A Lusophone World

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

As terrible as the Indian Civil War is, I can see it as a huge opportunity for Portugal in many ways. Besides the obvious benefits like the fact that they have thousands of new customers for their emerging armament industry, they also have a million Indian refugees that need a new home to settle in. Why not place most of them in Mozambique?

Traditionally, Angola has absorbed the brunt of Portuguese attention and migration while their east African province got much less care. India has a long history of interacting with East Africa so letting all these migrants leave for Mozambique seems like a decent long term plan to me. Since the natural resources of the Algarve and Angola have already been discovered, sending teams to detect the large natural gas and coal fields in Mozambique seems doable - if it hasn’t been discovered yet.

The introduction of modern agricultural technology to the northern regions of Mozambique would produce an decent surplus of food which would be handy for feeding a large and sudden immigration wave. Top that with a booming housing and civil engineering industry and Mozambique could beat Angola in sheer industrial and economic development in the not so distant future.

 

[Lusitania]

It's great to see not only Portugal got back Ceuta, but also it got back the island of Flores (curse you Lopes de Lima) and the surrounding islands, plus a larger Macau. Viva Portugal!

Who would of thought that Portugal had in its self to once more re-assert itself on the world stage.

Ceuta and Spanish North Africa (Spanish Morocco, Ifni and Spanish Sahara) was compensation for all the sacrifice Portuguese had in supporting Spain during the civil war and WW2. The Spanish had no means and plan in developing these regions anyway. There was certain amount of national pride when the Portuguese flag was raised for first time in over 400 years on the Ceuta’s main government plaza. An event that was filmed by Portuguese documentary makers. Hundreds of cameramen and reporters accompanied Portuguese official and troops and filmed Portuguese troops landing and taking possession of the Spanish territories. During month of December as Spain suffered demonstrations the Portuguese were treated to both reporting on radio and newspapers about Portuguese entry and possession of these territories. Movie goers were treated longer than normal footage of Portuguese entry and setting up administrative of these territories in the news portion before movies. A key fact that was presented repeated was how the administrators and police would comment of the lack of development or order of these former Spanish territories in comparison to Portuguese overseas provinces.

Portuguese East Indies plan was to take all of Timor, Flores and some island around it, the backup plan was to unite the Portuguese enclave with rest of Portuguese territory on the island of Timor and reclaim Flores. What it got was a much larger territory that it needed to incorporate (hurriedly). As we will see in the security section later thousands of people moved to both Angola and Mozambique that were experiencing great economic development as way of asserting Portuguese control over many of the islands. Bringing thousands of Africans to help Portugal administer the territory. Much of this was only started in the late 1940s and would take whole of 1950s.

Iotl Macau expansion had been hoped but the Americans who liberated Maxau did not return the previously occupied territory to Portugal but instead returned to nationalist China.

ITTL the Portuguese took possession of its territory on their own and re-asserted their control over the extra territory. Through shrewd and adamant negotiations the Portuguese and Chinese agreed to compromise that helped Portugal increase the size of Macau 3 fold and supply China in its war against communists.

What we missing is Portuguese India but that will only be discussed in the 1950s.

Portugal can say whatever they want, but their armament industry must be making huge amounts of wealth from all these emerging wars in Asia (and Africa in the future). I'm happy for them, but I can see why the US might get annoyed.

And Israel is doing pretty well for itself. I'm glad that some nations have their back - especially during their chaotic birth years.

Yes, although all arm trades are brokered by portuguese government who earns taxes on the sales. In some sales the Portuguese government finances the sale itself, which allowed the Portuguese government to write off the debt in trade for China recognition of expanded Macau.

Portuguese arms industries are expanding considerably. Many of which are building new plants and by end of decade double production. (See armament industry in Portuguese armed forces post).

Portuguese arms trade while a competitor was not the main US complain. The biggest problem was that Portugal in both conflicts was supporting the “wrong” group in US opinion. This reinforced US opinion that Portugal was involved in these conflicts for its own gains and not working for to establish peace and order which was the US only objective.


As for Israel yes compared to iotl it is.

 

[Th3saint]

Another point of friction with the US will be when minorities start being part of the ruling body of the new federation some in the south may consider it an existencial threat just like the comunists.

