A Lusophone World

[MIPortugal]

The British at first believed the Portuguese to be copying the Centurion but other than the Portuguese version of the L7 gun which Portuguese did copy the rest was domestic designed (a lot of learning from German tanks and maybe a little influence from British tanks).

was one of the influences from british tanks the inclusion of a kettle?

 

[Lusitania]

A Great update as always Lusitania. I would, however, question the acquisition of the Indefatigable. This is after all one of Britain's premier warships and only a couple of years old so unless the UK is planning a major withdrawal from its global power status, it will be needing these types of ships even if in the postwar climate of austerity it would be used mostly as a troop transport and training ship as it was IOTL. Also, the UK was always intent on refurbishing and modernizing it armored fleet carriers ever as late as 1954 when changes in strategy, economic difficulties and the total ineptitude shown in the rebuild efforts on the first ship to undergo said modernization, Victorious, forced the UK to finally abandon such efforts.

At 33,000 tons and requiring a crew of over 2,300 skilled sailors and airmen, I would also question if Portugal at this time could afford it at this time. The annual financial running costs alone of the ship and its air group are likely to consume a considerable chunk of the defense budget at a time when other modernization and expansion efforts, plus the ongoing military operations hinted above are going to also be putting a heavy call on Portuguese resources. Also, a carrier of this size is a very complex weapons system and cannot be run by just anyone off the street but would require years of intense training on the thousands of skills that would be needed to properly operate, supply and maintain those systems.

A better option I think would be one of the Colossus or the new Majestic Light Fleet Carriers. These are much smaller and less complicated and require less manpower to run, but still are quite capable ships for this time. Certainly the French and Dutch Navies, which acquired one each, were very happy with them as it allowed them to project a credible naval power capability at a time when their own sea power was still recovering from the war The British Commonwealth countries of Canada and Australia (and eventually India) also were happy to acquire their own ships to boost their naval forces (and later several were passed to Argentina and Brazil as well).

I would suggest Portugal start with the leasing of one of the Colossus carriers (say Vengeance) as an interim solution with the understanding that it would eventually be replaced by a thoroughly modernized Majestic Class (ex Leviathin). Portugal would then be able to gain the experience and the skills to operate a carrier at a far lower cost than would likely be expended trying to manage the Indefatigable.

Note also that the naval component of the Sea Fury purchase should also be reduced to around 45 aircraft as the Vengeance would not be able to accommodate more that 30 of them at any one time (rest would be used for training from shore and as an attrition reserve).

Good morning, thanks for pointing this out since it leads us to a very complex and murky world of the Portuguese-British military purchases negotiations following the war. Following the signing of the Portuguese-British accord of 1946 the British were expecting a small shopping list from the Portuguese and nothing like Portuguese presented. The negotiations took over 1 year with the final item (aircraft carrier) only being agreed at end of 1947. Of course no detailed information regarding those negotiations are available from Portuguese and request for information were not acknowledged. While the British did keep very detailed notes and documents, we were able to obtain through our freedom of information request several of them and here is a summary.

The fulfilment of the Portuguese order was a surprise of everyone including the Americans but the desperate British in need of revenue and work for its people went about fulfilling it.

The first Portuguese-British meeting regarding military purchase was a little rocky as the British were not prepared for the extensive list. I believe that a modern expression of the British reaction would be WTF. The list as can be seen in the Portuguese Armed Forces post it covers item for all three armed forces (army, navy and air force).

The Portuguese army shopping list was huge and took the British over 2 years to fulfill it, but it provided thousands of jobs in many industries as military vehicles and equipment were retrofitted or rebuilt for the Portuguese.

Next came the air force with the huge Portuguese list of fighters, bombers, trainers and even transport planes. The list provided work and money very much needed for the plane manufacturers for even the used planes all had to retrofitted and upgraded.

The third group the Navy is where there were issues. For the Navy was completely against it and had it not been for Portuguese-British agreements the British would of refused. After much discussion the British government and Navy agreed to the Portuguese demands for the following:

• 4 Battle Class destroyers (1943 Later Battle sub-class) – refurbished;
• 2 Light Cruisers (Minotaur Class) – refurbished;

Now what was left was the air craft carrier. The Portuguese put forth a request for smaller aircraft carrier but the British navy either wanted to keep those for its own use or was in negotiations with several countries (Australia and Canada) it deemed more crucial to its interest on transferring them the aircraft carriers.

In regards to the majestic none were ready to be delivered to the Portuguese by 1949 which was one of the Portuguese demands.* The Portuguese originally wanted one of the majestic aircraft carriers for the same reasons you pointed out since they required much less men and were smaller but all the ones in operations were already earmarked for other countries by end of 1947. Here is a list of the Majestic air craft carriers the British built:

• HMS Majestic was laid down in 15 April 1943 but would only be commissioned 28 October 1953. The Australians already were in negotiations about acquiring it and it sold to Australia in 1948.
• HMS Hercules was laid down October 1943 but in limbo and would not be completed till 1956.
• HMS Leviathan was laid down October 1943 commissioned on 1 March 1952
• HMS Magnificent was laid down July 1943 but only commissioned 7 April 1948 and was earmarked for the Canadians before commissioning.
• HMS Powerful laid down November 1943 but only commissioned 17 January 1953 sold to Canada on 23 April 1952
• HMS Terrible laid down 19 November 1943 commissioned 16 December 1948. the second aircraft carrier being transferred to the Australian.

So that left us with the Colossus Carriers, below is list of the carriers (Red are ones the Navy needed to fulfill British security interests)

• HMS Colossus laid down June 1942 commissioned 16 December 1944 Loaned to France from August 1946, then sold to France 1951
• HMS Glory laid down 27 August 1942 commissioned 2 April 1945
• HMS Ocean laid down 8 November 1942 commissioned 8 August 1945
• HMS Theseus laid down 6 January 1943 commissioned 9 February 1946
• HMS Triumph laid down 27 January 1943 commissioned 9 May 1946
• HMS Venerable laid down 3 December 1942 commissioned 17 January 1945 Sold to Netherlands 1948
• HMS Vengeance laid down 16 November 1942 commissioned 15 January 1945
• HMS Warrior laid down 12 December 1942 commissioned November 1948 Loaned to Royal Canadian Navy.
• HMS Perseus laid down June 1942 commissioned 19 October 1945
• HMS Pioneer laid down 2 December 1942 commissioned 8 February 1945

The British navy was able to convince the British government that only HMS Pioneer were available to be transferred to the Portuguese. (Remember the British got no $ for the ships, Portuguese only paid for the refurbishing and upgrades). The Portuguese were not too enthusiastic about the Pioneer that had been in reserve since commissioning and they felt it would require extensive retrofitting. The other option the British did offer was the HMS Indefatigable which the British had no real use for and was in reserve also. While it was newer the drawback was it was larger and would be more expensive to maintain.

