A Lusophone World

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

World (cont)

South America - Argentina​

In 1951 Peron was re-elected for his second term with a 15% lead over his nearest rival. Unfortunately, the country was forced to say goodbye to Eva Peron who died of cancer in 1952. The country witnessed immense sadness and hundreds of thousands paid their respect as her casket lay in mourning for 2 weeks. Finally, on 15th of August she was given a state funeral and laid to rest in a new national monument which was only completed and opened to public on 15 August 1955 and her embalmed body able to be viewed. Over 1 million people visited her monument that first year. Her charity and other political organizations outlasted Eva and continued to both help those in need and promote the values she valued and worked tirelessly on behalf right to her deathbed.

Eva Peron Funeral attended by over 3 million people in Buenos Aires on 15 August 1952​

In 1952 Peron and his government found themselves once again in a precarious situation, despite the support from the Federation its foreign currency reserves had been virtually depleted. Aggravating the problem Argentina’s agricultural exports which accounted for ¾ of exports were cut in half due to drought and bad weather. President Peron faced with prospect of having to either cut imports which would hamper Argentina’s industrialization and development as well as impose austerity measures looked for alternatives. In an attempt to solicit help he travelled to several countries including Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, US and several European countries (Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal) in the spring of that year. In his tour he promoted investment in Argentina especially industrial investment and sought support from the IMF and US. While he was successful in signing several agreements with American companies to invest in Argentina such as Ford and John Deere in establishing plants in Argentina, he was less successful in getting help from the US government and IMF. Both of whom placed stringent requirements to providing any support which Peron rejected.

On his European leg he continued to be well received by business community with signing of more agreement with several major companies such as Daimler who agreed to build a truck manufacturing plant in Argentina. His last stop was in Lisbon and once again Peron hoped the Portuguese could provide a way to stabilize Argentina and allow it to continue growing. Since 1948 its economy had been growing at 2% a year due in large part to the Portuguese support but even the Federation was restricted in what it could provide. The Portuguese were not without ideas, but Peron was not very enthusiastic about implementing them. The Portuguese delegation composed of government, financial and industry representatives presented a plan to provide Argentina with economic stimulus and revive its foreign reserves situation, it had the following principles:

• Diversify Argentina exports so it was not reliant on agriculture for majority of its exports
• Increase oil and gas production to provide domestic supply and reduce or eliminate oil imports.
• Increase electrical power generation and distribution using domestic sources of Hydroelectricity and coal.
• Provide the government with an immediate foreign cash infusion and regular revenue over long period.
• Double Argentina’s growth within three years and provide sustainable growth and employment away from major urban centers.

When the Portuguese presented the plan to Peron and his delegation there was much doubt on the Argentina side that any project could be implemented quickly enough to not only stabilize Argentina’s government finances but also result in the stated economic objectives. A crucial component of the plan of course was Argentina’s government commitment and implementation of the plan. Argentina was rich in many natural resources but for most part mining played a small part in its economy. Following the 1947 Argentina – Portugal agreement, Peron had agreed to allow Portuguese mining companies to enter Argentina doing prospecting and exploratory work. Part of the agreement had been a guarantee that Argentina could not develop these resources either without compensating the companies involved in prospecting or develop them in partnership with the mining companies. The biggest deterrent in development was Argentina’s government insistence on developing the resources themselves while at same time lacking both the ability to buy out the companies or to develop the resources. The Portuguese companies had found deposits of iron ore, zinc, copper, gold, silver, uranium, coal and oil & gas in addition and were prepared to develop the resources. Another factor preventing the development was lack of proper mineral rights legislation in Argentina that provided exploration companies with legal protection to develop the resources discovered.

The Portuguese plan called for the Argentina government to both enact and strengthen several major legislations to protect the developers and prospecting companies. Everything of course boiled down to money and in total the consortium offered 500 million dollars to the Argentina government to buy the mining rights and develop the minerals they found (payable over 5 years). In addition, the companies would guarantee to employ 80% of their staff from Argentina and pay for infrastructure costs to develop the resources. Several Argentina partners had also been recruited such engineering companies, supply companies or junior mining companies. Lastly was the royalty fee paid yearly to government and the agreement that for the first 10 years would limit repatriation of profits out of Argentina. After some hesitation Peron agreed but demanded that all the companies be listed on the Buenos Aires stock exchange and that 20% of stock be able to be purchased on the exchange.

Animated by Portuguese agreement President Peron returned to Argentina where news of the agreement was denounced by the opposition parties especially Arturo Frondizi Ercoli of the Intransigent Radical Civic Union party. Peron was unfazed by his critics and implemented the mining and royalty legislation and the country over the next five years saw an increased economic picture as GDP gradually increase and by 1957 was over 6% a year.

Development of the country especially in the foothills of the Andes mountains caused a major shift in employment and job opportunities. From 1953 to 1957 over 40 mines were either expanded or started. Gold mines such as Cerro Vanguardia Mine in province of Santa Cruz and Veladero Gold Mine and the Pascua-Lama Mine in province of San Juan so that by end of decade Argentine had become a major producer of not only gold but also silver. In addition to gold and silver Argentina copper deposits soon became very important in the development of the country. Over 10 copper mines were in operation by end of decade producing over 1,000 tons of fine copper per year. Mines in the provinces Catamarca, Salta, San Juan and La Roija made Argentina the second largest copper producer in South America by the end of decade. Like the Portuguese the Argentineans refused to export the copper and the Cordoba copper refinery was started in 1959. Iron Ore was discovered in Rio Negro which made Argentina self-sufficient in Iron Ore for its steel mills and shipbuilding industries. The coal for both electricity generation and steel industry came from the Rio Turbio and Pico Quemado mines. Lastly oil industry in Argentina also witnessed a large investment, here the foreign investors signed agreements with Argentina largest oil producer and distributor YPF. From 1953 to 1959 oil discoveries in Salta and Neuquén provinces were discovered and oil production reached 100 million barrels by 1958.

Coinciding with the large boom in mineral and oil production was the governments initiative to electrify the country and great strides were made to both increase the electricity produced in Argentina as well as create a single national electricity distributor. During the 1950s a total of 10 hydroelectric dams were constructed for a total of 100 MW in power but most were small with the largest being Los Molinos dam with a 52 MW capacity. The country though turned to natural gas and coal as the main generating means with a total of 500 MW being generated by gas plants near Santa Fe, and Buenos Aires while Cordoba and Buenos Aires both had coal plants built near them. The biggest factor in both reducing Argentina foreign oil consumption and in assisting development was the large-scale electrical distribution enacted by the two main distributor SADI and SIP covered 90% of all cities and towns over 1,000 people and reached 60% of all rural customers. Slowly over the 1950s Argentina business were able to connect to the expanded energy grid and converted their oil backup generators not either natural gas or propane both of which was produced in Argentina.

The Buenos Aires stock market doubled during the decade with several of the major Argentina domestic players raising capital in the stock market to meet the development requirements of the country. Foreign investment in Argentina companies was limited to 40% and restrictions on repatriation of their investment during the decade restricted foreign investment to those investors with long terms plans.

Employment is Argentina rose considerably as the number of companies both foreign owned and domestic steadily grew, oil, gas and mineral exploration and mining also became large employers in the country. During the 1950s the population increased by 35% as emigration from Europe and neighboring countries added to the natural population growth. Agricultural production started being affected by the migration of thousands of young people to the large industrial cities as well as the mining and oil towns springing up around the mines and oil fields. This spurred an increase in mechanization on the farms, but labor shortages still plagued the industry forcing the government to recruit temporary workers from Paraguay and Bolivia. Meanwhile Argentina welcomed over 500,000 Europeans during the 1950s.

While Argentina economy continued to grow and provide a much-needed boost to the country, it actually grew by 69% during the decade Peron faced opposition from both left, Catholics and the right. The biggest divide was not ideology but between those who advocated violence and those who continued to believe they could defeat Peron eventually through elections. Those who advocated violence were situated both to the left and the right. Anti-Peron leftists and communist condemned and protested the government and those they saw as collaborators. Several bombings including the Cordoba plaza and Santa Fe cathedral bombings that left over a dozen dead were attributed to the communist and leftists factions of the country. After much public outcry and circumstantial evidence that was found by the police and investigators Peron reluctantly outlawed the communist party and any labor or other organization associated with communist party in 1954.[1] Government forces and police arrested thousands of supporters and demonstrators leading to the 1956 Argentina University Crises resulting in all of Argentina Universities being shut down and most of the staff and half the students being arrested. It would take till 1958 for all universities and colleges to be re-opened after all staff had been cleared in the end only half the staff was cleared to work. When the universities opened ability to organize and demonstrate in the universities was restricted and political observers were placed throughout the universities. Student activities were also curtailed.

Conservative Catholics grew increasingly concerned at the liberal policies that Peron supported including those who had given up on defeating Peron through the ballot box. During the 1950s overall Argentinian society was very splinted with forces arrayed against Peron from both right and left. This was especially true of the Argentinian military. While efforts during the late 1940s and early 1950s to rid the armed forces of communist elements the same was not true of its conservative Catholic elements. In 1954 Peron government was rocked by news of fighting between units in both army and air force. Emerging out of the power struggle was General Eduardo Ernesto Lonardi Doucet who led the faction of the military that supported Peron. From 1954 to 1955 about half of Argentina military leaders were either forced to retire or imprisoned as purges of those opposed to the government were pushed out, disappeared or imprisoned with many fleeing into exile. Unfortunately, during the upheaval in the military, the country suffered a great tragedy. On 5 July 1955 while President Peron delivered a speech to supporters at Plaza de Mayo two planes out on training exercise attacked the president and his supporters. Over 300 people were killed and 1,000 injured in the attack. Peron was one of those injured and he was rushed to the hospital where he was operated on for 2 hours.

Scene from the Plaza de Maya attack​

Following the attack and attempted assassination the country suffered what called Blackout “El Apagón” where thousands of leftwing, catholic or conservative Peron opponent was arrested. At same time Peron supporters attacked anyone who they felt was anti-Peron. This included priests, bishops, shop owners, unionists. During the three-month period over 30,000 were imprisoned, 2,950 people killed by Peronistas and police and over 10,000 fled Argentina.

President Peron, hospitalized for over six months, (he suffered a stroke two weeks after the attack) and all television and pictures were carefully orchestrated to only show his good side. He had a hard time talking and the government line was that his vocal cords had been damaged in the assassination attempt.

Realizing President Peron needed strong team to continue implementing his policies while he continued physiotherapy in the hopes of recovering. Copying on the Triunvante example from the Portuguese federation he appointed Rogelio Julio Frigerio as Finance & Economic Minister while he appointed a strong Peronist Domingo Mercante as Minister of Labor. To control the military and police he appointed General Eduardo Ernesto Lonardi Doucet as the Minister of Defense and Security. President Peron declared a state of emergency and postponed the elections till 1958. This brought about another round of protests that were broken up by the heavy hand of the military and police.

From 1955 to 1958 the country witnessed two different simultaneous events, growing economic development, increased employment and rising wages. While at the same time any small incident or protest was met with harsh measures by the security forces. The Argentinian Intelligence agency, “Secretariat of Intelligence”, and its informers and agents compiled large files on all those it felt were agitators and against the government. In 1958 the government released the last of those who had been detained in 1955, most of whom decided to emigrate instead of living under the Peron government.