 

[Lusitania]

Portuguese East Indies plan was to take all of Timor, Flores and some island around it, the backup plan was to unite the Portuguese enclave with rest of Portuguese territory on the island of Timor and reclaim Flores. What it got was a much larger territory that it needed to incorporate (hurriedly).

Here is a map of the evolution of Portuguese East Indies
Included in the maps are Plan A and Plan B
​

 

[Lusitania]

As terrible as the Indian Civil War is, I can see it as a huge opportunity for Portugal in many ways. Besides the obvious benefits like the fact that they have thousands of new customers for their emerging armament industry, they also have a million Indian refugees that need a new home to settle in. Why not place most of them in Mozambique?

Traditionally, Angola has absorbed the brunt of Portuguese attention and migration while their east African province got much less care. India has a long history of interacting with East Africa so letting all these migrants leave for Mozambique seems like a decent long term plan to me. Since the natural resources of the Algarve and Angola have already been discovered, sending teams to detect the large natural gas and coal fields in Mozambique seems doable - if it hasn’t been discovered yet.

The introduction of modern agricultural technology to the northern regions of Mozambique would produce an decent surplus of food which would be handy for feeding a large and sudden immigration wave. Top that with a booming housing and civil engineering industry and Mozambique could beat Angola in sheer industrial and economic development in the not so distant future.

You are on the right track about the Indian situation being both an opportunity and where they could settle and immigration both externally and internally will be handled in the Security section. We already had some migration to these areas in the 1930s and in the 1940s will see a greater migration.

As you have indicated Angola was the primary focus iotl while Mozambique has languished. This was in part due to the development of Mozambique being controlled by British colonial companies. Ittl these companies were bought out and Mozambique was equally developed. One of the primary areas of development was coal in the Tete region which came online in the mid 1930s. Ironically the Portuguese built Mozambique first internal railway to bring the coal to port (all other railways till then were to bring British goods from British Africa to Portuguese ports). At same time agriculture development also started happening and that has continued in the 1940s. Gas industry was also started in the late 1940s. While Mozambique lacked in resources when in comparison to Angola it was being developed equally. Lastly industry will also be a main focus in Mozambique in the 1940s as the country looks to diversify location of industry. All of these topics are covered in detail in the economic section.

 

[Lusitania]

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

1940 – 1949 (cont.)

The Post War Years 1945 – 1949 (cont.)

World (3 of 3)

South America – Brazil​

In 1945 bowing to both political and external pressure the military staged a coup and Brazil’s Estado Novo government of President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was overthrown and democratic elections were called for both congress and president. The election was far from fair, with Vargas and the people behind Estado Novo still wielding a lot of power and influence. They nominated Eurico Gaspar Dutra as their candidate who ran against Eduardo Gomes who was backed by the União Democrática Nacional and Ledo Fiúza and by Partido Comunista do Brasil. On 2 December 1945 Dutra won by over 3 million votes and was inaugurated President on 31 January 1946. Thus, to all appearances Brazil had transitioned from dictatorship to democracy in reality Vargas and Estado Novo continued to exert a great deal of influence on both the Presidency and Brazilian congress.

Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Minister of Defense 1936 – 1945
President of Brazil 1945 -1951​

During WWII Dutra had come to appreciate and admire the power of the US and he was very aware of challenges facing Brazil in the post war world. Therefore, he set about trying to modernize Brazil. A new constitution was enacted marking the return to democracy. Under Dutra presidency he and his cabinet attempted to modernize and reorganize the country. The Social Service of Industry (SESI) and Social Service of Commerce (SESC), and the General Staff, were created. Dutra a devout Catholic viewed gambling as sinful and ordered the closing of casinos and prohibited gambling in the country.

The government’s development strategy proposed in 1947 known as the “Salte Plan”, due to its emphasis on Health, Food, Transportation and Energy was aimed at the management of public spending and investment in key sectors in the country. Hampering the government’s ability to increase development of the country was the precarious situation of the country foreign reserves. Brazil limited foreign reserves and limited exports (coffee accounted for more than half of Brazil exports. At first President Dutra government tried to simulate the country by liberalizing trade and depreciating the Brazilian currency However, imports of goods led to a rapid depletion of the country's foreign exchange reserves. In 1947, under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the Brazilian currency was re-pegged to the U.S. currency. Unfortunate this made Brazilian exports more expensive and discouraged exports, encouraging, on the other hand, the import of equipment, machinery and other inputs, excluding consumer goods, and favored the expansion of the manufacturing sector. The one area that assisted the Brazilian economy was the Portuguese – Brazilian Accord of 1944 which had liberalized trade between the two countries but more importantly had established the framework for the bartering of trade between the two countries. Since the signing of the accord trade between Portugal and Brazil had been growing at double digits each year and the percentage that was barter was growing at double the rate of growth.