British documents show that the British were determined that if an aircraft carrier was going to be sold then it would be the Indefatigable since it was the most expensive to maintain and the British had no use for it. They even offered to retrofit it at a reduced rate, train Portuguese sailors and pilots on its sister ship the HMS Implacable. (Note I think the British were thinking the Portuguese would screw up and were making a point that Portuguese were trying to play in the big leagues and nowhere ready. So smug officials both in government and Navy thought the Portuguese would flounder and be forced to lay it up in port. On the other side of the negotiation table we can see the Navy beaming at the thought of this huge carrier being showcase of Portuguese navy, while the accountants in the Finance side cringing at the costs to maintain it. But that is speculation since that not part of the released documents.)

Therefore you are right the Portuguese should of gotten the Pioneer since it was smaller and easier to operate, but in the end due to some slick salesmanship and of course pride the Portuguese bought the expensive shinny aircraft carrier instead of the practical one. As for its ability to fund it the Portuguese economy by end of 1940s was larger than Netherlands, Brazil and was on target to double its size from 1940 -1950. While Portuguese economy was smaller than Britain or France the Portuguese navy was going to operate one aircraft carrier instead of many so while it did stretch things it was doable especially with the declaration of the Federation in 1949.

Now the next point we need to discuss are the notes from Vice Admiral Sir John Felgate Stevens who was commander of the HMS Implacable during the training of the Portuguese. The HMS Implacable was operating out of the Mediterranean in late 1940s and Portuguese sailors, mechanics and pilots rotated for 3 months of training on board the HMS implacable. From the arrival of the first group of sailors and pilots there was animosity between the Portuguese and British. While British navy was very much an European navy with non Europeans only used in the maintenance of the ships the Portuguese for reasons of necessity in the late 1930s had moved to a fully integrated armed forces.

Of the Portuguese sent to train on the HMS Implacable about 1/3 of the officers were non-European and over 1/2 the sailors, engineers and other tradesman were non-European. Scuttles broke out and angry remarks were exchanged and many British sailors refused to work with the Portuguese until threatened with disciplinary action including imprisonment by senior officers. The Portuguese pilots and officers stood out in the sea European British officers, worse was their interaction as though race and skin color did not matter. There never was any comradery between the two groups and Portuguese kept to themselves. But to the surprise of the British the Portuguese regardless of skin color were knowledgeable and had worked on the most advanced ships in the Portuguese fleet. After over two decades of reforms the Portuguese navy was equal to any of the Europeans in terms of quality of sailors and knowledge regardless of color for the Portuguese had realized in late 1930s they needed to integrate all groups if they wanted a modern and large forces. The ones sent to the HMS implacable were actually the brightest though and in some cases were smarter than the British teachers.

Note the extra aircraft bought from the British were for training.

I hope this answers your question.

Note: The British never really had a plan for the HMS Indefatigable and it saw limited use during the Korean war and like its sister ship were both decommissioned in mid 1950s both iOTL and ITTL.

* Note to explain certain issues that are different than IOTL we need to jump to the World section which due to size and complexity will be posted in 5 parts. Then jump back to economy. The World section will cover the following important world events: Iron Curtain Crises, Indian Civil War and Dutch East Indies war of Independence/Civil War amongst other topics such as Israel Brazil and Argentina. These events meant that Australia, Canada and UK had additional security concerns placed on them.
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[georgy176]

Good morning, thanks for pointing this out since it leads us to a very complex and murky world of the Portuguese-British military purchases negotiations following the war. Following the signing of the Portuguese-British accord of 1946 the British were expecting a small shopping list from the Portuguese and nothing like Portuguese presented. The negotiations took ove 1 year with the final item (aircraft carrier) only being agreed at end of 1947. Of course no detailed information regarding those negotiations are available from Portuguese and request for information were not acknowledged. While the British did keep very detailed notes and documents have been obtained through our freedom of information request.

Thanks very much for your explanation of how Portugal acquired the ship they did. Especially found the anecdotal details and personal experiences of the people who would be most closely involved in preparing the ship for service most compelling. This is what I truly like about your timelines as you not only put considerable effort into researching your subject, but then also present it in a story form that allows the people to come to life instead of limiting it to just a presentation of facts and events.

Looking forward to the 1950's which I hope will still include the birth of the Rock and Roll era. Any chance of Elvis at some point becoming a citizen of the Federation?

 

[Lusitania]

What land does Portugal control in Morocco?

Ah, my friend that is a very good question. One that we will soon discuss, but as a preview "after the war Portugal decided that it no longer needed to fear Spain and stopped providing them with subsidized oil, food and other goods". In addition it presented the Spanish with the bill for all the years of 'gifts' and expected full payment with interest. The Spanish were shocked at the cumulated debt and it payment wrecked Spanish finances, subsequent negotiations with the IMF and world bank (USA) would of resulted in Spain being worse off. The Portuguese then decided to help the Spanish write off their external debt both to them and to rest of world. In return some real estate in Africa was turned over to the Portuguese to manage and administer.

was one of the influences from british tanks the inclusion of a kettle?

We not great tea drinkers, now espresso machine would of been great but they were too big to fit in. Maybe in future models as they become smaller.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Another great update!

I really enjoy reading both the original "O Renascimento de um Império" and its very detailed revision since it shows such a weird but believable world. I know the revision hasn't gotten to it quite yet, but my favorite part from the first edition was when Portugal managed to defeat Napoleon almost entirely by itself while Britain just awkwardly laughed in the background and pondered how long they would stay as the “superior” member of the partnership.

But in a way, I kinda like Lusophone World the most because it's such a good underdog story. Around the 1920’s, Portugal is basically done as a legitimate world power in the eyes of most of the world. They missed so many chances by now that the world totally dismisses them. And then suddenly, they get this huge injection of pure, concentrated super competence and everything changes. They noticeably shift the balance of WW2 after just a few years of prior development and these changes only grow as time passes.

They get involved and gain in a terrible Indian Civil War and Dutch East Indies War. They presumably keep and probably expand on Macau during whatever chaos erupts in China during its own civil war. They change the landscape of Southern Africa with their unprecedented development of Angola and Mozambique and most likely get entangled in some kind of conflict with South Africa which they again win.

I can already imagine students in future college courses discussing how much of a sudden shock this new Portuguese Federation will have on the world. I mean really, of all nations to shake things up on the geopolitical stage, who would have expected minuscule Portugal of all countries?!

Speaking of Macau, what shenanigans will Portugal get involved with in East Asia if I may ask? Will they help restore the fortunes of Japan after the US ends the occupation? Will Macau get expanded and will they get Hainan Island like in O Renascimento de um Império? Will Portugal get involved in the Korean War if it happens? What about the Vietnam War?

 

[Lusitania]

Thanks very much for your explanation of how Portugal acquired the ship they did. Especially found the anecdotal details and personal experiences of the people who would be most closely involved in preparing the ship for service most compelling. This is what I truly like about your timelines as you not only put considerable effort into researching your subject, but then also present it in a story form that allows the people to come to life instead of limiting it to just a presentation of facts and events.

Looking forward to the 1950's which I hope will still include the birth of the Rock and Roll era. Any chance of Elvis at some point becoming a citizen of the Federation?