In 1958 Peron who had gained some of his mobility back but still refused to speak in public ran for re-election vowing to continue the industrialization of the country and to eradicate all those who plotted to destroy the people’s rights and achievements. The government pointed to the achievements over the last two decades, the strong economic growth, continuing current account surplus (modest since 1956) strong alliance with both Brazil and Portuguese Federation to protect the country from foreign interference. Assisting Peron re-election was a split amongst the largest opposition party in Argentina the UCR. Two opposing camps appeared those who supported industrialization and development and those who advocated for a reset and Argentinian centered development. Alejandro Gómez led the development side while Ricardo Balbín led the Argentinian side. While several other smaller parties also participated the election was between Peron and the two UCR candidates.

The election was marred by several attacks but nothing that would be considered organized effort. Peron easily won with 55% of the vote while his party won 133 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The Peronists supporters celebrated the victory and Peron appeared in front of a huge crowd where his assistant read out a very congratulatory speech full of rhetoric and nationalist jargon. Peron looked upon the gathering with smile on his face and waved enthusiastic to the crowd before retiring. But in reality, he had become a prisoner of his own circumstances as he had lost power to the Triunvante and was less and less involved in the running of the country. Unbeknown to the public and even the majority of the Peronist supporters and party members Peron condition had deteriorated, and it became difficult for Peron to concentrate and make decisions. The election had taken a huge toll on Peron health and he was hospitalized for several weeks recuperating.

During the 1950s Argentina’s military strength grew as it modernized with Argentinian public and private companies growing to meet both military and industrial needs. Foremost amongst these companies was Fabricaciones Militares which manufactured majority of the army vehicles, arms and supplies, in the 1950s it started manufacturing vehicles for civilians as well as rolling stock for the railways and the Buenos Aires metro. While the two shipyards Astarsa and the Río Santiago Shipyard were building ships for the Argentinian navy. Fábrica Argentina de Aviones SA was Argentina’s primary aircraft manufacturer. In 1950 the National Atomic Energy Commission was established with the objective to do research on atomic energy. In 1957 it built the first research reactor in Latin America.

A cornerstone of Argentina’s foreign policy was linked to the Portuguese Federation which was its primary trading partner and biggest investor in Argentina. Portuguese companies working mostly through local companies provided many of the components and industrial goods in the country. Portuguese industrial companies became the dominant players in the Argentinian mining, electrical and petrochemical industries. Portuguese Embassy in Buenos Aires provided continued support to the Peron government with DGS having a whole wing of the Embassy. There is provided Argentina security forces with training and support.

[1] Communist Party officials and leaders both imprisoned and exiled continually repudiated the government investigation into the bombings. Many scholars also questioned the evidence and most importantly the role the Portuguese DGS provided the Argentinian police and investigators. With some even going as far as stating the attacks were the works or agents working for the government/Portuguese who wanted to remove the communist influence from the country.


The situation for Argentina compared to IOTL was two fold, the continuation of Peron (in name only) in charge of government fashioned in some ways like the federation provided continuation of both political and economic policies that was aligned with its two major allies: the Federation and Brazil. The most important in terms of economic and political was the Federation as Portuguese based companies (many were partially owned by European companies or individuals) had a huge part in Argentina's continued development. Peron is now a shadow of his former self with no actual power by the end of the 1950s he was still very much the figurehead of the country. Gone also were the revolutionary rhetoric and policies. The most important thing for the government was the continued economic growth, increased standard of living for the people of Argentina so they felt if not happy at least content. Investment in Education, health and infrastructure provided continued evidence of the advances the country was making.

How this will all progress into the 1960s will be interesting for Argentina/Brazil neighbors especially the smaller one such as Uruguay and Paraguay are very much being very careful and while the Americans are very friendly with them these counties government's know that any wrong movement could result in both countries government's being overthrown.

What of rest of South America, Chile which has been Argentina's adversary across the Andes and rest of the countries they in some ways are progressing like iOTL but unfortunately dark clouds are on the horizon as the 1960s will bring much conflict to the region.

The Argentina section would not of been possible without the assistance of @EnvarKadri. Thank you . Questions/ Comments?

This brings us to the end of the world section. These posts provided us with a snapshot (not complete, we will try to provide more information about world in the Foreign Relations section) of the world and what challenges and opportunities presented themselves to the Portuguese. We now will turn our attention to the internal workings of the Federation as we start Politics in two weeks on March 29.

Also wanted to thank those who both nominated and seconded this TL an Rebirth for the Turtledove awards. IT is a great way to gain both exposure and new fans to the TL. Obrigado.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Nice to see Brazil and Argentina getting their economies in better shape compared to OTL. This is a decidedly mixed deal for the US. On one hand, South America has more money to purchase american products, but these nations are politically becoming more independent from traditional american hegemony. Could make for some interesting american elections in the future.

 

[Sceonn]

How long will it take before the governments of two Nations mature enough to be immune to disastrous American meddling?

 

[Lusitania]

Nice to see Brazil and Argentina getting their economies in better shape compared to OTL. This is a decidedly mixed deal for the US. On one hand, South America has more money to purchase American products, but these nations are politically becoming more independent from traditional American hegemony. Could make for some interesting American elections in the future.

The economies of both countries is growing but the amount of cash for foreign purchases has not changed too much. The high value of both the Brazilian and Argentinian currencies meant that their exports were expensive and the items being manufactured were for domestic consumption which were meant to reduce demand for Americans goods. Now enter the Europeans who seeing the Portuguese bartering with the Brazilians and Argentinians decided to enter the market. through their Portuguese subsidiaries they begin selling products to the two South American companies. This is a win win for the Portuguese whose manufacturing increases to not only produce domestically but also for export. While the Americans are left out without any presence in the Federation. The two South American countries enacted different exchange rates with consumer goods at the very high end while manufacturing machinery at the low end. Hence the use of barter to get around the exchange rate difficulties. An example was that Portuguese/British appliances were 1/2 the cost of similar American appliances.

This of course did not to reduce diplomatic tensions with the US and both Ambassadors repeatedly attacked the South American governments actions as anti-American. The American Ambassador to Argentina Willard Leon Beaulac (1956 to 1960 ) was so angry and condescending to the Argentinian government that he was declared persona non grata in 1960. This coincided with the diplomatic incident in which he was wounded in an attack while meeting a business colleague in Buenos Aires. When he recovered in Buenos Aires hospital he was told to leave and the USA and Argentina were without ambassadors till 1962.1

The issue though soon was forgotten as Latin America exploded in a wave of communist guerrillas which by the beginning of the 1960s were operating in Columbia, Venezuela, Peru, Central America and even Dominican Republic. While Cuba held the American and even world attention for most of the decade.

1 The incident occurred when Ambassador Beaulac met with a CIA operative to receive pictures of an incapacitated President Peron with goal of publishing them. Argentinian agents ambushed the two, killing the agent and wounding the Ambassador. The incident was written up as business dealing gone bad by the local police When they arrived neither the CIA operative nor the incriminating evidence he had given Ambassador Beaulac were found.

How long will it take before the governments of two Nations mature enough to be immune to disastrous American meddling?

The two governments do gain much needed independence and immunity from American threats in the 1960s as they and the Federation plus several other countries link together for greater economic, political and military protection. That Europeans viewed this partnership in a positive light, made the Americans hesitant in their open hostility to the countries. More on that in future.

 

[Lusitania]

I received these two scanned pages of what I think is a much larger report. It deals with a very dark chapter for millions of people. Some of the information detailed in the report is general knowledge today but some is not. The paper deals with some very disturbing information as many people were affected by the HIV-3 virus in the 1980s and 1990s till the Soviets discovered a vaccine in 1996.

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

Politics

Federation​

In 1950 the Portuguese government grappled with trying to form a Portuguese Federation that would encompass not only the traditional Portuguese but all people living in all parts of Portugal and its overseas provinces. Conservatives wanted to restrict non-Portuguese Catholics as much as possible; while some wanted to allow for devolution of powers to the overseas provinces with eventual independence. Many wanted to maintain literacy and income restrictions on the right to vote and citizenship while at same time restriction access to literacy. Added to complexity of the issues was the fact that the current centralized government model also would not work with a country spread out over three continents and multiple time zones. The triumvirate realizing that time was not on Portugal’s side, the two superpowers (US and USSR) were adamant in pushing for Portugal and the other European colonial powers to give up their colonial empires. The UK was in the midst of granting their colonies independence with Asian territories being the first. The African colonies were receiving limited home rule. Meanwhile the French who did not have a policy on colonies were at the time involved in major war against the communist guerillas in French Indochina. President Semedo, the triumvirate as well as the rest of Portuguese government and senior members of the Nationalist Party decided that for the Federation to succeed the inclusion of all people living in Portugal had to be a primary principle. They had witnessed that the elimination of the laws discriminating against Africans, Indians and Asians in the last two decades had coincided with the large economic growth in Portugal and the various overseas provinces.

On 1 October 1950, a new constitution was presented by the government in the constituency. On 15th of October, the constituency passed the constitution by vote of 120 for and 15 against with 15 abstentions. The government then held a referendum on the “Estado Novo II” constitution on 30th of November. Two separate votes took place, the first was for all those who qualified to vote under previous laws and second vote for all residents and citizens of Portugal including all overseas provinces over age of 21 who had been born in Portugal (as well as overseas provinces) and or were naturalized Portuguese.[1] The new constitution was approved by the first group by a vote of 51% with a participation of 62% and by the second group by a vote of 71% with a participation of 88%.[2]

On 15 December 1950, the “Estado Novo II” constitution was proclaimed as law and the “Federação Portuguesa” Portuguese Federation became law. The major points of the Portuguese Federation Constitution were:

• Integration of all parts of country into single unified country with administration of the country being divided into three jurisdictions: local, provincial and national.
• Portuguese government was to be headed by an executive branch made up of the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Defense collectively known as triumvirate. The executive branch appointed the cabinet to help govern the country. Advising the executive branch would be the elected National Assembly, elected every four years as well as the Corporative Chamber of nominally represented regions, economic, social and cultural organizations.
• National Assembly was to be elected every four years with members from all regions of Portuguese Federation; the number of delegates from each province and territory would be based on the number of eligible voters. The initial number of delegates was set at 350. The number of delegates would be reviewed every 10 years and adjusted accordingly due to population growth.
• The Corporative Chamber would be appointed by the president for a term of 8 years and membership in the Chamber was open to any citizen of the country over the age of 21 eligible to vote. Each province would receive a minimum of two seats in the Corporative Chamber; with an additional 30 seats for provinces having a population greater than 2/3 of average of all provinces. In addition, the president would also appoint 50 delegates to represent different social groups, business, labor, culture and religious groups.[3]
• Voting for all legislation would be calculated on total votes in both chambers.[4]
• Each provincial and local chamber[5] would be governed by administration councils composed of equal number of elected and appointed councilors for period of 4-year terms. Provincial and local chambers would be tasked with administering government programs in their respective jurisdiction. No taxing ability was provided to provinces, all funding to the provinces would be provided by the national government. Local chambers would have right to levy property taxes, but that money could only be used for infrastructure projects all other funding would be provided by provincial government.
• National government would provide guidance, and funding to provincial governments who would decide how best to implement government legislation to meet the province’s needs.
• All people born in all regions of Portuguese Federation would be granted citizenship regardless of sex, skin color, ethnicity and religion.