On 10 September 1947 president Dutra wife, Carmela Teles Leite Dutra, was admitted to hospital with acute appendicitis. On 17 September 1947 she slipped into comma and doctors did not expect her to survive. On 21 September 1947 against all odds she awoke from coma and doctors were astonished at her recovery. The President who had not left her bedside and the whole country were ecstatic at her recovery which she attributed to the intervention of Virgen Mary who came to her in a dream while she was in coma. On 23 September 1947 an announcement was made of the upcoming visit from 2-15 October to Portugal in which the President and his wife would be making a special pilgrimage to the Virgen Mary Shrine in Fatima Portugal to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgen Mary to three shepherds. The country and government were thrown in turmoil regarding the news and the visit to Portugal.

On 1 October 1947 President Dutra, his wife and an array of government and religious leaders departed Brazil for Portugal. Several thousands of Brazilians also boarded several ships during the same time to accompany the President. The state visit and private pilgrimage to Fatima was big news and covered by both Brazilian and Portuguese press. A huge state banquet was arranged on the 14th of October on the eve of President Dutra departure. At the Banquet President Dutra expressed both his gratitude to God and Portuguese hosts whom he also announced his admiration for their development and progress.[1]

At last meeting on 15th of October with his Portuguese counterpart President João Semedo, President Dutra privately confided that both he and the rest of the Brazilians were shocked at the level of development in Portugal. President Semedo then said, if this shocks you then you must visit Luanda and see for yourself the level of development there for that will leave you breathless.

Intrigued President Dutra took President Semedo up on his invitation. President Semedo then accompanied President Dutra and they travel together to Luanda. President Dutra and the Brazilian were truly astonished at the development for there was construction everywhere. Factories, office buildings, commercial, infrastructure and residential construction was occurring in almost all parts of the city and the outskirts. The Brazilians left the city the next day in shock and President Dutra for the first time was able to actually see the development and industrialization happening outside of US and saw it was actually possible and not just a dream to build a country to be as rich as US (not that he thought Portugal was but he saw Brazil following Portugal’s lead and becoming as strong and developed as US).

Upon his return to Brazil, Dutra and his cabinet (half of whom had been with him in Portugal) updated their strategic development plan and submitted them to Congress in March 1948. Borrowing on many aspects of the similar Portuguese plans they were tailored to meet the needs of Brazil and take into consideration the huge size of the country. Instead of the national plan having national goals it instead was comprised of several regional plans to be implemented by state governments with federal government acting as coordinator and setting national standards.

On 15 June 1948 congress passed the plan and President Dutra at the invitation of the US president visited the US to drum up private investment as well as US government support for Brazilian strategic plan. At a meeting with American President Truman the Americans were very receptive to the Brazilian proposal but were concerned regarding growing closeness of Brazil and Portugal whom the Americans did not trust. President Truman went as far as stating that Brazil can either be a friend of US or Portugal but not both. President Dutra eager for American help clearly assured the Americans that US was Brazil’s most important trading partner and ally. Subsequent meetings with both IMF and World Bank though were less fruitful that President Dutra had hoped for, for both were willing to provide Brazil with 200 million dollars in loans, but the conditions were very restrictive and in President Dutra opinion would of straddled Brazil with a huge amount of debt and no guarantee of success. President Dutra's attempt to get the American Administration to commit and agree to specific subsidies and support also provided no clear commitments. On 22th of July President Dutra traveled to New York and spoke at the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce gala event in his honor. The trip had gone well but, in the end, President Dutra had not received the support and commitments from the US government and investment community who while polite were hesitant to invest in Brazil due to concerns regarding the political and financial situation of Brazil.