Thanks when something does not make sense please post something and I can provided some additional detailed notes.

Note: I have updated post 202 with additional comments to make it easier to understand (I hope).

Yes 1950s were exiting and a defining decade for the Federation. Although we have so much of the 1940s to post beforehand.

Elvis and Rock and Roll, h... we keep him in America, for why we need him when we have Amalia Rodrigues. Later on we too have our own Rock and Roll, although I heard a rumor that a certain "bugs" were seen touring the Federation in the 1960 on their world tour.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Ah, my friend that is a very good question. One that we will soon discuss, but as a preview "after the war Portugal decided that it no longer needed to fear Spain and stopped providing them with subsidized oil, food and other goods". In addition it presented the Spanish with the bill for all the years of 'gifts' and expected full payment with interest. The Spanish were shocked at the cumulated debt and it payment wrecked Spanish finances, subsequent negotiations with the IMF and world bank (USA) would of resulted in Spain being worse off. The Portuguese then decided to help the Spanish write off their external debt both to them and to rest of world. In return some real estate in Africa was turned over to the Portuguese to manage and administer.

Oh? Portugal didn't make a bid for the Canarias? Given their Naval build up it seems like something they would have done.

 

[Rui]

although I heard a rumor that a certain "bugs" were seen touring the Federation in the 1960 on their world tour.

The Beatles!

 

[Lusitania]

Another great update!

I really enjoy reading both the original "O Renascimento de um Império" and its very detailed revision since it shows such a weird but believable world. I know the revision hasn't gotten to it quite yet, but my favorite part from the first edition was when Portugal managed to defeat Napoleon almost entirely by itself while Britain just awkwardly laughed in the background and pondered how long they would stay as the “superior” member of the partnership.

Thank you very much I really enjoying writing both, when I say I, I really mean we for in both TL I am thrilled to be partnered with great other Alt hist enthusiasts who are either helping writing (rebirth) or contributing (luso).

When we decided to re-write the 2nd edition of the Rebirth we decided to do it in a much in a more in-depth way providing readers with explanation and backstory so that country seems capable of making the changes or actions in the future.

In a similar way that is how I have approached the lusophone TL for nothing is forced and all capabilities are carefully built one on top of another.

But in a way, I kinda like Lusophone World the most because it's such a good underdog story. Around the 1920’s, Portugal is basically done as a legitimate world power in the eyes of most of the world. They missed so many chances by now that the world totally dismisses them. And then suddenly, they get this huge injection of pure, concentrated super competence and everything changes. They noticeably shift the balance of WW2 after just a few years of prior development and these changes only grow as time passes.

They get involved and gain in a terrible Indian Civil War and Dutch East Indies War. They presumably keep and probably expand on Macau during whatever chaos erupts in China during its own civil war. They change the landscape of Southern Africa with their unprecedented development of Angola and Mozambique and most likely get entangled in some kind of conflict with South Africa which they again win.

Yes the Portuguese slowly built themselves up and along the way were joined by few other countries to construct a third factor in the Cold War it is both thrilling as well as unexpected.

Iotl two major detriments to Portugal maintaining its few Asian possessions was the emergence of united India and Indonesia. While in the end Portuguese Timor was distinct enough from Indonesia that it was able to become independent the same could not be said about Portuguese India. So as have indicated the two countries path towards independence will take a sharp detour (there was actually enough actual historical facts in the late 1940s in both countries to allow for the slight change in circumstances to achieve a much more desirable outcome for the Portuguese.)

As for Southern Africa yes that was so much fun to see it develop for Portuguese own benefit instead of British or South African benefit. As for South Africa it provided such a rich and potential alternative it was too tempting not to use it. For those familiar with South Africa and its implementation of limiting emigration from Europe after war and apartheid to maintain Afrikaner control, think of how they would react to the open and inclusive policies of the 1930s - 1940s and then to the federation with one person one vote. Well you can imagine how diplomacy and trade going to be affected.
All of this though actually worked so much in Portuguese favor and not in SA favor. More on that in future.

I can already imagine students in future college courses discussing how much of a sudden shock this new Portuguese Federation will have on the world. I mean really, of all nations to shake things up on the geopolitical stage, who would have expected minuscule Portugal of all countries?!

No one would of foreseen it, on a side note will be courses on some other related discussions
“how American foreign policy influenced the rise of the federation.”

Or the Oxford course “ Britain collaborator or contributor to the rise of the Federation: Britain role in the development of the federation”.

Speaking of Macau, what shenanigans will Portugal get involved with in East Asia if I may ask? Will they help restore the fortunes of Japan after the US ends the occupation? Will Macau get expanded and will they get Hainan Island like in O Renascimento de um Império? Will Portugal get involved in the Korean War if it happens? What about the Vietnam War?

Good questions and without spoiling upcoming posts here are some previews

Macau - like iotl the Portuguese controlled Chinese several islands beside Macau before war. But difference is that Macau was spared Japanese occupation during war here with declaration of war they were brutally occupied and it’s native Chinese population included many who had fled Hong Kong were attacked and died. (From 1942-1944 when Portugal was neutral the Portuguese ships with both “Portugal” written on sides and on deck would sail to Macau with food and supplies (bribe Japanese with some oil and tungsten) in return these ships bought out all Portuguese citizens except essential staff along with portugalized Chinese. In last month of neutrality Portugal sent several submarines to Macau to withdraw last troops and officials alongside Portuguese flag and coat of arms.)

Following war end the Portuguese navy proudly sailed into Macau harbor and took possession of the colony and re-occupied the Chinese islands. (Iotl Americans liberated Macau and the Portuguese never got the Chinese islands back). So here we have best opportunity for growth. More in that in future.

Hainan island - different development for island but not the Portuguese, for the end of WW2 provided very limited opportunity to grab territory, it was done but only in special circumstances.

Japan and South Korea - they marched to the American drum beat for most of the 1950s to 1970 when they developed their own independent foreign policy (that pretty much true iotl or ittl)

Vietnam and south east Asia - in some ways developments and events follow similar to iotl and in other ways very different. (Vietname war occurs, outcome different, same with south east Asia in some ways very similar while others be different as additional countries in region complicate things and provide new opportunities.)

What I can say is things seem to go Portuguese way and Portuguese do definitely benefit from the new dynamics.

 

[Lusitania]

Oh? Portugal didn't make a bid for the Canarias? Given their Naval build up it seems like something they would have done.

When we consider what could of been accomplished and what was out of bounds we need to understand what was considered to be integral parts of Spain and what was colonies. The canaries have been settled by Spanish since mid 15th century and always been considered part of Spain. While the territory on the African continent been considered colonies or at least less integrated parts of Spain. Heck the negotiations were derailed for close a month due to the Portuguese insisting Olivença be part of exchange. Finally the Portuguese relented on Olivença and negotiations were agreed.

So since we trying to maintain the TL on the realistic side the canaries were not available.

The Beatles!