As part of the implementation of the new constitution and move towards inclusive and expanded elections for national and local elections the Elections Act was amended in 1951 to remove the requirement of taxes and literacy as basis for voting, language and citizenship requirements continued. In 1951 Portuguese government started a national program to provide free compulsory Portuguese language courses to all people living in the Portuguese Federation. The Citizenship Act was also amended to remove the stipulation that non-Christians or Jewish could not apply for citizenship.

From 1950 to 1954 the Portuguese government became locked in a battle of wills with the Catholic Church who saw their place as the primary religion in the country being eroded. The granting of citizenship to non-Catholics especially non-Christians was too much for many of the country’s conservative religious leaders but more worrying was the promoting of liberal agenda and policies including the promoting of women in non-traditional roles. Finally, in 1954 a meeting between the Portuguese Bishops and the Minister of Interior, Joaquim Negreiros, where the country’s leading religious leaders Archbishop Cerejeira of Lisbon, Bishop Gomes of Porto and Bishop Nunes of Goa and the government came to an agreement in which the Catholic Church would continue to have a substantial presence in education especially the adult education program as well as refugee and charity works. The Portuguese government also supported the Catholic Church request to Pope Pius XII to double the number of dioceses in the country. As Minister Negreiros said “it is easier to catch more flies with honey than vinegar”.

World Reaction​

The Portuguese Federation was the topic of many newspaper articles and radio programs in Europe, US and rest of the Western world. For most part, they were critical of the Federation and either saw it as caving into the Africans and Asians by conservatives or an attempt to continue exploiting the non-Europeans by the liberals. The European governments at first did not recognize Portuguese Federation and still considered the territories in Africa, and Asia as colonies. The first country to recognize Portuguese Federation was Brazil who recognized it on 20 December 1950 this was followed by Argentina on 1 December 1951. Most governments were also dismissive of the Federation and most predicted that the Federation was subject to failure and expected it to collapse within the decade.

African, Indian and Asian governments and leaders on the other hand did not know what to make of the Federation. Those that still lived in European colonies viewed it with distrust because they saw it as a threat to their aspirations of being independent. While those in independent countries were cold to the Portuguese Federation. Those that developed warmer relationships with Portuguese Federation were for most part countries that Portuguese Federation had assisted in their armed struggle for independence (Indian Subcontinent and East Indies).

The Portuguese highlighted their new Federation in speeches to governments, foreign newspapers and news organizations. Following the continued American government’s restriction on trade with Portuguese Federation, Portuguese embassy in both Washington and to the UN denounced American segregation of African Americans in the US to both boost Portuguese Federation and counter negative US criticism of Portuguese Federation.

The Soviet Union and other Communist governments refused to recognize Portuguese Federation and all communist papers continued to slander Portuguese Federation or as they continued to refer “Portugal” and its treatment of the Africans, Indians and Asians. Communist China’s relationship with Portuguese Federation became more hostile due to Portuguese Federation claiming that Macau was a province in the Federation. Fear of an American reaction as well as potential negative repercussions with British who controlled Honk Kong kept the Chinese from sending its forces into Macau.

In 1955 after the 1st National Elections the previous year several European countries such as Norway, Belgium and Italy along with remaining Latin American countries recognized the Portuguese Federation. From 1957 to 1959 following the Suez Canal Crises and Portuguese Federation support of the European countries embargoed by Arab countries, the majority of the European countries either recognized the Federation or made statements that stated they supported the people living in Portuguese Federation and all Portuguese held territory to have the right to determine how they wished to be governed.

Elections​

On 7 November 1954, the 1st true national elections took place with six parties registered and allowed to participate in the election. The parties that participated in the election were the National Union, Agrarian, Monarchist, Lusitania National, Social Democrat, and the Portuguese Progressive.[6] The National Union Party was the only one that provided a full slate of candidates in all the constituencies. The Social Democrat and Progressive Party were able to run candidates in 70% of most major urban centers. The voting franchise included Africans, Asians, Indians and over 1.5 million naturalized Portuguese. The literacy requirements were removed and only the language requirement was left in place. Included in the national elections was the Presidential election in which President João Semedo ran unopposed for re-election and was elected with 79% of the vote.

Results

Party​	Votes​	%​	Seats​
National Union		55​	193​
Agrarian		12​	43​
Monarchist		1​	4​
Lusitania National		8​	28​
Portuguese Progressive		7​	25​
Social Democrat		16​	57​
Invalid/Blank votes		1​	--​
Total	22,268,000​	100​	350[7]​
Registered Voters/ Turn out	23,027,922​	96.7​

On 4 November 1956, the 1st regional elections took place with 12 parties registered and allowed to participate in the election. The parties that participated in the election were the National Union, Agrarian, Lusitania National, Social Democrat, Portuguese Progressive, African Party, Iberian Union, Berber Action, Guinea Solidarity, Ovimbo Workers, Hindu National, and Catholic Renewal. The National Union Party was the only one that provided a full slate of candidates in all the constituencies. The National Union party won 60% of the provincial chambers and 40% of all local chambers.[8] On 2 November 1958, the national elections took place with seven parties registered and allowed to participate in the election. The parties that participated in the election were the National Union, Agrarian, Monarchist, Lusitania National, Social Democrat, Portuguese Progressive and the new African Party.[9] The National Union Party continued to be the only one that provided a full slate of candidates in all the constituencies. The Social Democrat and Progressive Party were able to run candidates in 90% of most major urban centers. The Presidential election was again held at the same time as Nationalist Election and President João Semedo faced off against General Humberto da Silva Delgado. The election pitted President Semedo running on the government’s great economic and political achievements in the last 30 years while General Delgado advocated democratic policies. During the campaign, many news organizations published news reports that General Delgado was in favor of dissolving the Portuguese Federation and wanted to restrict voting to only those of Portuguese descendancy and Catholic. General Delgado denied wishing to restrict voting but did admit the letter advocating the dissolution of Federation was a letter he had sent in 1955 to a colleague in the USA. President Semedo was elected with 69% of the vote.

Results

Party​	Votes​	%​	Seats​
National Union		51​	185​
Agrarian		11​	39​
Monarchist		1​	3​
Lusitania National		4​	14​
Portuguese Progressive		5​	19​
Social Democrat		16​	59​
African Party		9​	31​
Invalid/Blank votes		3​	--​
Total	20,318,085​	100​	350[10]​
Registered Voters/ Turn out	28,617,022​	71.0​

Government Cabinet​

During the 1950s the priority for the Portuguese government was the administration of the integrated Federation to which several new cabinet posts were created. The continued modernization and development of the country was the other priority.

In the 1950s several high-ranking cases of corruptions were investigated by SIS and the Triumvirate decided that the government was in need of major shakeup. Over the next 5-10 years several candidates in each department were groomed to succeed many long-standing cabinet ministers. By the time the government shakeup was completed at the end of the 1950s less than a third of the ministers in the government of 1940s and 1950s would remain.

Name​	Department​
João Semedo (1945 –	President
Dr. Antonio Rapazote (1945 –	Prime Minister (Triumvirate)
João Simões (1936 –	Defense Minister (Triumvirate)
Pedro Magalhães Mai (1922 –	Minister of Finance (Triumvirate)
Rafael da Silva Neves Duque (1936 –	Minister of Agriculture
Luis Barbosa (1936 –	Minister of Transportation and Communication
Amilcar Silva (1936 –	Minister of Economy & Industry
José Caeiro da Mata (1940 –	Minister of Foreign Affairs
José Alfredo Mendes de Magalhães (1926 – 1952 Cecília Supico Pinto[11] (1952 –	Minister of Education
Marcelo Caetano (1950 –	Minister of Justice
Marcelo Caetano (1944 – 1950) Francisco de Paula Leite Pinto[12] (1950 -	Minister of Youth & Sport
João de Avelar Maia de Loureiro (1940 – 1950) Dr. Froilano de Mello[13] (1950 –	Minister of Health
João de Avelar Maia de Loureiro[14] (1950 –	Minister of Urbanization and Public Health
Augusto Cancela de Abreu (1940 –	Minister of Interior
António Joaquim Tavares Ferro (1929 – 1956) César Henrique Moreira Baptista[15] (1956 –	Minister of Information

Census​

Starting in 1950 the Portuguese census information was expanded; the Portuguese government began publishing limited demographic information of the different regions/provinces. Here is the 1950 census data:

Territory[16]​	(0000)​	% increase from 1940 [17]​	% European​	% African​	% Indian​	% Asian​	% other​
Iberia[18]	10,816​	33​	81​	9​	1​	<.5​	8​
Azores	196​	-11​	97​	.5​	<.5​	<.5​	1​
Madeira	201​	-15​	97​	.5​	<.5​	<.5​	1​
Morocco[19]	1,200​	N/A​	10​	1.5​	1​	.5​	87​
Cape Verde	107​	5​	7​	90​	<.5​	<.5​	2​
Guinea[20]	448​	16​	18​	77​	2​	<.5​	2​
Equatorial Africa[21]	336​	5​	3​	89​	2​	<.5​	5​
West Africa[22]	6,878​	49​	11​	86​	1.5​	<.5​	2​
East Africa[23]	7,865​	47​	5​	88.5​	4​	1​	1.5​
India[24]	918​	21​	8​	9​	81​	.5​	1​
East Indies[25]	3,689​	17​	1​	.5​	1​	97​	<.5​
Macao	623​	-10​	3​	.5​	2​	94​	<.5​
Total	33,277​	60​