When Dutra left New York, he surprised the Americans and sailed instead to Lisbon first instead of directly to Brazil.[2] There in Lisbon on 29 July 1948 the Brazil-Portugal accord was signed, providing Brazil with support from Portuguese government, Portuguese and European investment in mining and other industries. Portuguese oil company agreed to build 3 oil refineries in Brazil. Portuguese company executives signed several agreements with their Brazilian counterparts and Brazilian government to invest and develop Brazilian resources. As part of the agreement the Portuguese government guaranteed 200-million-dollar loan with no strings and provided same amount of line of credit to purchase Portuguese goods.

Coinciding with the signing of the Portuguese-Brazilian agreement was the Iron Curtain Crises in Europe, which saw communist insurgents and forces try to overrun both Czech Republic and Germany. The American response to the Portuguese-Brazil accord was muted due to their growing involvement in Europe.

In Brazil news of the Portuguese-Brazilian 1948 accord and Portuguese loan along with the failure of Brazil to secure US support sent shockwaves through certain Brazilian government circles. At same time there was a growing anti-Portuguese attitude amongst the Left-wing parties with the communist being the most anti-Portuguese party due in part to the persecution of Communists in Portugal.

Leading the "revolt" against President Dutra was Carlos Lacerda who through his newspaper “Tribuna da Imprensa” Press Tribune called for the overthrow of the President. Carlos Lacerda anti-Dutra policies gained some support amongst pro-USA government officials and military leaders who saw the failure in Washington and the support received from Portugal whom many still considered a country weaker and poorer than Brazil as a huge failure on Dutra’s part.

In Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda first from his newspaper and then speaking in public convinced a few thousand civilians, soldiers and sailors in following him and nominated Major Rubens Vaz as his military leader. Major Vaz armed group was able to seize the port but were unable to capture any ships in port. Lacerda led some police and other armed civilians were able to seize Radio Cajuti and started transmitting their message to the people in Rio this coincided with another Radio station Rádio Globo whose owner was a supporter of Lacerda to also start transmitting message supporting the coup and denouncing President Dutra.

Few hours later, Division General Euclides Zenóbio da Costa ordered General Teixeira Lott to restore order. He moved into Rio de Janeiro with the III Brigade and they proceeded to Radio Cajuti which was the location of most of the Lacerda supporters. The sight of the soldiers advancing towards them was sufficient for majority of the supporters to flee. In the end less than 100 supporters were arrested by the troops, unfortunately Lacerda was not one of them for he had escaped at news of military arrival. The final confrontation late in the evening was the confrontation between Major Vaz forces and General Lott forces which outnumbered Major Vaz forces 5-1. When several naval ships moved towards the insurgents they surrendered, and the revolt was defeated. After Radio Cajuti and Major Rubens Vaz forces surrendered General Teixeira Lott and his troops showed up in front of Radio Globo and forced it to retract their support on threat of arrest.[3]

To many people’s surprise when President Dutra arrived back in Brazil and was told of the attempted coup, he issued Presidential pardon to all those involved.

President Dutra returned to Brazil to both a bewildered country and one optimistic about the future. Investment in Brazilian resources was one of the first areas that the Portuguese investment occurred, and Brazilian government provided support and investment in improving infrastructure to move the resources to port.

In September 1948 President Dutra calling the Brazilian Communist party "internationalist, and therefore not committed to Brazil's own interests" ordered the arrests of leaders and militants and the Brazilian communist party was banned.[4] Many Brazilians had opposed the government action and were unsure of the closer Portuguese-Brazilian relations, but the Christmas day bombings in Europe robbed the communist party of many of its supporters and sympathizers.

South America – Argentina​

During WWII the Portuguese and Argentina trade and diplomatic relationship expanded considerably. The barter trade program started in the 1930s had expanded but in time Portugal was paying Argentina in hard currency for Argentina agriculture and resources. The Portuguese in a delicate situation stuck between Axis and Allies and lacking military means to defend itself attempted to appease both camps by selling everything it could at reduced prices to provide incentive for both groups not to attack it. At same time it tried to keep Spain amenable, Portugal sold Spain food that it produced domestically, as well as it imported at below cost and on credit to make Spanish feel it was in their best interest to remain neutral. To the Germans it sold both oil, tungsten, steel and even food (while maintaining appearance it was moving towards joining Axis). To the British the Portuguese tried to make itself indispensable by selling British almost anything it could on credit, the Portuguese exported food, oil, steel and other resources at reduced prices even to point where it hindered Portugal’s own development and industry.