Funny they don’t look like bugs, I was told that some musical bugs had toured the federation.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

When we consider what could of been accomplished and what was out of bounds we need to understand what was considered to be integral parts of Spain and what was colonies. The canaries have been settled by Spanish since mid 15th century and always been considered part of Spain. While the territory on the African continent been considered colonies or at least less integrated parts of Spain. Heck the negotiations were derailed for close a month due to the Portuguese insisting Olivença be part of exchange. Finally the Portuguese relented on Olivença and negotiations were agreed.

So since we trying to maintain the TL on the realistic side the canaries were not available.

I meant the ship...

 

[Lusitania]

I meant the ship...

Ah my bad. While a heavier ship like the canarie was considered at one time by the time the Portuguese were in negotiations with the Spanish, the Portuguese navy was actually being hard pressed to maintain all its ships and in the 1950s many of its older ships were either decommissioned, sold or scrapped. So while a large ship could of fulfilled the Portuguese navy desire to project power they had decided to concentrate on aircraft carrier with largest other ships being destroyers.

 

[Gintoki Sakata]

I just got caught up reading this timeline and I really like how Portugal manage to modernize under a progressive Estado Novo regime. I may be a bit wrong on this one I thought some of the early figures of the period were real people until I realized they're made up like João Semedo who shares the same name as the physicist and communist politician.

Just a few questions:

1. In this timeline, Marcelo Caetano is still prominent in the Estado Novo regime, what are Francisco Craveiro Lopes and Américo Tomás doing in this timeline? I know António Rapazote was the OTL Minister of Interior/Head of PIDE during the regime's last years.
2. How would the superhero comedy film "Capitão Falcão" be fared under this alternate Estado Novo regime? Is there a chance that there would be a Estado Novo-themed superhero comic or film serial later in the 50s or 60s to instill patriotism and Portuguese ideals among the youth? This is the only Portuguese movie I've seen and it's a very funny take on this period of Portuguese history. My favorite scenes were the "Malditos Comunas!" scene at the bank, the "Sou Português!" scene where Capitão had a dream with King Afonso I and the "Angola é Nossa!" scene when he beats General Gaviota at the end. Maybe there can be a TTL Capitão Falcão shared universe that involves time traveling through periods of Portuguese history and spying in addition to the superhero-style comedy relief.
   

 

[Lusitania]

I just got caught up reading this timeline and I really like how Portugal manage to modernize under a progressive Estado Novo regime. I may be a bit wrong on this one I thought some of the early figures of the period were real people until I realized they're made up like João Semedo who shares the same name as the physicist and communist politician.

Just a few questions:

1. In this timeline, Marcelo Caetano is still prominent in the Estado Novo regime, what are Francisco Craveiro Lopes and Américo Tomás doing in this timeline? I know António Rapazote was the OTL Minister of Interior/Head of PIDE during the regime's last years.
2. How would the superhero comedy film "Capitão Falcão" be fared under this alternate Estado Novo regime? Is there a chance that there would be a Estado Novo-themed superhero comic or film serial later in the 50s or 60s to instill patriotism and Portuguese ideals among the youth? This is the only Portuguese movie I've seen and it's a very funny take on this period of Portuguese history. My favorite scenes were the "Malditos Comunas!" scene at the bank, the "Sou Português!" scene where Capitão had a dream with King Afonso I and the "Angola é Nossa!" scene when he beats General Gaviota at the end. Maybe there can be a TTL Capitão Falcão shared universe that involves time traveling through periods of Portuguese history and spying in addition to the superhero-style comedy relief.

Hi there and welcome, I am glad more and more people are enjoying the TL for in the later part of the 1940s is when we really start having a bigger divergence in the TL and can start seeing many differences.

Now to your questions

1) There were two (made up) people introduced at the beginning of the TL; the Minister of Finance Pedro Magalhães Mai and Minister of Defense João Semedo. They were introduced to provide the Anglo connection and to give the Estado Novo the progressive element along with the ability to limit Salazar's damaging policies. For the rest of the people in the TL we have used real individuals, the difference is that reforms in education, along with a modernized bureaucracy where many officials in the beginning were either replaced or sent overseas to Britain in the 1920s to learn in British government ministries. This allowed for a more progressive government to develop over time. Of course the most crucial element was the assassination of Salazar which removed the last conservative element within the government. This allows us to bring in real people whose lives have been changed and in turn faced with new directions and with new opportunities are able to act differently in a different type of Portugal.
2) Marcelo Caetano did start his government career as Minister in charge of Portuguese Youth as iOTL, except that in iTTL Portugal the PY is bigger and much more important part of the Portuguese identity and molding of young minds so his task become more important, we still see him coming to the forefront of the government in a very crucial period.
3) Both Francisco Craveiro Lopes and Américo Tomás stay in the military and later become appointed delegates in the legislature but do not become President. While Portugal estado Novo had two presidents the federation only had one before the Republic was abolished but we getting head of ourselves here and this is a discussion left for another day. iOTL both men were in reality figureheads that allowed Salazar and then Caetano to do as they pleased. So no political big loss there.
3) I had forgotten about Capitão Falcão, while it was only made recently as a satirical comedy it does allow us to delve more deeply in the propaganda and communication ideology of Estado Novo.

The Portuguese radio and film industry was much more advanced than iOTL, As noted before the Portuguese government in the early 1930s realized how important it was to have a platform to relay their message. While newspapers had existed for decades in Portugal their reach was limited by economics and education limitation (illiteracy). So the government turned to two new mediums radio and movies as way to get its message out. As we indicated by mid 1940s every province including overseas provinces had at least one radio station that Portuguese could listen to. The government also supported the ramping up of the film industry with grants and subsidies. They provided support for homegrown production of radios and movie equipment result in a variety of programs and movies to the consumers. New movie theatres were built in cities and major towns, they even went as far as hiring traveling movie crews who visited isolated villages to show movies to the more isolated and illiterate population. Each crew had a geographical zone they travelled showing movies every week. Police escort provide assurance of government approval, local magistrate and officials along with the local priests read from carefully crafted government invitations to attend the movies to the locals. Pubs and other local activities were shut down so ALL people could join the local magistrates, officials, business leaders and priests in watching the movies. The first time there was much suspicion by the locals who many had never seen a movie. Special emphasis was made to both priest and local officials if attendance was not over 90%. For each movie or even all radio program had a moral emphasis, locals overcoming adversaries and of course government providing assistance or support. It showed how the new ideas and development was making Portugal better.1

During the war and then afterwards many films and serial series were made about Portuguese dashing "heroes" who attacked Nazi, communists, and anarchists (sometimes they were men and sometimes they were women). As economy grew so too did the money available (both privately and government Assistance). As the amount of money available grew so too did the number of movies and serial shows. The new genre was the serial shows that were either broadcast on radio or shown in theaters on weekend afternoon. Many of the shows were 1/2 or max hour and would play on radio or theatres in the 1940s. A new episode would either be broadcast on radio or shown in theatres each week. Sometimes theaters would show previous week's episode in morning and then new episode in afternoon. Theatres became very busy and popular with both kids and families. Portuguese cartoons were shown alongside other imported cartoon such as Disney. The serial shows were either action adventure or "tele novelas" with theaters having several showing of each on both Saturday and Sunday, they were very cheaply priced with a very important 5-10 minutes of propaganda shown in beginning and singing of national anthem at start. Theatres were packed with kids, teens and even families partaking in the shows. The number of theatres were also very large compared to iOLT. This is very similar to the American theatres that had weekly shows.