[1] This included all people living in former Dutch East Indies (under Portuguese occupation) and former Spanish African colonies.
[2] An addition stipulation of the referendum question was the extension of the 1946 legislature till 1954 when the first national elections would take place and 1956 for first provincial and local elections.
[3] In 1956 Portuguese Federation was divided into 61 provinces (see 1950-1959 Politics Census). 150 delegates were appointed representing the 61 provinces and an additional 50 delegates representing the different groups of country. The Corporative Chamber appointments occurred after each national election. After each election the government would appoint half the members for an 8-year term. In the first election in 1954 half the members were only appointed for 4-year term.
[4] From 1952 to 1960 the total number of elected and appointed delegates in both chambers was 550. Government legislation required a simple vote of 50% + 1 to pass which was 276.
[5] Parish and County (Freguesia and Conselho).
[6] The Communists Party continued to be barred from participating due to their ideology as well as ties to the Soviet Union. The Christian Democrats were banned due to their opposition to the constitution as well as links to center right parties in Western Europe. Meanwhile the majority of the Socialist party members had split with the International Socialist movement and rebranded themselves as an independent Portuguese Center Left party. Twelve small regional parties representing small ethnic groups were also barred from participating due to their inability to meet party registration regulations.
[7] 86 women were elected. There was a buzz of excitement for first time in country as millions of people who had not been able to participate in the previous elections voted for the first time. The green finger became a status symbol that a person was a citizen and entitled to do what had been an elitist’s action till then.
[8] National Union Party continued to control all provincial and local chambers with the appointment of half the councilors.
[9] The Communists Party and the Christian Democrats continued to be banned. Several small regional parties representing small ethnic groups were also barred from participating due to their inability to meet party registration regulations.
[10] 102 women were elected. The enthusiasm of the first election had dissipated and participation in the election reduced to normal historical levels.
[11] Cecília Supico Pinto was born in 1921 and graduated in 1944 with a doctorate in Education from University of Lisbon. She went to work with the government in the Department of Education. There she was responsible for development and management of the various education programs including the Metropolitan administrator for the primary education. In 1952 she became the country’s first female cabinet minister.
[12] Francisco de Paula Leite Pinto was born in 1902 he graduated from University of Lisbon with a degree in Mathematics and Geographic Engineering. He then continued his studies Astronomy and studied in Paris before the war broke out. When he returned to Portugal, he dedicated himself to teaching at the University of Lisbon. In 1945 he was recruited by Marcelo Caetano the Minister of Youth and Sport. There he developed many programs to combat illiteracy and was instrumental in combatting adult illiteracy. He also brought arts and cultural program into the PY centers to provide all children with a balanced variety of programs not only sports. In 1950 when Marcelo Caetano became Minister of Justice, he took over the Ministry.
[13] Dr. Froilano de Mello was born in 1887 in Benaulim Portuguese India. He graduated with a degree in medicine from University of Porto in 1910. He returned to Goa and was professor at the Faculty of Medicine College. In 1920 he returned to Porto and became a professor at the University of Porto. He split his time between Porto and Goa publishing several international acclaimed papers on Microbiology and Parasitology while at same time advancing health in Portuguese India. In 1928 he became Mayor of Pangim (capital of Goa). In 1942 he was elected as member of National Assembly representing Goa. In 1948 he became Secretary of Health and in 1950 as part of the reorganization of the Department of Health became the Minister of Health.
[14] João de Avelar Maia de Loureiro was born in 1901. He graduated from University of Lisbon in 1928 from the Faculty of Medicine. He travelled throughout Europe prior to the war studying and teaching at various universities. In 1939 he returned to Portugal and took up teaching post at University of Lisbon. In 1940 he became the director of Lisbon Center of Health. He worked with Department of Health and was instrumental in founding similar city departments of Health in various Portuguese cities. In 1949 got very sick and was in coma for two weeks. He recuperated and in 1950 was nominated as Minister of Urbanization and Public Health.
[15] César Henrique Moreira Baptista was born in 1915. He graduated with Law degree from University of Lisbon in 1942. He practiced law and was economic professor at the Commercial Institution of Lisbon. In 1954 he was elected as member of National Assembly as member of National Union. He spent less than six months at the National Assembly before he went to work for the Department of Information. There his vision for promoting Portuguese culture was at odds with Minister of Information, António Joaquim Tavares Ferro. Ready to leave the ministry due to conflicts but the Triumvirate backed his vision and in 1956 he was nominated as new Minister of Information.
[16] The only remaining Portuguese possession not shown is Ajuda (fort in Benin) which had less than 25 inhabitants.
[17] The percentage increase for Equatorial Africa only represented the increase for Sao Tome & Principe. The percentage increase for East Indies only represented the increase for Timor Leste. Percentages for India and Macau did not reflect refugees. India and Macao population included refugees living at that time in those territories. India had 402,000 and Macau 485,000 refugees
[18] Iberia was comprised of 6 provinces: Minho, Tras os Montes, Beira, Estramadura, Alentejo and Algarve.
[19] Morocco was comprised of 8 provinces: Larache, Ceuta, Capaz, Alhucemas, Melilla, Ifni, Bens and Cisneros.
[20] Guinea was comprised of 3 provinces: Cacheu, Bissau and Gabu.
[21] Equatorial Africa was comprised of 4 provinces: Fernando Po, Sao Tome & Principe, Muni Alto and Muni Baixo.
[22] West Africa was comprised of 12 provinces: Luanda, Benguela, Cuanza, Silva Porto, Cabinda, Lubango, Melanje, Moçâmedes, Carmona, Lunda Norte, Lunda Central, and Lundu Sul.
[23] East Africa was comprised of 10 provinces: Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Nampula, Tete, Zambezia, Sofala, Mandigos, Limpopo, Inhambe and Lourenco Marques.
[24] India was comprised of 3 provinces: Daman & Diu, Goa Alta and Goa Baixa. In 1955 Daman & Diu became separate provinces and India comprised of 4 provinces.
[25] East Indies was comprised of 10 provinces: Sumbava Ocidental, Sumbava Leste, Flores Ocidental, Flores Leste, Alor, Sumba, Timor Ocidental, Timor Leste, Savu & Roti and Vetar.

This section gives us the political developments of the country during the 1950s as the country transformed into a Federation. How the political leaders moved ahead of the times in bringing in non-Europeans into government. Not only bureaucracy but into the management and into the ministerial level. While the majority of those in power were Caucasian the opening up of the government to non-Europeans provided evidence that the Federation was real and not a smoke screen. . Questions/ Comments?

Also wanted to thank those who both nominated and seconded this TL an Rebirth for the Turtledove awards. IT is a great way to gain both exposure and new fans to the TL. Obrigado.

 

[Archangel]

Good update, Lusitania!

General Silva

There's a small typo here, General Humberto da Silva Delgado was known as General Humberto Delgado.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

The sheer amount of details is amazing. I can only imagine how much time was spent in research to get this update complete.

 

[Lusitania]

Good update, Lusitania!

There's a small typo here, General Humberto da Silva Delgado was known as General Humberto Delgado.

thanks

The sheer amount of details is amazing. I can only imagine how much time was spent in research to get this update complete.

thank you. It was done over a long period of time with additions and clarification items added over time.

 

[Terço]

Why is the federation not pushing the guinea border north into Casamance ?
It was part of portuguese guinea until the 19 century , they are catholics , they speak a portuguese creole , and they wanted independence from Senegal .
Not as rich in bauxite but closer in culture

 

[Terço]

 

[Lusitania]

Why is the federation not pushing the guinea border north into Casamance ?
It was part of portuguese guinea until the 19 century , they are catholics , they speak a portuguese creole , and they wanted independence from Senegal .
Not as rich in bauxite but closer in culture

View attachment 535708

Your question is a valid point. Casamance is discussed in two upcoming sections, Security-immigration and in Foreign Affairs.

That being said we need to understand that both Senegal and Casamance were under French control during the majority of 1950s and even after Senegal “independence” France was major power in the country.

We also wanted to discuss territory expansion in the 1950s. Portuguese Federation expanded in only one location and that was in the Indian subcontinent. Where kingdom of Baroda allowed Portuguese to increase its Diu and Daman. Rest of territory “expansions” all took place in later part of 1940s (Spanish Africa, Macau snd Portuguese East Indies). What we sometimes confuse is that these terrifies were integrated in the 1950s.

For example the expansion into Guinea with the independence of Guibea Boke was something that happened due to bungling of French response. Professor Santos of the Univerdity of Bissau 1963 book “How France destroyed Guinea” outlined that had France deployed sufficient force after the death of Toure then Guinea would of been preserved as single country instead of 3 countries. Could something like that happen in Senegal? Maybe but not in the 1950s.

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

Portuguese Armed Forces​

The 1950s saw a need to form a national modern armed force that could operate in three different continents and to defend the 61 provinces from any foreign threat. To accomplish this required a re-organization or Portuguese military command and organization. Portuguese army, navy and air force was also expanded. Demands on the Portuguese armed forces also increased as they were involved in NATO, UN and protection of allies.

Army and Naval Organization​

In 1950 following the incorporation of Spanish Africa into Portuguese Federation, the ongoing military situation in the Indian Subcontinent and East Asia the Portuguese Army was expanded to over 250,000 soldiers and was organized into 4 armies and comprised the following units:

• Metropolitan Army:
• 20 border battalions (size 800 - 1,000) with emphasis on defense (10 in the Iberian Peninsula, 1 in Azores, 1 in Madeira, 8 in Portuguese Morocco);
• 2 infantry divisions (Minho and Ceuta);
• 2 mechanized divisions (Ribatejo and Larache);[1]
  • 1 armored division (Alentejo);
  • African Army:
  • 25 border battalions (size 800 - 1,000) with emphasis on defense (2 in Ifni, 2 in Portuguese Sahara, 1 in Cape Verde, 3 in Guinea, 4 in Equatorial Africa, 6 in West Africa and 7 in East Africa);
  • 4 infantry divisions (Congo, Huambo, Lourenco Marques, and Beira);
  • 2 mechanized divisions (Benguela and Quilimane);
  • 1 armored division (Carmona);
  • 3 regiments (Bissau, Gabu, and Muni);
  • Indian Army:
  • 7 border battalions (4 in Goa, 2 in Daman and 1 in Diu);
  • 1 Infantry Division (Panjim);
  • Asia Army:
  • 10 border battalions (3 in Timor, 2 in Flores, 3 in Sumbawa, 1 in Sumba and 1 in Macau);
  • 1 Infantry Division (Timor);
  • 4 regiments (Riau, Wetar, Flores and Sumbawa);

By 1950 the Portuguese Navy had received all the British ships ordered after WWII and was divided into 3 fleets. The navy comprised of the following ships:

• 20 Destroyers (7 Vouga/Douro class, 5 Cabral class,[2] 4 Fletcher class, 4 Battle class);
  • The CV Vasco DaGama (Implacable class carrier);
  • 4 Light cruisers (2 Diogo de Silves class, 2 Minotaur class);
  • 12 frigates (8 Alfonso de Albuquerque class, 2 Goncalo Velho class and 2 Pedro Nunes class);
• 18 submarines (6 U-boats Type VII-B, 2 U-boats VIIC, 4 U-boats Type VIIIC41, 1 U-boat Type CX140, 2 U-boats Type I and 1 U-boats Type ICX);[3]
  • 6 Torpedo Boats;
  • 10 gunships;
  • 5 river gunboats;
  • 30 patrol boats;
  • 5 mine warfare vessels;
  • Naval Support Ships (6 survey vessels, 8 support vessels, 6 troop transport ships and 3 training ships);

The ships were divided into the 3 fleets as follows:

• Metropolitan Navy (7 Destroyers, 2 light cruisers (Diogo de Silves class), 6 Submarines, 10 patrol boats, 3 mine warfare ships, 1 river gunboat, and support ships); [4]
• Ultramar Navy (6 Destroyers, 12 Frigates, 6 Submarines, 2 Torpedo Boats, 2 mine warfare ships, 20 patrol boats, 4 river gunboats, 3 troop transport); [5]
• Portuguese Rapid Response Force (7 Destroyers, 2 light cruisers (Minotour class), 1 Aircraft carrier, 6 submarines, 3 troop transport and support ships);

Portuguese Armed Forces changes during 50s
Demographics​

The decision to integrate colonial troops and Metropolitan forces in the early 1940s had by 1950 been fully integrated including the opening of military colleges and officer ranks to non-Europeans. The Korean War exemplified the integration approach with over 50% of troops and about 25% of officers being non-European. For the remaining of the 50s Non-Europeans officers continued to make inroads within the military hierarchy with the first African Samora Michael reaching rank of general in 1955 and first Asian Louis Amaral reaching general in 1957. The Navy also saw many officers move in command with several of its ship’s captains with Captain Uday Bhembre of Goa being the highest ranking Non-European naval officer in 1959. By 1959 the Portuguese armed forces (army, navy and Air force) demographic study identified those of African descent accounting for 39% of all non-commissioned personnel followed by European 29% with Indian 11%, Asian 8% and Mixed 13%. For its officers, Europeans made up the largest segment with 46%, followed by Indians and Africans at 25% and 15% respectively. Mixed accounted for 10% and Asians to 4%. More importantly 70% of all military college students were non-European by 1959.