To be able to accomplish all of this by itself would of left the country and its people starving were it not for Portugal’s ability to import agricultural products from Argentina to both feeds its people and to “sell”, over the course of the war Portugal became the Argentina’s major customer. Many Argentinean merchant ships were also contracted by the Portuguese government and companies to both deliver goods to Portugal but also to deliver Portuguese goods to allied nations. During the War Argentina received oil from Portugal which it used for its own needs as well as re-export to other South American countries earning it additional profits. During the war the Portuguese sold and bartered with Argentina not only oil and other resources not available from other countries but some of the industrial goods it was manufacturing including a few locomotives for Argentina railways, trucks, tractors and some of the consumer goods.

While selling directly to British continued to be an option the British financial situation during the war meant it was unable to pay in cash and instead in credit making selling to Portuguese more attractive so much so that by end of war it held over 500 million in Portuguese escudos. This left the Argentinean economy in very good shape and the mood in country was one of optimism.

While economically Argentina was in a very good shape both during the war and immediately following the war politically the country was in turmoil. The military and conservative elements of the country had maintained power through the use of several electoral illegal practices. In 1937 Roberto Ortiz was elected president and it was under his administration the Portuguese – Argentina trade agreement was expanded after war broke out. But due to his fragile health he was succeeded by his Vice-President Ramon Castillo in 1942. During this time there was a huge conflict between members of the government who were leaning towards joining the war on the Allies side and those who wanted to remain neutral and deal with both sides.

On 4 June 1943 the government of President Castillo was overthrown by a coalition of military and conservative figures called the United Offices Group (GOU). Pedro Pablo Ramirez assumed the Presidency and while pledging to remaining neutral did break off relationship with the Axis group which till then continued to have a large embassy and influence in Argentina. In early 1944 Edelmiro Farrell took over the Presidency and it was he who welcomed the President Carmona on the Portuguese first official visit to Argentina. The increase trade with Portugal meant that its exposure in Argentina had grown. Many people in Argentina empathized with Portuguese and their position stuck between the Allies and Axis. Therefore, the Portuguese declaration of war against the Axis and its president’s visit to Argentina was very big news. During the visit President Carmona and President Farrell discussed the prospects of the war and Portugal’s own declaration of war to which President Carmona assured the Argentinean President that trade between the two would continue at current levels and Argentinean ships would be safe in Portuguese waters.[5] At the meeting the war’s progress and the need for Portuguese to protect themselves from rising American aggression which Argentina was also witnessing. Argentinean participation in the war were also discussed as way to appease that pressure. On 5 December 1944 President Argentina declared war against Germany although they provided no military forces to the conflict.[6]

It was following the 1943 coupe that Argentina saw the emergence of a political leader who would define Argentinean politics for decades to come Juan Peron. Following the coup Juan Peron became labor Minister and charged with managing relations with laborers and unions. He was promoted to Vice President after Edelmiro Farrell became President and following Argentina declaration of war against Germany also given the title of Minister Secretary of War. As Labor Minister Peron provided unionized workers and laborers with several new rights and improved wages, but his public rhetoric soon gained rivalries amongst the conservatives in power and he was deposed from government and arrested on 9 October 1945. The arrest of the highly popular minister angered many Argentinians and unions and other labor organizations rallied to his defense. On October 17 massive demonstration against the government forced President Farrell to free Peron and restore him to office. One of the driving members of the “free Peron” movement was Eva Duarte who following his release would marry Peron and be forever known as Eva Peron and become immortalized as one of Argentina’s most popular figures.

Argentinians demonstrating to free Juan Peron​

During the 1945 election Peron ran for presidency on the Labor Party ticket against an array of opposition groups both from the left and conservative right. Peron who was a admirer of the Portuguese model had actually held several meetings with several Portuguese government officials during Portuguese President’s visit in 1944 advocated as part of his election platform several popular policies some of whom were being used in Portugal. Coming out in opposition Peron was the US ambassador Spruille Braden who even campaigned against Peron. Peron won the election by a landslide and subsequently relations with the US suffered as the American ambassador viewed Peron someone who was against American interests in South America. Another consequence of Peron’s election was the negative portrayal of Portuguese influence in Argentina who ambassador Spruille Braden viewed as Portuguese interference in Americas and was contrary to American interest.