Portuguese major studios were also very busy with number of Portuguese movies available to be seen ranging from 1-3 a month plus that number of carefully screened foreign movies. Many historical movies such as the 1415 conquest of Ceuta released in 1950 involved thousands of cast members. (think it was made to commemorate something about Portuguese flag being hoisted in Ceuta on December 1 1949). The other huge ones were Voyage of Vasco da Gama, and of course the Batalha de Aljubarrota.

In terms of superheroes there were a slew of Portuguese comics available and Portuguese movies and series featured many of them. My favorite was the 1950s series "Adventuras no Espaço" in which Portuguese special forces travelled through the solar system protecting Portuguese citizens from communists and other enemies of the Federation. The series envisioned lunar cities, orbital stations, Mars colonies and outposts in other places such as asteroids and moons of the gas planets in the 21st century. Portuguese Special affects were pretty primitive back then but the show provided youth with the idea that one day Portuguese would be in space. Pretty far fetched right, oh hold on they did go into space. hm.

As for King Alfonso I, we have a special place for him in the Federation, we just need to wait a little for that, ok.

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1) the 1939 movie "O Rio" was set in northern Portugal and featured a typical remote town situated alongside a river called "Rio Salvo". The movie starts with the town mayor receiving a generator, radio and a small fridge. We then get a lot of gossip and much discussion about the "big shot" and fancy new stuff. The mayor then surprises everyone by putting the radio in the local pub/coffee shop and people soon come to like the entertainment, serial programs and the news. We cut to few months later and we hear on the radio the government warning about potential flooding along northern part of country, due to high river levels the risk of flooding us very high and that all people should take precautions. We cut to another scene where town officials are planning the building up the villages dikes and trying to best weather the storm. As the rains continue and river rise the town battles valiantly and the village is in jeopardy of being flooded. As things get worse the mayor send a young a boy to ride to the next major town with a telephone and advise the government they need help. As the village awaits help the water keeps rising and the dike is on verge of being destroyed and all the villagers loosing their homes. Just as people exhausted and tired have lost hope the boy returns leading a convoy of help, With the boy are hundreds of men, construction equipment and trucks including soldiers and locals from other villages and towns.

The movie ends with the village being saved and the villagers receiving really good news from government officials, a new dam is announced upriver to control flooding and provide electricity to the village and whole area.

 

[Lusitania]

Diary entry August 15 2019

Location: Safehouse undisclosed

I apologize for lack of communication for this last year. For it has been a very difficult and dangerous time for those who oppose the Federation and its Allies, the Americans are of little to no help and requesting their help would get me nothing but an early death. I thought I was safe and attempted to keep myself inconspicuous as much as possible trying to blend in but danger does not always come from were you expect it. I had gotten a job at a local garage and worked there for several months thinking things were good, then two women showed up with some car trouble. At first they seemed American but something about them put me off and one asked where I was from I stated I was born in Germany but grew up in Midwest. They stated they were born in Krakow Poland. That was my first warning, but nothing more happened and they left. I was jumpy for two days expecting them to return but by the 3rd day I thought my paranoia was getting to me when suddenly a Chinese couple arrived at the gas station and I knew they were not here for gas or car repairs. Soon as they saw me the chase was on and bullets was flying.

The firefight caused an explosion in the gas station and I was able to make my escape and get to my goto bag I was out of town. it was two days later that I ran into the two girls whom I figured to be Ukrainian secret service agents and not Polish. For the next two months we played a very exhausting and tiring game of cat and mouse till the firefight in Bismark. I took two shots but managed to kill one of the Ukrainian agents and wound the Nationalist Chinese agents before I made my escape. Luckily I was able to reach my contact and was taken to a safe house for medical attention. I have since then moved to other safe houses but still not fully recovered from my injuries. Now all I can do is sit and wait and continue surviving.

Now you probably wondering what made me break my silence, it was the Operation Dragoon documentary on History Channel commemorating the 75th anniversary of the start of the liberation of Southern France. The way the Americans glossed over the Portuguese participation and failed to mention the crucial role the Portuguese 2nd division played in defeating the Germans at the battle of Montelimar. That battle was instrumental in weakening the German forces in Southern France and Southern Germany. In the Federation we were taught how Operation Dragoon was the first major battle for the Portuguese since WWI and how it had shown the world that Portuguese were equal to anyone else. several movies including the best one "Restauração" released in 1958 portrayed the war as the stepping stone to the self confidence and determination. After leaving Federation I travelled in Europe and Portuguese contribution was clearly mentioned in French, German or British history books but not here in the US.


I do not know how soon this letter will get out but hopefully soon. In meantime my collogues continue their work of publishing the Portuguese 20th and 21st century history.

CLIP


PS To those who already read post 214, (previous post) I invite you to read it again as I have elaborated on several points.

 

[Rui]

More diary posts.
I actually really enjoy them, it brings some mystery to the story, on why is he posting these diaries, is just one of my many questions about him. Can’t wait to eventually find out.

 

[Lusitania]

Due to some readers questions regarding several major events that happened after the war I decided it would be easier for readers if we were to publish the World Section next an then return to the other sections such as economics, Security and Health & Education. The World Section is divided into 3 sections (Europe, Middle East & Asia and South America with special emphasis on Brazil and Argentina).

1940 – 1949 (cont.)

The Post War Years 1945 – 1949 (cont.)​

World (1 of 3)​

Europe​

Europe in general became divided between the two major powers in the world; US and Soviet Union. The US provided financial assistance to the democratic governments recovering from the effects of the war.[1] The Soviets and its communist satellite states refused American assistance. Europeans suffered from starvation and unemployment while at same time many of the countries involved in the war were in ruins. The struggle between communism and rest of Europe came to the forefront in 1948 with the outbreak of what became known as the Iron Curtain Crises.

Iron Curtain Crises​

The Iron Curtain Crises occurred between 1948 and 1949 as part of the greater Communist – Capitalist European War. In many ways, it was a continuation the issues left unresolved by WWII. The Soviets installed communist governments in the countries they occupied (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria). In Greece a civil war between communists and Nationalist Greeks had been raging though the country since the end of WWII.