Recruitment​

In the late 1940s as the military needs expanded a mandatory draft system was implemented for all males at the age of 20. This caused several major issues i) not all people living in Portugal had proper identification or their births registered ii) about 50% of all males did not speak Portuguese iii) almost 75% were illiterate. These issues made communication and unit cohesion very difficult.

In 1950 with the birth of the Portuguese Federation an expanded draft system was implemented for all males who were born in Portuguese Federation. Any male at age of 18 who was illiterate or not fluent in Portuguese was drafted into special units. These para-military units provided literacy, language and other training so that they could be part of regular draft at age of 20. In addition, the Portuguese armed forces began a program offering draftees after completing their 1st year of service specialized trades training which was transferrable to the civilian side after their military service. Any serviceman who accepted the free training had to sign up for an additional two years of service but received a salary of twice the regular draft salary. In addition, those that were married qualified for government housing and family subsidy. This proved very attractive for many service men that could learn a free trade with an increase in pay.

In 1956, the reservist divisions were created. All males over age of 25 or one year after finishing their military service were required to participate in military exercises for a period of three weeks per year till age of 40. Included in the reservist units were naturalized men over the age of 25 who underwent three months of training in the 1st year and then regular reservist’s activities thereafter. University students were exempt from military draft but were required to attend three months a year in the reserves while in university and regular reservist activities thereafter. By 1959, 10 reservist divisions were established throughout the country.[6] [7]

Forces Realignment ​

In 1954 the Air Force become its own military branch reporting to the Ministry of Defense, although a position of Grand Marshall was created as unified command for all three branches.
In 1950s each branch of the military also started their own R&D division either as standalone or in conjunction with other branches and/or partnership with Portuguese private companies.

During the 1950s the Portuguese armed forces were involved in three major wars: Indian Civil War, East Indies War of Independence and Moroccan-Portuguese Federation War as well as two minor wars: Spanish Crises of 1955 and French Guinea War. The Portuguese armed forces dealt with these conflicts using existing forces. In the Indian Civil War and East Indies War of Independence it moved troops from East and West Africa to reinforce those provinces and by 1959 the respective divisions returned to their respective home territory. In the case of the Moroccan War it was the first time that Portuguese reservist were called to active duty. In Portuguese Morocco, the 3rd Reserve division was fully activated while in Portuguese Sahara the 3 reservist regiments where combined with the 3 regular regiments and operated as the 10th division. In Ifni, the reservists were absorbed into the 2 battalions and provided much needed strength to hold off the Moroccan forces till the 10th infantry division arrived from Sahara.

In 1952, due to the continued deployment of the Beira Mechanized division in Germany as part of the NATO reinforcement of central Europe to counter Soviet threat the Algarve Mechanized Division was created to provide Portuguese Federation with continued protection. In addition, the Portuguese Navy and Air force became the primary NATO defenders of Atlantic Ocean from the Azores to Cape Verde Islands (the Cape Verde Islands became the southern extent of NATO area of patrol while Azores was the western limit).

Armed Forces Technology​

In 1952 after UK developed and detonated its own nuclear weapon the Portuguese secretly approached Israel about joining forces in developing a joint nuclear program. Code named Operation Covenant it was based in two locations Dimona in the Negev desert of Israel and Menongue in Portuguese West Africa.[8] Portuguese involvement in the project was kept a secret even from the Israeli other main ally at time, France. The Menongue nuclear power plant came online in 1958, one year before the Israeli Nuclear plant in Dinoma. By the time the Israeli plant came online the Portuguese plant was already enriching uranium in order to develop plutonium for use in a nuclear bomb. When the Israeli plant located close to the city of Dimona was about to come online in 1959 the French provided the Israeli with advanced information about nuclear weapons including the detonator.

Several western intelligent organizations began suspecting Israel of building a nuclear weapon and demanded that Israel open its plant to inspectors. Israel continued to deny the building of nuclear program but prevented inspectors from visiting the city. Meanwhile it was not till the late 50s that the US and other western nations began suspecting the Federation was mining uranium, but they all believed Portuguese Federation did not have the technology to even develop nuclear energy. The Portuguese nuclear plant was three times larger than the Dimona plant with three quarters of its reactors and building built into a mountain. From this plant the Portuguese was able to provide the Israelis more than half of the plutonium it needed, and both countries continued developing nuclear weapons unbeknown to the world.[9]

National Arms Industrial Development​

The proclamation of the Portuguese Federation had painted a huge target on the country and the government and Minister of Defense developed plans to defend the country and make sure that the Portuguese military was viewed strong enough to act as a deterrent but not be seen as a threat. Acting against the Portuguese was the USA who were constantly criticizing the Federation and lobbying other countries to have the least possible trade with the Federation. Portuguese military was especially targeted by the US and even a hint of cooperation by any nation would result in the American government being upset. It was this attitude from what was supposed to be an ally that convinced the Portuguese that it needed to not only continue supporting its military industry but to expand it.

During the 50s both FBP and FMBP continued to be Portuguese Federation’s primary gun manufacturers and armament producers for the military as well as the security forces. During the 50s, production of pistols, rifles machine guns, and mortars tripled but the demand was for the most part from outside Portuguese Federation. The two companies became major weapons suppliers to the warring factions of the Indian Civil War. In addition, the Portuguese guns were sold to many Latin American governments. Orders for ammunition, artillery, mortar shells and artillery shells were filled not only for the Portuguese government but also for the British, French, German and Dutch governments in Europe and various countries in Asia and Latin America. The two companies’ expansions started at end of the 1940s were completed and their increased R&D started paying off. In 1953 FMBP developed the LV-50 rifle with 7.62×51mm cartridge.[10] In 1957 the LV-25 was developed, it was a lighter version of the LV-50 rifle but used the same cartridge. Portuguese marines and paratroopers became primary users of the LV-25. In 1958 FMBP began selling both rifles to various NATO countries and allies. It licensed both the LV-25 and LV-50 to German company Rheinmetall in turn FMBP won the contract to supply the cartridges.

In 1956 FMBP developed and started building the F155, a 155-mm howitzer similar to the American M114. In 1958 FMBP in conjunction with Israeli Aircraft Industries developed the TCM-20 towable anti-aircraft gun. In 1959 the TCM-20 started being manufactured in Israel subsequently BRAVIA began providing P-300-A which was an armored vehicle to be used to make the TCM-20 mobile.

In 1956 BRAVIA and FMBP entered into a partnership with Israeli Military Industries to develop rocket artillery. Using WWII Soviet B-14 technology as well as British RP-3 as the basis for the design. In 1959 the first prototypes named LAR-80 were being tested in East Africa.

The Portuguese naval modernization program was one of the most difficult for the Portuguese to complete on its own due to combination of the Portuguese Navy requirements and limited manufacturing space in the two Portuguese military shipyards. In 1951 a comprehensive naval plan was put forward that would see both the Arsenal do Alfeite in the Tagus Estuary and the Viana do Castelo Shipyard double in size by the end of the decade. At same time the other shipyards in the country were fully occupied building civilian ships for the merchant marine or shipping fleet. This left the Portuguese Navy’s having to turn to foreign countries for naval ships it required. Two countries France and Britain eager two gain the lucrative Portuguese contracts bid against each other, in the end the French won not on the costs but more importantly on technology transfer. A lesson the British bitterly learned.

In 1952 the Portuguese Navy contracted France to build 20 frigates “Pedro Cabral class” based on the French Le Course Class over a period of 10 years. In 1956, the order was changed to the new French Le Normand Class “Gazela class”. In 1957 the Portuguese ordered 10 more “Gazela class” frigates and 10 Light Cruisers “Goa class” based on the French De Grass Class. The relationship was operating very well with the French shipyards busy building the ships and the Portuguese navy very happy with the ships but on 2 February 1959 President De Gaulle cancelled the contracts with Portuguese Federation because of the Portuguese military actions in Morocco. The cancellation was so abrupt that fours ships in various state of construction were confiscated by the French government. Prior to the contracts being unilaterally cancelled by the French the Portuguese Navy had received 8 Pedro Cabral class cruisers, 4 Gazela Class Frigates and 2 Goa class light cruisers. As circumstances would have it this coincided with the conclusion of the Portuguese military shipyards expansion and on 2 May 1959 the navy placed an order for 12 Gazela class Frigates with Arsenal do Alfeite dry dock and 10 Goa class Light cruisers with Viana do Castelo drydocks.

In 1956 the Portuguese Navy announced the next round of naval procurements that encompassed submarine, destroyer and aircraft carrier as part of the comprehensive Portuguese navy upgrade program. While the French were eager to win this contract, the British having been beaten once made sure they won the contract. The changing security concerns the Portuguese were facing required a two-fleet navy with an aircraft carrier as the anchor of each fleet. The British most advanced air craft carrier the Audacious-class carriers fit the Portuguese needs, but the British were hesitant of selling Portuguese Federation its most advanced carrier.[11] The Suez Crises and the Portuguese response changed the British government mind and in December 1956 following the Suez Canal Crises the British and the Portuguese agreed to the building of two aircraft carriers for the Portuguese Navy and third for the British Navy.[12] In January 1957 the “Diogo Gomes” aircraft carrier was started in Fairfield Shipyard Scotland while the new carrier “Bartolomeu Dias” was started at Viana do Castelo dry dock in June 1957.[13] In 1959 both aircraft carriers were launched and underwent several years of commissioning. Included in the new British-Portuguese military purchase was purchase of 150 Supermarine Scimitar and 150 DE Haviland Sea Vixen for the new aircraft carriers. This purchase provided both de Havilland and Supermarine with a huge boost as it doubled the order for both planes.

As for submarines the Portuguese surprised many in the military industry outside the Federation by announcing the awarding an order for 10 Orca III class hunter-killer submarines to the Viana do Castelo submarine shipyard.[14] For destroyers the Portuguese Navy turned to Britain and ordered 20 County class destroyers completing the biggest British military sale in the 50 and 60’s. As part of the agreement for the destroyers was also the technology transfer included with increased amount of assembly and components being manufactured in Portuguese Federation. At the end of the project the destroyers would be minimum 80% manufactured in Federation.

During the expansion the both navy shipyards continued operated at full production with 2 - 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week upgrading, fixing and building ships for the Portuguese Navy.[15] In 1959 the two shipyards took their first orders from Lombok and Galicia as these two Portuguese allies began taking a greater role in their own maritime defense.

