brazilian Midwest such as Goias and Mato Grosso would also benefit from these immigrants; and the northeast, closer to Portugal, would also receive part of these immigrants, mainly in regions such as Maranhao.

this could cause an earlier movement of immigrants to the interior of Brazil and we could see the construction of the capital Brasilia earlier to encourage immigration to the interior.

But what would Portugal's long-term role be in the empire when it reached the 20th century?
 
In our timeline the south of Brazil had numerous German and Italian settlers, in that timeline these territories were colonized mainly by Portuguese, Brazil would use this immigration for 'Brazilification' 'Uruguay and guarantee its assimilation maybe even Paraguay and the part of Argentine Mesopotamia.

In this timeline, regions of the Brazilian Midwest such as Goias and Mato Grosso would also benefit from these immigrants; and the northeast, closer to Portugal, would also receive part of these immigrants, mainly in regions such as Maranhao.

this could cause an earlier movement of immigrants to the interior of Brazil and we could see the construction of the capital Brasilia earlier to encourage immigration to the interior.

But what would Portugal's long-term role be in the empire when it reached the 20th century?

There might still be German and Italian settlers, but I do think that Uruguay could be easily assimilated as there were only 74,000 inhabitants there in 1830, up from 30,000 in 1800, of these around one-fourth were Africans. Uruguay was heavily settled by Italian, Spanish and French immigrants throughout the XIX century with immigrants being around half of the population by mid-century. I imagine if it remains part of Brazil it could have more Portuguese and I can envision Montevideo becoming a much more prominent port than it is.

Without railways locating a capital inland would be difficult, add to that the difficulties of a tropical climate with malaria and yellow fever any talk of a new capital would not be taken seriously until the mid-XX century. Amazonas and Pará attracted some European immigrants during the rubber boom of the early XX century, with the overwhelming majority being Portuguese with 21,826 Portuguese immigrants living there in these two states by 1920, compared with 625 in Maranhão. Mato Grosso too never seemed to attract more than a few thousand European immigrants and was settled from inhabitants from other states along with some Paraguayans, Bolivians and perhaps 5,000 Japanese.

Over half of all of the immigrants in Brazil lived in the states of São Paulo, with another one-fifth in Rio de Janeiro and one-sixth in the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Santa Catarina. If Banda Oriental can be kept I see Montevideo becoming much more prominent over time and attracting more European immigrants. The internal migration from North to South would probably continue unabated as the North and Northeast were unable to compete economically with the coffee boom and agriculture of the south.
 
While the opening of the Brazilian ports is bound to cause some kind of Portuguese reaction sooner or later, there were other factors leading up to the 1820 revolution, namely the disastrous rule of marshall Beresford. With a better post-Napoleonic regency (possibly by a member of the Royal family) the Portuguese elites would not have felt as alienates, so that probably avoids the revolution and allows the court to remain in Brazil. Liberal sentiment would still be lurking in both sides of the Atlantic, but if João proves pragmatic enough to allow the calling of a constituent assembly, or if he dies early and is replaced by Pedro, a compromise could be reached. The Portuguese elites would obviously still resent the closing of the ports, but eventually that issue would die out.

I don't believe it would be necessary to develop any sort of transatlantic identity because Brazilians most surely saw themselves as Portuguese by the early 19th century, and that is not going to change without a reason.

Countries don't split because regions spontaneously develop separate identities, nor do they split simply because of where the capital happens to be (does the west coast of the United States want independence just because the capital is in the east coast?). The reason why they split is because the elites of different regions develop conflicting interests.

Now, preventing completing interests from developing in the long term may be a tall order, but if can do it, then it's all you need.
 
Interesting.

Idea: Could Portugal eventually become Military focused? After all, Portugal is the Empire's base in Europe. Owning Portugal and the Azores means projecting power in the North Atlantic as well as the South.

I wonder how European colonization of Africa would go.
 
Interesting.

Idea: Could Portugal eventually become Military focused? After all, Portugal is the Empire's base in Europe. Owning Portugal and the Azores means projecting power in the North Atlantic as well as the South.

I wonder how European colonization of Africa would go.
Angola e nossa might be feasible?
 
I do think that a Brazilian focused empire would take more of an interest in Africa particularly Angola. For much of the XIX century Portugal was cash strapped and the Miguelist wars did not help. Until the 1850s most of Angola's trade was with Brazil, with most exports being slaves. I could envision the a segment of the upper class in the Kingdom of Brazil wanting to engage in the "New Imperialism" and being closer to Angola certainly helps. In the 1830s Brazil began settling freed and rebellious slaves in present-day Benin and Togo.

These freed slaves were referred to as Portuguese and in 1885 Portugal did sign a treaty with the King of Dahomey to make the region a Portuguese protectorate. This along with claims between Casamance River in present-day Senegal to the Nunez (Nunes) River to the south in present-day Guinea were ceded to France in exchange for French recognition of the claims to the "pink map". With more Brazilian explorers and administrators, the Portuguese Empire might be able to push its claims inland earlier.

With a less cash-strapped empire, the governor of Timor would not have to sell Eastern Flores, Lomblen, Adonara, Solor, Alor and Pantar to the Dutch, and they may take a more aggressive posture in dealings with the Dutch in Timor itself, making the Portuguese-controlled area larger.
 
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