In 1948 with USA and British help the Greek government finally defeated the communist rebels trying to overthrow it. Meanwhile Germany, Czech and Austria had been freed of Allied occupation and held their first elections. In Germany, the Communist party captured 25% of the votes in the Federal Election but were excluded from the government. While in state elections it fared much better capturing enough votes to form the government in the states of Mecklenburg and Sachsen in the east. The two communist state governments began a tug of war with the Federal German government in Berlin. In the Czech Republic, the Communist party under Klement Gottwald won the election and began implementing many projects such as nationalizing companies and demanded the removal of all the American troops in the country. When people’s rights began to be restricted and some newspapers closed, people demonstrated against the government in the streets. The demonstrators were attacked by government supporters while the police were told to not interfere. Many police officers and government workers joined in a general strike against the government. Feeling under siege Klement Gottwald formed an alliance with the communist leader of Slovakia, Alexander Dubček, leading to the infiltration of thousands of Slovaks into Czech Republic to support the communist government. Daily battles between government supporters and opposition members brought the capital and many cities to a standstill. On 5 June 1948, Czech President Edvard Benes declared a state of emergency and requested US and British troop assistance in establishing order. Communist armed supporters stormed the presidential palace and killed the president and most of the people inside. The US and British forces moved cautiously into the country without much opposition especially in the south and west. When they arrived in Prague they were attacked by communist forces. After six days of fighting the city was liberated but Klement Gottwald and his supporters fled east. It was at the city of Olomouc that the communists established a government and requested assistance from other communist neighboring countries.

Communist “volunteers” from Hungary, Slovakia and Poland poured into Czech Republic to fight the “Imperialist invasion”. The Americans and British armed and trained Czech citizens also to fight against the communists. In Germany, the state governments of Mecklenburg and Sachsen received weapons from the Soviet Union via Poland and armed themselves for a class struggle. On 1st of July, communist Germans hiding in the Berlin soviet zone of occupation launched an attack on the German Federal government trying to topple it and proclaim a communist state.[2] The attackers made good progress at first but as they got closer to the temporary government sector they encountered significant German and Allied resistance. The German forces and police then moved to surround the communist insurgents. Within three hours the communists had been surrounded and were confined to three buildings half a kilometer from the soviet zone of occupation which had been blockaded.

Allied and German forces also poured into the two German states Mecklenburg and Sachsen moving against state officials and communist supporters. News of the German military action and the attempted communist coup against the federal government split Germany. Some communists in other states supported the communist aims while others deplored any and all military action on both sides. For the next few months, parts of Germany were under siege with communist “volunteers” streaming into the communist states from Poland, meanwhile the fledging German military received thousands of war veterans. On 5th of October German forces captured the last area of Leipsic and four days later surrounded the last major city in Sachsen, Dresden. To the north in Mecklenburg, they captured Neubrandenburg on 20th of October cutting off direct contact to Poland for the communists and continued naval patrols limited the communists from getting supplies by sea.

Missing in all the military action was Soviet involvement which had been absent although Moscow did make an official statement stating it would honor mutual defense treaties with Poland, Slovakia and Hungary if they were invaded. For the remainder of 1948 the areas under communist control in both Czech and Germany decreased but communist insurgent attacks throughout Europe including France, Italy and especially the affected countries continued with government, military buildings and personnel targeted. As Christmas approached Europeans worried of an expanding war wearily went about their everyday lives. On 25th of December, the communists struck at not only civilians for first time but in what people considered a sanctuary. The Christmas day massacre was actually 20 bombings and attacks on worshippers while they attended masses. Over 1,000 people were killed in the attacks in Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy and Czech along with over 8,000 injured. Once the shock of the attacks wore off the symbolism of the attacks and their location galvanized the Europeans like nothing before.

General public attitude turned against the communists and those that did not renounce the attacks and their membership in the communists were renounced and police swooped down on them arresting them as members of a terror organization. Over the next six months in major sweeps all over western Europe thousands of communists were arrested and charged. Several major militant cells including bomb making equipment and explosives were found severely weakening the communist parties and more importantly robbing the insurgents fighting in Germany and Czech of moral and political support. In the communist countries news of the Christmas day attacks slowly spread and support for the governments reached all-time low. Worker productivity decreased, accidents and sabotage in many companies and government ministries spiked. In the Polish city of Gdansk major disruption by workers was met with severe police actions but here too police officers secretly helped the workers. By 3 April 1949 the revolt in Poland had spread to Warsaw and Krakow as well as other cities. By 15th of April the government was under siege and only the most diehard communists continued supporting the government. On 20th of April with the Polish communist government of Bolesław Bierut on the brink of collapse, Stalin ordered the Polish government to declare martial law and order the military to establish order within the country. The Polish army moved against the demonstrators in Warsaw and other Polish cities. While there were a few small battles between the most diehard anti-communists the Polish army prevailed and by 1 June 1949 the communists in Poland were back in control. Over 1 million Polish citizens fled the communist clampdown before the Polish government had been able to re-establish border controls.

In Slovakia, Hungary and other Soviet Satellites there were also many revolts and demonstrations against the communists but nothing on the scale of Poland. Regardless the Communist governments clamped down on any perceived opposition. By beginning of summer 1949 over 500,000 people had fled Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria into neighboring democratic European countries. During the Iron Curtain Crises Josip Tito leader of Yugoslavia afraid the war would spread to Yugoslavia declared Yugoslavia’s independence from both Soviet and the western Allied alliance.

The growing Soviet threat to Europe led several of Europe’s major powers along with USA and Canada to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 4 May 1949. Portugal became one of 12 initial signatories. The other signatories were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Czech, UK and USA.[3] In July Portugal participated in the Vienna Refugee conference to deal with the more than 1.5 million refugees from communist Europe.[4]

UK​

The Labor party won the election of 1945 and began a program of nationalizing key industries. The British war debt put a heavy burden on the British and they were forced to request US assistance. The US assistance put pressure on the British Sterling resulting in its weakening and a spike in consumer goods prices and rationing of basic staples such as bread rationing from 1946 - 1948. In 1946, the Portuguese and UK agreement provided the UK economy with a huge boost as British companies received substantial orders for British manufactured goods for the growing Portuguese economy. In many cases the orders for the Portuguese market was the only thing keeping these British companies afloat as demand in Britain was very weak. In the late 40s several British politicians and citizens became concerned with many of the British companies dependent on Portuguese market establishing manufacturing plants in Portugal. In some cases, this was followed by the closure of their British plant and the migration of their workers to Portugal too.

Spain​

The end of the war left Spain without any ideological friends in Europe as its relationship with Portugal soured. The Spanish economy continued to suffer especially when in comparison to Portugal. The reduction of the Portuguese subsidies hurt the Spanish economy while at the same time many Spanish businessmen demanded that the Spanish government renegotiate what they saw as the unfavorable Iberian Pact which they felt favored the Portuguese. In July 1945 when the Spanish demanded re-negotiation of the Iberian Pact, they were shocked by Portugal demands the elimination of all special “pricing” subsidies to Spain. When Spain refused the Portuguese abruptly cancelling all negotiations and gave notice of terminating the Iberian Pact instead.

The end of the war finally provided the Portuguese with the ability to stop supporting the Spanish economy and let Spain find its own way. The Portuguese government wanted to establish a new Iberian Pact based on mutual respect, diplomatic and economic ties. That entailed eliminating all subsidies and support to Spain. The Portuguese offered to provide Spain with a 200 million loan, so it could invest in infrastructure and industry and kickstart its economy. The Spanish so long used to the Portuguese accommodating attitude were shocked by the new Portuguese attitude. Negotiations between Spain and Portugal in November 1945 broke down due to differences in attitudes and expectations between the two countries.