The air force requirements were one that the Portuguese through a combination of luck and very hard work been able to take a lead and by the 50s had developed its own domestic nascent aerospace industry. At the forefront of the Portuguese jetfighter development was CACC the Portuguese jet manufacturer. Aiding the air force and navy was OGMA which maintained the two forces planes along with manufacturing training planes for both programs. Joining the two aerospace companies was Bristol Aerospace which expanded into Federation to build both military and civilian planes. Lastly “Avipor Indústria Aerospacial” AVIPOR was formed to develop and manufacture both surface to air missiles and air to air missiles.

From 1950 – 1954 CACC worked on developing the jet fighter and bomber and after over 30 prototypes and three major iterations the CACC 200.3 jet fighter and 300B.2 jet bomber received certification in 1954 from the Portuguese Air Force, now its own branch of military, and in January 1955 it ordered 250 CACC 200.3 jet fighters and 50 CACC 300B.2 bombers. In 1958 Brazil became the first country to purchase Portuguese military aircraft with the purchase 33 200.3 jets and 12 300B.2 Bombers.[16]

In 1951 the OGMA took on a new role, that being design and build a jet fighter advanced trainer. With CACC jetfighter and jet bomber trials underway the Air force was in desperate need of a jet trainer. After initial review of the CACC prototypes it was determined to build a basic jet trainer capable of equaling the handling characteristics of operational jet fighters of the era while also possessing modest approach and stall speeds and remaining simple to handle, as opposed to aiming to obtain maximum performance. Using the simplified 2nd generation CACC 200/300 prototype the OGMA Crossover was certified in 1952 and construction started in 1953, bringing the number of training aircraft it was manufacturing to four. During the 1950s OGMA role as the air force and navy plane maintenance continued and the company gained a fierce reputation both domestically and abroad for its quality. In 1956 it received its first foreign contract to manufacture trainers and maintain the Argentina Airforce planes.

In 1957 the Portuguese Military announced the purchase of 100 British Bristol Aerospace Series 205 transport planes and 10 Series 205H military hospital transport planes. The planes were based on the Series 200 passenger planes. Coinciding with the announcement of the purchase Bristol announced the building of an airplane manufacturing plant in Portuguese Morocco to manufacture both civilian planes and military planes for Portuguese market and Portuguese air force who accounted for more than half the orders.

In 1947 the Portuguese established a new air force base in the town of Malame at the foothills of the Mulanje Mountains in the province of Nampula.[17] It was there that a new research facility was built to work on field rocketry. It was there that the “rescued” Germans including Walter Thiel and Walther Dornberger as well as some of the country’s most promising physicists, scientists and engineers joined to develop rockets based on the V-1 and V-2 Rockets. For the next 10 years the Portuguese slowly gained knowledge and enough expertise to develop both a short range and medium range rocket based on the German expertise. In 1956 with the entry of the Israelis the town, research and manufacturing facility were transferred to AVIPOR. Its first workable rocket was named Falcon I and had a length 12.7 m, width .089 m, launch weight 4,500 kg, range of 191 km and payload of 850 kg. The test launches were of mixed result with only half the launches being successful. Investigation revealed that production flaws and fuel quality were at fault. In 1959 the Falcon II was developed with increased range of 410 km and more importantly increase in accuracy to 290 meters of target. In the meantime, work had started on the Falcon Iv2 trying to keep its original range but making it smaller and increase its accuracy from 2650 meters.[18]

For Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Airborne Early Warning and control (AEE&C) the Portuguese Air Force and Navy partnered with the British Navy and Air Force to purchase Fairey Gannet AS.1 /4 and AEW.3 respectively. Portuguese Federation ordered 100 AS.1/4 and 50 AEW.3 doubling the number of planes ordered for both.

Following the Korean War, the Portuguese Army needed to replace its aging M4 tanks. While the Korean war had taken place BRAVIA Rino tank undergone two years of field tests. Several modifications and enhancements were ordered along with the upgrade to the Portuguese version of the m L7 rifled gun. In 1952 Rino II began field testing and in 1954 the first orders for 200 was received from the army and in 1955 the order increased to 1,000 Rino II. The Rino tank also attracted attention from outside the country. It was comparable to the British Centurion tank, but its armor was thicker which could have been a major problem had it not been outfitted with a Mota V 798hp engine and in 1958 BRAVIA began selling them to several countries such as Baroda, Mysore and Brazil.

While much was made about the Rino tank the biggest seller for BRAVIA was the halftrack truck Besoiro II which was produced in six different variants. In 1952 BRAVIA plants were operating three shifts a day fulfilling orders from both the Portuguese army as well as variety of countries from Europe, South America and Asia.

In 1952 the UMM truck plant in Lourenco Marques began operations and by 1955 had over 8,900 employees and was the largest truck manufacturer in the country. In 1957 UMM completed a mega factory complex near the city of Tétuan to manufacture the all-terrain UAlter vehicles and UCAlter pickup vehicles for both civilian and military which now were available in over half a dozen models. The Chaimite armored car manufacturing was also transferred there was available in 10 different models. Demand for the Chaimite came from both security forces and military domestically and from overseas.

During the Korean War, the Portuguese army started appreciating American helicopters and in 1955 began studying which helicopter to buy. In 1956 Portuguese navy and air force placed a contract with Westland Aircraft for 50 whirlwind Helicopters. In 1958 the Portuguese army also placed a contract for 100 helicopters. In 1959 the Portuguese army started negotiations with Bristol for the purchase of Type 192 Belvedeve Tandem rotor helicopter.[19]

EFACEC continued to grow and dominate Portuguese electronic industry. Its military division produced almost all the electronic components used in land, air and sea vehicles. EFACEC was also heavily involved in radars and communication equipment and military sales accounted for almost half of its overall sales.
Other Portuguese companies such as Mota-Engi continued to be the country main aircraft, and military vehicle engine manufacturer in the country. While CUF and PFP also benefited from the increasing military industry.

The first Brazil-Portuguese military initiative was the joint project between the Brazilian Department of Science and Aerospace Technology “Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial” (DCTA) and Portuguese Association of Aerospace Technology “Associação de Tecnologia Aeroespacial Portuguesa” (ATAP) in the development of a fixed wing “helicopter” aircraft. Due to the disparity between the aircraft industry between the Federation and Brazil the joint project was based in Sao Paulo Brazil and named Helibras.

In 1952 German Engineer Focke and other members of his former design team were hired along with Bussmann, a transmission specialist formerly of BMW. Focke and his team had worked during wartime on the German Fa 269. Both CACC and Mota-Engi became suppliers to Helibras providing fuselage, wings as well as aircraft engine.

In 1954 the first prototype the BF-1 Beija-Flor (hummingbird) two-seater light helicopter made its first flight and was finally certified on 22 January 1957. The BF-1 was similar in design to the Cessna CH-1, with a 225 hp Continental E225 engine in the nose and the rotor mast running vertically between the front seats. An open structure tubular steel tail boom carried a pair of tail surfaces and a small tail rotor. The BF-2 was developed from this and first flew on 1 January 1957, which was a three-seater helicopter. While working at Helibras Focke set up a wind tunnel in a disused hangar at the attached base. In 1959 the BF-3 was developed and test flights started, it was comparable to Bell-47.

Helibras setup a manufacturing plant in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to start manufacturing the BF-2 Helicopter for both Portuguese and Brazilian military and civilian use.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] The Ribatejo Mechanized Division was stationed in Germany as part of NATO commitment.
[2] Upgraded and retrofitted 1944 – 1946, see 1940-1949, Portuguese Armed forces.
[3] This figure did not include the advance XXI submarine.
[4] In 1952, it was renamed the Atlantic Fleet
[5] In 1952, it was renamed the Indic Fleet
[6] The divisions had a core body of permanent staff of between 1,000 - 2,000 and had rotating 5,000 - 8,0000 reservists at a time participating in military training and exercised for period of three weeks a year. The divisions were located as follows: 2 in Iberian Peninsula, 1 in Morocco, 2 in West Africa, 2 in East Africa, 1 in India, 1 in East Indies plus in 1 in rest of Africa (regiments in Sahara, Cape Verde, Guinea and Equator).
[7] This reservist’s model was copied from the Israeli armed forces and adapted to fit Portuguese circumstances. In Portuguese Federation, there was no exemption for health or conscientious objections, special civil units were created that performed civil duties instead of military duty for those not fit to complete military service.
[8] In an attempt to conceal the nuclear power plant a thermal natural gas plant was build alongside it thus trying to hide the nuclear plant within the gas plant.
[9] With major western powers suspecting Israel, all interactions between Israel and Portugal for next few years was done under the guise of trade missions and diplomatic visits. Foremost amongst the Israelis government officials who facilitated Portuguese-Israel nuclear interchange was Shimon Peres, the Minister of Defense from 1959 to 1961. He visited Portugal several times a year with large delegations. Imbedded within the delegations were several nuclear scientists who secretly met with Portuguese-Israel team from Menongue during the Israel visits to Portuguese Federation.
[10] The LV-50 rifle main designer was Ludwig Vorgrimler who in 1945 immigrated to Portugal and went to work for FBP.
[11] The British had two Audacious Class carriers in service as well as two hulls laid down, but their construction had been suspended at end of war due to budgetary issues.
[12] The Portuguese purchase allowed the British to restart the construction on the two remaining Audacious-class carriers. One for the RN and 2nd for the Portuguese Navy. In addition, the Viana do Castelo dry dock started building the 2nd Portuguese carrier. The money paid by Portuguese for the two carriers provided the British the impetus and funds to finish the HMS Eagle for the BN.
[13] The two carriers were based on the HMS Ark Royal configuration which had a range of 11,265 km, max speed of 31.5 knots 16 x 4.5inch guns, 52 40mm Bofors and had a capacity of 50 planes. As part of the agreement several hundred British engineers and technicians were contracted to help in the 5-year project at the Portuguese docks.
[14] The Orca III Portuguese submarine was based on the German type XXI U-boats. It was powered by 2 diesel generators and had a top speed of 12 knots surfaced and 18 knots submerged. It was armed with Portuguese Baracuda X torpedoes.
[15] In addition to the Aircraft Carriers, Destroyer, Cruisers, and submarines ordered, the Portuguese navy put in orders for over 50 support and smaller naval ships with the two shipyards.
[16] The Purchase of the CACC fighters and Bombers by Brazil signaled to its traditional military supplier the USA a greater shift towards the Federation. This was followed by Brazil purchasing over 100 training aircraft from OGMA and Rhino tanks from BRAVIA.
[17] Portuguese East Africa.
[18] In 1956 Israel became a partner in the development of the Falcon and Israel electronics, which Israel was fast excelling in, helped improve the Falcon’s guidance system.
[19] Complicating Portuguese negotiations with the three main British helicopter manufactures was the British government’s intention to consolidate the various aerospace companies into a single British company. The biggest determination of which helicopter it could purchase though was the American weapons embargo to the Portuguese Federation. Several models the Portuguese wished to purchase were under license from American Aerospace companies and American government policies stipulated that these licenses could not be used to circumvent American policy.
This section gives us the military developments of the country during the 1950s as the country transformed into a Federation. How the country military and the growing military industry changed during the1950s . Most important was the fact that the country actually made some very important first steps in becoming self sufficient in the manufacture of its own military hardware. What surprised most observers was that Portuguese military hardware was very comparable to other major powers hardware in both quality and technology. This surprised many but to the Americans it frustrated them. Questions/ Comments?

We now will return in two weeks April 26 as we start posting Econmy.

 

[Sceonn]

Brazil seems to become the hub for Light Helicopter manufacturing, which will be of great use in rescue, patrol, transportation etc.. in the Amazon.

Would it be fail to call the Portuguese a Mixed Economy with some State Capitalism.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Oh, I would have thought that the Rino would be lighter than a Centurion given its cliental.

 

[rfmcdonald]

View attachment 531465

View attachment 531466​

I received these two scanned pages of what I think is a much larger report. It deals with a very dark chapter for millions of people. Some of the information detailed in the report is general knowledge today but some is not. The paper deals with some very disturbing information as many people were affected by the HIV-3 virus in the 1980s and 1990s till the Soviets discovered a vaccine in 1996.

I am deeply skeptical of the plausibility of this. Even an earlier discovery of disease-causing human retroviruses, and of HIV, would not remove the sheer technical problems with making a vaccine to HIV. A Soviet vaccine in 1996 would place biotechnology in your TL at least two and a half decades ahead of us now in 2020, and likely more since we are far from a vaccine now.

What is possible, however, is an early use of anti-retroviral drugs as a barrier against infection. I wrote about this last October, about the possibility of PrEP--the prophylactic ue of anti-retroviral drugs--coming about at a much earlier point,

WI PrEP, versus HIV, was invented in the 1980s?

As I type tonight, somewhere in New York City Frank Ocean is presiding over an exclusive queer party in an undisclosed location. The event is called "PrEP+" after PrEP, the acronym for pre-exposure prophylaxis, the newly-mainstream practice of people at high risk of contracting HIV taking the...

www.alternatehistory.com

(Also: If HIV is diagnosed at a much earlier point in your TL, with treatments coming at a much earlier point, why are deaths from HIV in the US twice the level of OTL?)

 

[Lusitania]

I am deeply skeptical of the plausibility of this. Even an earlier discovery of disease-causing human retroviruses, and of HIV, would not remove the sheer technical problems with making a vaccine to HIV. A Soviet vaccine in 1996 would place biotechnology in your TL at least two and a half decades ahead of us now in 2020, and likely more since we are far from a vaccine now.

What is possible, however, is an early use of anti-retroviral drugs as a barrier against infection. I wrote about this last October, about the possibility of PrEP--the prophylactic ue of anti-retroviral drugs--coming about at a much earlier point,

WI PrEP, versus HIV, was invented in the 1980s?

As I type tonight, somewhere in New York City Frank Ocean is presiding over an exclusive queer party in an undisclosed location. The event is called "PrEP+" after PrEP, the acronym for pre-exposure prophylaxis, the newly-mainstream practice of people at high risk of contracting HIV taking the...

www.alternatehistory.com

(Also: If HIV is diagnosed at a much earlier point in your TL, with treatments coming at a much earlier point, why are deaths from HIV in the US twice the level of OTL?)

Hi yes this actually pre-dates several posts from the 1960s and 1970s. I do not want to go too deep into the politics and spoil some of the 1960-70s information I do feel it appropriate to address some of the issue brought up by your question.

1) Vacine development is about 20 years ahead in some cases this is due to Federation effort to combat some of the diseases afflicting tropical areas: Yellow Fever, sleeping sickness and Malaria starting in the 1960s. Also iOTL there have been a few articles written about Portuguese soldiers in the 1960s contracting HIV-1 in West Africa but nothing was really done or learned about it till much later. Therefore the appearance of HIV-1 happens at same time in late 1960s but Portuguese and subsequently French doctors and researches start studying it. This was possible because the Federation has both a complete vacine program but they also host a top rated medical and medical research system.

2) The outbreak of HIV-2 (which is equivalent to HIV-2 in iOTL) makes the jump to USA via Liberian earlier. The reason that US hesitates to implement more stringent measures to counter the disease and that it spreads all across the US is political. Conservatives during President Ford term hesitated to address the looming epidemic. This was due to a combination of things; 1) political pre-occupation with several major anti-communist wars in South America, 2) belief that it was confined to drug users and gays 3) thinking that whites were not threatened by the disease. It took the Democrats coming to power in 1980 for the American government to change its tone and opinion by then it was 5-10x bigger than iOTL.

3) There was no vacine just treatment for HIV-2 till early 2000s.

4) HIV-3 was a designed virus probably by some government lab such as the Federation's Department 1917 since its was much more deadlier and more contagion. IT not only killed a higher number of those infected it left many of those who recovered impotent or infertile and was able to spread through contaminated food and touch. Later studies would reveal that its DNA was very different than HIV-1/HIV2. The discovery of vacine by the Soviets in the 1990s is a mystery with several of the scientist who discovered it dying of mysterious circumstances and part of their notes missing. Conspiracy theories have even suggested that vacine was provided by third party (anonymously) but nothing was ever proven.[1]

5) The initial treatments for HIV-2 in the 1990s was anti-retroviral drugs which was somewhat successful in helping to treat it but unfortunely HIV-2 treatment was secondary to the treatment of HIV-3 that was viewed as most dangerous disease till the mid 1990s. After "vacine" was discovered by Soviets and made widely available (many scientists cannot understand how the soviets came up with the vacine, hence theory it was discovered by someone else, Soviets would of course not entertain any such thought and the 6 scientists were acclaimed as national heroes.) Subsequently western scientists were able to advance the anti-retroviral drugs and other drugs to treat HIV-2.

Note: During the late 1980s and 1990s the Soviets had hundreds of scientist trying to discover a vacine or treatment for HIV-3 and the lab that discovered the vacine was one of the more remote and smaller labs, Its primary purpose was researching other virus to which majority of the staff died from. Investigation of the scientists demise discovered the 'Vacine". It had been developed but had proven unsuccessful in stopping the spread of several diseases except 3 lab animals that had been infected with HIV-3. The lab animals were not only healthy but also sexually active. The drug notes was found but only part of the information was available since no earlier notes existed on how the drug came to exist and be part of the trials.

[1] - Rumors that western leaders and executives from large corporations who contracted HIV-3 being "healed" by drugs in clinical trials during the 1980s and early 1990s abounded but no evidence was ever discovered of these rumors. But both the people who were rumored to been "cured" and government agencies continued to deny such rumors. Attempts to gain blood or body samples to test for the DNA of the Soviet vacine in these cases was fought very vigorously by individuals and government. These individuals would all be cremated and their ashes spread by family members. The most famous of the Western Leaders to have been supposable treated was US president Ronald Regan whose ashes were dispersed over the Pacific Ocean and all containers that held the body or ashes being incinerated to prevent any attempt to get a DNA sample.

 

[Lusitania]

Brazil seems to become the hub for Light Helicopter manufacturing, which will be of great use in rescue, patrol, transportation etc.. in the Amazon.

Yes Brazil development and association with the federation does impact the development of both helicopter and plane manufacturing in the country. As early development of both in the country attracts interest from both Brazilian and Portuguese government/investors and not let flounder. (we will discuss plane manufacturing in the Portuguese economy -industrialization section. )

note: scientific and military projects in both Argentina and Brazil did suffer from lack of more qualified individuals. As several prominent or important technical German/Axis linked individuals who iotl fled to South America instead fled to Portugal / Federation who welcomed them and protected them. They included French engineer Emile Dewoitine, German engineer Kurt Tank and Austrian, Ronald Richer. ( Emile Dewoitine worked in aerospace, Kurt Tank worked on in the development of armored cars and tanks while Ronald Richer worked in Portuguese nuclear program). They were amongst the thousands of German/Austrians and former Axis technicians and scientist who were lured to the federation.

Would it be fail to call the Portuguese a Mixed Economy with some State Capitalism.

Yes it is correct, as government departments would for most part work directly with industry to develop technologies, promote industries and manufacturing /development all with goal of either producing something in the federation or increasing its production. This had been the method used during WW2 and had continued well into the post war and well into the 1950s. Government also took stakes as it invested in many industries to help them either expand or get started which in later years were sold on the stock market for a tidy profit.

Although the number of government owned enterprises were actually few as the government preferred government/private enterprise model.

Oh, I would have thought that the Rino would be lighter than a Centurion given its cliental.

you are very right, and in early 1960s that the “Adargueiro” was developed. It was a medium tank, more in that in next military post (1960s).
This leads us into the mentality of the Portuguese in the late 1940s and 1950s as they developed their own military vehicles and equipment. The majority were based on Axis designs such as German submarines, tanks and planes with the express goal of manufacturing a working model ASAP regardless of it was the best model. Even the military operated on that basis with going to great lengths to modify its doctrine to accommodate Portuguese designed equipment.

this was in part based on Portuguese mentality to be as good or equivalent to German/British. It would take many years for the Portuguese to be confident enough in themselves and country to specify a more “Federation” model. For example the use of the Rhino heavy tank supported by Portuguese Armored vehicles during the armored division invasion on central Morocco along with only armored vehicles available to regular divisions exposed many of these gaps in the Moroccan war.

As part of the review after the war Portuguese army identified gaps and several studies initiated looked at two possibilities, designing a heavier armored vehicle or lighter tank. The problem with the heavier armored vehicle was that the Besoiro design could not handle such a heavier load while a “lighter” rhino was easier. Therefore in late 1959 a demand by Portuguese army was initiated for a lighter version of the Rhino tank. The Adargueiro would become Portuguese medium tank

 

[Lusitania]

1950 – 1959 (cont)

Economy

National Economic Priorities​

The creation of Portuguese Federation with provinces on three continents posed several major challenges foremost among them was communications and transportation between the various provinces and territories. In terms of communication the government set several goals in 1950:

• Increase the number of radio stations available in all provinces to 3 while major metropolis would be allocated 5-7 regional stations to provide variety of programming and information for different segments of the population (youth, family, seniors) within 5 years.
• Expansion of current newspapers and book publications to meet the growing literacy levels in Portuguese Federation.
• Expansion of telephone coverage to reach 90% of population and 70% of country by end of decade.
• Introduction of television broadcasting in all major provincial cities.

In terms of transportation the government set several aggressive goals:

• Development of underground metro in major urban areas linked to above ground rail in outskirts to ease congestion and smog which was becoming major issue.
• Expansion of the bus service both urban and rural to provide citizens with proper means of transportation.
• Development of National Road System connecting major economic and urban centers together. Assist provinces in developing provincial road system connected to national system as well as provide for local transportation needs.
• Expansion and rationalization of all rail services in country so that it serviced Portuguese Federation’s needs first and foremost. Distinguish Portuguese rail service from foreign rail service by establishing all internal rail service to use Portuguese gauge.
• Expansion of Portuguese ports and distinguish internal ports from external ports (import/export) with simplified rules and regulations as opposed to ports dealing with import and export out of country.
• Ease of transportation of people and goods between various provinces geographically apart.
• Development of air transportation infrastructure and technology to speed the movement of people and goods between various provinces.