Spanish inflation rose, fuel prices doubled, and the cost of many items increased sharply due to depreciating Spanish currency and stop in Portuguese subsidies. Worse the Spanish fiscal position worsened in 1946 when the Spanish debt to Portugal started accruing regular interest rates and regular payments were required. Spanish government was forced to cut expense and increase taxes to repay Portuguese debt. The Spanish government and newspapers responded to the economic and fiscal crises by blaming Portugal for many of the current problems facing the country and Portugal’s relationship with Spain sank to new low forcing the country to put its military on alert and increase Naval patrols.

Without Portuguese subsidized prices Spain was forced to purchase both manufactured goods and raw materials as well as fuel and food from US and other countries but at much higher prices and soon Spain’s foreign reserves began depleting very fast, in meantime the percentage of the Spanish budget needed to service its huge external debt accounted for over 40% of government revenue. In 1947, Spanish government once again decreased government expenditures and increased taxes in an attempt to balance the budget at same time it imposed rationing as it reduced the purchase of many goods from abroad. This caused Spain economy to enter a depression and unemployment rose again after dropping over last four years.

In 1948 tension between Portugal and Spain increased again over the inability of Spain to pay the interest and principle due on its loans. Spain was on the verge of defaulting and Portugal refused to provide it with any assistance. Finally, Spain was able to secure emergency loans from French and English banks but at a very high interest rate. To make matters worse, Portuguese diplomats leaked copies of several internal French and British bank memos indicating they expected Spain to default and since their loans were secured by Spanish assets, they expected to make very large profits from the sale of those assets. This put additional pressure on the Spanish government to find a solution and caused Portugal and Spain to break off diplomatic relationship till spring of 1949. Meanwhile Spain attempted unsuccessfully to refinance its foreign debt.

In March 1949 the Spanish requested assistance from World Bank and the US but their terms were very harsh, and Spain would be required to grants its last colonies independence and still leave Spain with a large foreign debt. Franco initially refused but asked for additional time to negotiate so in June the European banks agreed to provide Spain with a six-month extension. Portugal which held 80% of Spain’s debt also agreed to provide Spain with a six-month extension.

During the summer of 1949, the Spanish debt issue loomed larger and default looked more likely than in 1948. Portugal initially let the Spanish and US negotiations take place but then in the middle of the negotiations provided an offer that did not increase Spain’s debt but instead economically resolved all of Spain’s debt problem to Portugal and European banks. In August Portugal and Spain entered into secret negotiations while Spain continued its public negotiations with USA and World Bank. Portugal offered to cancel all Spain’s debt held by Portugal as well as buy out the UK and French debt in return for Spain’s colonies in Africa.[5] The Spanish government were shocked at the Portuguese offer, for while it would resolve the Spanish debt problem the hardest part for the Spanish to accept was the fact they were being forced to accept the offer from their neighbor, Portugal, whom many Spanish still regarded as poorer of the two countries. As part of the agreement the Portuguese government demanded that Spain allow Portuguese troops to enter the Spanish colonies prior to the agreement being made public. The Spanish reluctantly agreed and signed the secret agreement. From 28 – 30 November 1949 Portuguese forces moved into the Spanish Morocco, Spanish Sahara and Spanish Guinea ahead of the public announcement of the agreement. Anticipating negative reaction in Spain to the agreement Portugal secretly ordered all non-essential personnel and family members of Portuguese diplomats out of Spain on 1st of December.[6]

On 1 December 1949 Portugal and Spain announced the reinstatement of the Iberian Pact and the transfer of all African territory to Portugal in return for the transfer of all Spanish debt to Portugal. Spanish troops were withdrawn from Africa and returned to Spain. On 7th of December as security in Spain became a problem Portugal pulled all its diplomats and remaining personnel from Spain using the excuse of Christmas holidays. On 15th of December as security of Portuguese citizens could no longer be guaranteed Portugal issued a notice to all Portuguese still in Spain to leave ASAP. The Spanish people reacted with shock and anger taking to the streets demonstrating their displeasure clashing with police. From 20 – 31 December 1949 Spanish cities were rocked by protests and demonstrations till Franco called out army to quell riots and demonstrations on 31st of December.

The US and rest of Europe were shocked by the agreement and the US government and France both objected to the agreement and demanded the return of the territories to Spain or placed under UN protection. When negotiations failed, they presented motions in the UN to condemn the Portuguese actions but before they could be voted on the Western World was thrust into the Korean incident and the motions were put on the back burner.

Rest of Europe​

Italy – Lost its colonies and was also forced to pay war reparations which while a burden to the country was not anywhere as severe as Germany’s. It was also not occupied. Italy started witnessing strong economic growth in the late 1940s which continued for the next decade.

France – In 1946 the fourth Republic was proclaimed, and France witnessed strong economic growth for the next decade but suffered political instability with a dozen governments during that time. In 1946 France became involved in the Indochina war of Independence against Vietnamese Communists.

Czech Republic – was the western part of the country of Czechoslovakia that had existed from 1919 to 1938. The Czech Republic gained its independence in 1947 but in 1848 elections the communists tried to seize power and establish a communist government and restrict personal rights and freedoms. This led to demonstrations by people and the communist crackdown on the demonstrators led to an armed struggle within the country and the start of the Iron Curtain Crises. In 1949 peace once again returned to the country and in an attempt to reduce tensions within the country all non-Czech nationalist were ordered to leave the country by end of 1949. The remaining Germans, Slovaks and Hungarians were forced to return to their country of origin or emigrate.

Soviet Union – During WWII the Soviets had lost about 55 million people with combat deaths about 11.5 and remaining civilian deaths.[7] The Soviet Union economy and its primary agricultural region were in ruins. Starting in 1946 it forced its satellite countries to provide food and minerals even if it left them facing starvation. In 1949 Soviets became the second country in the world to gain nuclear weapons when it exploded a nuclear weapon.

Germany – In the west and south its borders were returned to 1937 borders, in the east it lost Eastern Prussia to the Poland & Soviet Union and its borders with Poland were moved west to the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers. Austria independence was re-established; all Germans were expelled from Czech and Slovakia Republics and from the German lands given to Poland. Germany was forced to pay war reparations to UK, France, US and Soviets in the form of dismantled factories, forced labor and coal. The Allies and Soviet Union also removed intellectual property and patents from Germany.[8] In 1947 the Western Allies decided to unite their occupation zones into a single country called Federal Republic of Germany but with continued Allied troops stationed in the country. In 1948, the resolve and determination of the allies was tested with the election of communist state governments in two states bordering communist Poland. The communist insurrection and Iron Curtain Crises forced the German army and Allies to work together for first time.