Communication​

In 1951 Portuguese Federation initiated a huge communication project to connect the entire Federation. At that time to make a call between the different parts of Portuguese Federation a person had to go through several exchanges and through different countries. Over the next four years underwater cables were laid connecting all Portuguese provinces independent of all other countries. Portuguese companies received contracts to modernize the entire network and by 1958 Portugal’s new system was implemented. Copying the American Bell system, three-digit area codes were provided to each province, phone number were set at seven numbers and the external connections to outside countries were established and controlled.[1]
During the 1950s Portuguese Federation saw an expansion of radio stations with three national radio stations operating in all provinces and as well in most major cities such as Lisbon and Luanda reaching their maximum government mandated spectrum allocations and by 1959 all major cities and towns also had one to two regional stations.

The number of newspapers were expanded with new newspapers started in most municipalities to provide people with both local and national news. Book publishing also flourished during the 50s as new authors emerged and the cost of books decreased thus making reading more affordable. Select foreign books were also translated and sold in the country while Portuguese could order foreign language books(distributors had a list of approved and banned books from the Information Department (DI), any book not on the lists was imported and reviewed prior to shipping to customer.

The Post Office Telegraphs and Telephones (CTT) Company which had a monopoly in mail service, telegraph and telephone service in Portuguese Federation issued millions of new shares to raise capital several times during the 50s in order to finance the expansion of telephone coverage throughout the country. Demand continued to outpace supply throughout the decade but by 1959 the number of homes with telephone had risen significantly and coverage had reached 80% of goal while telephone service was available to all business operating in major and medium urban centers as well as most rural areas.[2]
In 1952 Portuguese Federation began experimenting with television transmission in several cities. In 1953, the first over the air television stations (RTP) were launched in 5 cities: Lisbon, Porto, Luanda, Benguela and Lourenco Marques. In the first year 25,000 television were sold, and programming was limited to 4 hours a day during weekdays, 6 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday with mass shown twice. During the next several years television transmission was expanded into every part of country, although many poor people continued watching TV at local coffee shops / pubs for many years until television and electricity costs became more affordable.

Transportation​

In 1951 the construction of the first metro line was started in Luanda with about half the line running above ground. Lisbon’s first line began being built in 1953 and Porto’s in 1959. The first lines in Luanda and Lisbon were opened in 1954 and 1956 respectively and by 1959 had doubled the number of stations in each city. Plans were made to build additional lines and new metros during the late 1950s as the popularity and use of the existing lines continued to grow. SOREFAME became the country’s primary manufacturer of rail stock for the Portuguese metros. In 1958 it introduced stainless steel carriages in the new Luanda southern line.

The production of busses for Portuguese market hit all time high by 1955 with bus production in Portuguese Federation surpassing UK for first time. Portuguese bus companies such as Grupo Salvador Caetano (GSC) the largest motor coach and bus manufacturer in the country with plants on the Iberian Peninsula and West Africa vied to supply the 20 plus Portuguese transportation companies with the busses required. Motor coach and bus manufactures were located in Iberian Peninsula, West Africa and East Africa. Congestion and quality of roads became huge issues both in the major cities as well as in many rural areas.

New “Auto-Estradas” as well as free connector roads were built with several major bridge projects such as the Tagus Suspension bridge in Lisbon, the Zambezi Suspension bridge and the Cuanza River bridges (both suspension and non-suspension) started. The government financed non-toll highways and smaller bridges but was forced to turn to private financing for the other larger and more expensive bridges granting them monopolistic rights for 20-30 years. Restrictions on capital outside of country though meant that 50% of the investment came from within the country.[3]
The expansion of rail service in the country and the different gauges being used throughout the federation became a point of contention with people advocating different approaches. In East and West Africa half the railways used Cape Gauge. All the new railways built starting in the 40s used Portuguese gauge. This made transferring materials between the different railways difficult and costly. Disagreement between different rail industry companies and those invested in the current railways in Africa and India wanted to keep the status quo while those concerned about security wanting to switch to the Portuguese wider gauge. Finally, in 1952 it was decided to convert the current Cape gauge to the Portuguese gauge within Portuguese Federation.[4] Only those railways used exclusively to bring raw materials from interior of Africa to ports were to be left as Cape gauge. This upset the rail companies and the Portuguese government was forced to fund part of the conversion costs.

Portuguese railways in Africa began providing real benefits to Portuguese Federation instead of being primarily used for the export of minerals from other countries. In both the East and West Africa their respective separate railways connected for first time. In 1953 a major railway was started in the interior of West Africa connecting Melange and Serpa Pinto. In East Africa, a railway was started from Quelimane to the northern border and the Lake Malawi region. In 1958 Portuguese government negotiated with UK and the Central African Federation[5] to build a railway connecting Serpa Pinto in West Africa to Quelimane in East Africa. The Railway would be built using Portuguese gauge and connect the two parts of Portuguese Africa by direct rail for first time. In Portuguese Morocco, the Portuguese faced challenge of building a rail infrastructure from scratch since the Spanish had not invested in rail transportation. While in Guinea the Portuguese expanded the small railway running from Bauxite mining region to Bissau into a complete railway connecting all the major cities and towns.

Railway Network Upgrade Portuguese Morocco Provinces
1950 - 1967

Railway Network Portuguese Guinea Provinces 1959

Railway Network Upgrade West Africa Provinces
1950 – 1968

Railway Network Upgrade East Africa Provinces
1950 - 1969​

In 1955 transportation costs for goods and people between the various provinces was set at a lower rate than that to other countries. Cost of traveling between Macau and Lisbon became cheaper than traveling from Lisbon and New York. This caused a major expenditure to the Portuguese government but was a huge boost to the number of people traveling between provinces.

In 1952 Portuguese ports were either designated as international or domestic. The larger ports which handled both had to establish physical barriers between the two. Domestic ports had reduced government oversight and no customs agents. Unloading and loading of merchandize was performed as fast as physically possible. The international ports had custom agents and GNR police to guard against smuggling and illegal activity. The need for government inspection resulted in longer processing time and costs. Ships using domestic ports were required to only travel to another domestic ports, travel to an international port would subject the owners, captain and crew to fine and imprisonment.

During the 1950s the number of civilian shipyards reached 12 producing a variety of ships for the fishing industry, merchant marine, and foreign orders. The two largest shipyards were LISNAVE with two locations on the Iberian Peninsula (Lisbon Estuary and Setubal) and BEINAVE located close to port city of Beira in province of Sofala which could build the new super tankers which exceeded 30,000 GRT.

In 1953 the Bristol series 100 and series 200 planes started being delivered to Portuguese market. Three Portuguese airlines were established to operate within the country: Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP), Air Lusitania and Air Portugalia. TAP also received permission to also fly international routes. TAP flew the 74-passenger series 200 planes, while both Air Lusitania and Air Portugalia flew the smaller 48-passenger series 100 short haul planes. The Bristol plants in Britain struggled to fill the initial order of 200 planes for the Portuguese airlines as well as the BOAC order which in 1955 was expanded to 50 planes. In 1956 Bristol began test flying the 55-passenger 150 series plane and 99-passenger 300 series planes, both these new planes offered increased range and advances in handling. Orders for the series 150 and 300 started arriving from other countries and Bristol decided to build an additional plant in the Portuguese Federation to manufacture planes for the Portuguese market while its plants in Britain would be dedicated to British and world market. In 1958, with the introduction of the series 150 and 300 planes the Portuguese order was changed to the new planes. The Bristol-Lusitania Aerospace company was established in Portuguese Federation and a huge plant was built in Portuguese Morocco. At same time that Bristol began development work on the Type 200 jet aircraft for the British European Airways (BEA) and TAP. In 1957 BEA withdrew from the project and selected rival British aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley instead.[6] The withdrawal of BEA was disappointing, but TAP continued to be very interested in the Type 200 and agreed to provide financial support for the development of the aircraft. In 1958 the Type 200 team and project was transferred to the Bristol-Lusitania Aerospace subsidiary and the first prototypes were built in 1959.

From 1950 onward Companhia Aeronáutica Paulista from Brazil was able to double production of its single engine planes for both domestic but more importantly export to the Federation and other South American countries. During the 1950s it produced several models including observation planes for the Portuguese military, agricultural and civilian transport planes. Its original civilian transport plane had a capacity for 3 passengers and pilot but in 1958 it developed a 5-passenger plane providing it with a competitive advantage in the air transportation industry.

[1] This led to a major disagreement between Portuguese Federation and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and its president Gerald C. Gross in the late 50s and early 60s with the assigning of international calling number 42. Portuguese Federation wanted the code to be used for all of Portuguese Federation but the ITU and the Americans who had not recognized Portuguese Federation wanted to assign different codes to each of the former colonies based on the proposed continental zone. In July 1962 following Portuguese President Semedo visit to Washington to meet with President Kennedy the ITU consented to Portuguese demands and Portuguese Federation’s country code remained at 42.

[2] In 1950 the Portuguese government threatened to take away CTT’s monopoly if it did not commit to an aggressive growth plan as outlined by the government. The company could not borrow all the money required for such an expansion and the owners did not want to lose control of the company. The government threat forced it to go to the Lisbon, Porto and Luanda stock markets repeatedly during the 50s diluting the original owner’s stake in the company to 35% of outstanding shares. Ironically in 1959 the 35% was worth four times what the 100% had been in 1950.

[3] This was the primary reason that a second bridge over the Tagus estuary was only scheduled to be built in 1985, but with the closest other bridge in Vila Franca de Xira pressure on the government became intense. In 1970 a second bridge was authorized on the eastern side of the Estuary. iOTL the Lisbon Suspension bridge was only completed in 1966 and second bridge over Tagus estuary built after 2005.

[4] Cape Gauge was ,1067 mm while Portuguese Gauge was 1,664 mm and Indian Gauge was 1,829 mm. In 1955 it was decided to maintain the Portuguese Indian railways using the Indian Gauge.

[5] Central African Federation had been created by UK in 1935 by joining both North and South Rhodesia and Nyasaaland.

[6] Type 200 was designed to carry 100 passengers and could fly up to 1,700 mi (2,750 km).


This section gives us the economic priorities and how the country as whole private industry/government went about the huge monumental task. As seen many of these tasks took a whole decade or even longer to complete. Just as the world and Europe recovered from the war the Portuguese built their country. Many firms especially from Europe benefited from the Portuguese development none more than British firms which were either able to survive or be bought and relocate to the Federation. Another major group is the German as the country received the benefit of the German/Axis distribution, both industry and people from German speaking areas came to the Federation. Questions/ Comments?

We now will return in two weeks May 10 as we continue posting Economy.

 

[Sceonn]

Seems like Boeing won't be benefiting from the Portuguese development, not that it matters much at this point as far as they're concerned. But maybe South America will look to Bristol, or would it be Bristol-Lusitania, more closely when outfitting their Air Service?

With Federation Rail Service Going though different nations in Africa Almost guarantees easy access to offshoring/Outsourcing as wages start raising at home.

In many countries bordering the Federation, Portuguese Media Programming is all they'll have access to for decades to come. This is bound to have an interesting effect. Entertainment tends to be interconnected on the continent with Cheb Khaled, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita etc... are all popular across the board regardless of language barriers in songs. The Federation's presence on the continent should provide an easier springboard for Afro-Pop and further interconnect the already present Latin wave as a two way street instead of the one way it was OTL.