Greece - At the end of the war when Soviet troops arrived along the Greek border with Bulgaria, the US and rest of western allies sent a very strong worded letter to Stalin advising him that Soviet troops were not to cross the border. Any idea of Soviets disregarding the warning was rapidly dismissed by the detonation of nuclear bombs over Japan. This of course did not prevent Soviets from smuggling weapons to Greek communists. From 1946-1948 the whole northern Greece was a battleground between nationalist Greek forces and Communist forces. The Greek communists seemed to be actually be gaining the upper hand till the Americans and British intervened by sending in troops to patrol the Greek and Bulgarian/Yugoslavia border while the American navy moved several ships into the Aegean Sea in support. The stalemate in Greece as only broken after the Xmas day bombing (although no bombing occurred in Greece). General public support in Greece like rest of Europe dissipated and desertion became problem for the communists. The result was that by middle of 1949 the Greek communist had lost 90% of the land they held and the last forces were defeated by end of that same year.

Soviet Satellites – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria the European countries liberated by the Soviets from the Nazis were made Soviet Satellite states with communist governments similar to one in Soviet Union. Stalin had two reasons to create the communist satellite states; first, it provided the Soviets with a buffer against invasion by European countries, after being invaded twice in the last 50 years, secondly was the spread of communism. These countries though suffered at the hands of the Soviets who after suffering unimaginable horrors at the hands of the Nazis wanted to make the world pay. Several of the satellite states (Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) had been in fact allies of the Nazis and participated in the invasion of Soviet Union. The Soviet Union imposed a huge economic burden on its satellite states forcing it to pay Soviet Union with agricultural, mineral, manufactured goods and forced labor regardless of the countries’ ability to pay and the undue hardship this caused its citizens.

[1] The only two western European countries that did not receive American assistance were Portugal and Spain. Portugal rejected American assistance stating it did not need it while Spain which had remained neutral did not qualify for assistance.

[2] The western Allies had unified their three parts of Berlin and turned it over to Germany as its Capital. Meanwhile the Soviets had refused and continued to occupy a quarter of the city.

[3] The imposition of Communism on the Soviet occupied Europe as well as continued animosity towards the west, including the “invasion” of communist into Germany and Czech and the use of military to squash popular uprising in Poland (directed by Russia) formed the basis for the Alliance.

[4] The USA agreed to take in the largest number of refuges 500,000 with Canada and Australia each accepting over 250,000. Portugal accepted 155,000 refugees while the remaining were accepted into Southern American countries, Australia, New Zealand and rest of Western Europe.

[5] The inclusion of Spain returning Olivenza, a county that Spain had taken from Portugal in War of 1801 and per the Vienna Conference in 1815 was to have been returned stalled the negotiations till Portugal dropped the return of Olivenza in September. On 5th of October Spain and Portugal signed the agreement but decided to delay its announcement till Portugal took possession of all Spanish colonies. The Portuguese offer was five times the amount that the British and French were offering Spain in their negotiations and left the Spanish government free of debt.

[6] American, French and US intelligence services reported on Portuguese-Spanish meetings, but all believed the Portuguese and Spanish had failed in their negotiations. It was only when the Portuguese began moving troops and security forces that they realized something was up. The Portuguese attempted to hide the deployment of troops and security forces with the announcement of the Atlantic Military Games. When the troops and security forces disembarked in Spanish Africa a frantic diplomatic effort was initiated but the Portuguese deployment continued and on 1 December 1949 the Spanish and Portuguese government publicly announced the agreement to a shocked world.

[7] iOTL the Soviets deaths were about 40 million, with 8.7 million combat deaths and remaining civilian deaths. iTTL the Germans were able to advance further both military and civilians deaths were much greater.

[8] In 1947 Portugal was also included in the war reparations program in return for elimination of German debt to Portugal and return of 150 tons of Nazi gold.

In this post I wanted to elaborate on the two main sections; Iron Curtain Crises and the Portuguese-Spanish confrontation. There were several major differences in the occupation of Europe at end of the war. The Soviets due to deeper penetration and harsher occupation Soviet Union did not advance as far west as they did iOTL. This coupled with mass surrendering of the German Easter Army to the western Allies along with the Western Allies not allowing Soviets to occupy eastern part of Germany left much anger in Soviet camp and resentment amongst communists. In 1946 the official version being told by the communists was that the Nazi were solely funded and supported by west to destroy the Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain crises has many elements of the communist uprising of Czechoslovakia iotl, the difference was American troops still in the vicinity and a weaker communist uprising. The Xmas massacre was a direct consequence of many communists dissolution at the progress of the revolt which they figured would of caused rest of Europe to fall to communist forces. The involvement of Italian, French and other western forces required a direct response they felt. Unfortunately for the communists it was the opposite and in some countries such as Italy being a communist or supporter of communism was akin to being a terrorist and subject to being imprisoned. It would take decades for the communists in Germany, France and Italy to recover and it was only in 1979 that communist party allowed to register.

The Portuguese - Spanish debacle had its origins in Spanish attitudes towards Portugal and Portuguese fears Spain along with Nazi would invade Portugal. To appease the Spanish Portuguese heavily subsidize the sale of food and oil to the Spanish during the war all on zero percent loans with very generous payment options. As the war progressed the subsidies were slowly reduced to the point at end of war they were complete illuminated. This caused the Spanish to become angry and alongside other areas of concern such as smuggling and exporting of portuguese industrial goods into Spain meant that its economy was actually weaker than iOTL at end of war. The Spanish attitude in renegotiating the Iberian Pact was the excuses the Portuguese needed to official terminate the agreement. This shocked the Spanish but what really shocked the Spanish was the new interest rates and repayment terms put a severe strain on Spanish finances coupled with the need to buy oil and grain at world prices put the country on road to bankruptcy. Not assisting the Spanish was the fact most of its profit and foreign reserves made during the war selling tungsten and other items to both Nazi Germany and Britain was tied up in London and Berlin. British were not in apposition to release the funds and the western allies (US) wanting to punish Spain for its part in supplying the Germans were very slow about dealing with German debt to Spain. Questions / Comments?

In two weeks on September 1 we will return with part 2 of the Post War world section (dealing with two important theatres the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.)​

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Dang, that was such a poorly thought out move by the communist agents that took part in the Christmas massacres. They've must have been desperate to think that such a idiotic idea would have turned out well for them.

While Spain probably had it coming, I can't help but feel a little sorry for them as with the rest of Europe for all their financial troubles. So much misery all around...and yet all this suffering provides many opportunities to the rascally Portuguese and I can't blame them for their shrewdness - they need all the advantages they can get if they want to become a strong Federation in the same pond with the USA and Soviets.

Lol I'm sure that the Moroccans will be very "pleased" with having a resurgent Portugal re-entering North Africa in a position of power again.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Is Spain finally a colony of Portugal?

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Is Spain finally a colony of Portugal?

Calling Spain a colony of Portugal might be overdoing it, but I would say that Spain will limp noticeably behind Portugal for the foreseeable future and be forced to engage in economic transactions with Portugal that will have the smaller nation benefit more than the larger, yes.