When Perón became president on 4 June 1946, his two stated goals were social justice and economic independence. To accomplish these two goals required Argentina to avoid Cold War entanglements and choosing between capitalism and socialism, but he had no concrete means to achieve those goals. Perón instructed his economic advisers to develop a five-year plan with the goals of increasing workers' pay, achieving full employment, stimulating industrial growth of over 40% while diversifying the sector (then dominated by food processing), and greatly improving transportation, communication, energy and social infrastructure (in the private, as well as public, sectors).

In 1946 Argentina created the Argentine Institute for the Promotion of Trade (IAPI) to govern the import and export trade and control foreign currency exchange. Prior to 1946 exports and imports had been controlled private companies and in many cases the government had little control. The barter trade with Portugal had shown the government the benefit controlling all trade exchange.

Using the huge government surplus accumulated during the war Peron and his government nationalized many of the country’s major companies and industries while paying off the government debt which was held by European banks.

Hampering the Peron government was growing American opposition to nationalization program as well as its desire to become self-sufficient. The Americans who had large investments in agriculture and mining felt threatened by Peron’s policies and they feared loss of American influence in the region. In 1947 a hostile American congress excluded Argentina from Marshal Plan and locked Argentina from lucrative European agricultural market. The loss of the European market hurt Argentina economy and export were reduced by over 50%. Following the war Argentina had scaled back its sale of agricultural goods to Portugal and started selling its product directly to war devastated Europe. By 1947 Europe accounted for 70% of Argentina agricultural exports with the Portuguese accounting for majority of the remainder. The loss of such an important market had the potential of hurting Argentina and preventing Peron from realizing his goals of making Argentina a major industrialized nation.

In November of that year Peron visited Washington in an effort to ease tensions with the US. He met with American President Truman and relations seemed to improve between the two countries. Truman agreed to replace the American ambassador with someone more neutral. But on the topic of Peron’s main goal the US congress refused to reconsider Argentina’s participation in the Marshal Plan unless it reversed it nationalization program. Refusing to be defeated Peron followed the Brazilian President example and travelled to Portugal to discuss increasing trade relations. The Portuguese who had in previous year also had its own brush with American displeasure tried to appease and help the Argentineans. In 1947 when the American congress was debating Marshall Plan three countries had been singled out to be excluded (Portugal, Brazil and Argentina). Luckily for the Portuguese with British assistance the issue of Nazi gold was resolved, and as part of the agreement Portugal had won reprieve from any American action that would limit its trade in Agricultural or minerals with Europe. The Portuguese much to the displeasure of the Americans also lobbied on behalf its two American friends. After much lobbying the Americans had relented on Brazil but refused to budge regarding Argentina.

In Lisbon, President João Semedo and President Peron publicly pledged to support one another, and Portugal publicly pledged to increase its purchase of agricultural products from Argentina and to expand the barter trade to ease Argentina’s foreign currency issues. This together with currency controls implemented by Peron provided many Portuguese-British companies to start or expand their exports to Argentina under the barter agreement. Portuguese consumer goods, industrial goods and even vehicles got their first entry into the Argentina market while American goods were being blocked due to currency controls. On the side note the export market on both Argentina and Brazil re-enforced the perception by many British companies that it was more beneficial to be manufacturing or at least assembling their products in Portugal instead of exporting them from Britain.

Portugal did commit to assist Argentina both its development and diversification program and like Brazil, Argentina became an important market for growing Portuguese industrial goods which in some cases began displacing American manufactured goods.

As the 1940s ended the people of Argentina like its largest neighbor to the north were enjoying the fruits of a fast-growing economy but the nationalization and importation of industrial goods along limitation on exports were eating away at Argentina’s foreign reserves. Limiting industrial growth was lack of domestic capital and the unwillingness of many foreign firms to invest in Argentina especially the recent wave of nationalization witnessed in the last few years. While Economic growth during the 1940s had been over 53% in the last two years growth slowed to under 4% as hostile US trade policies hurt Argentina export luckily trade with Portugal had offset some of those loses.[7]

[1] During President Dutra visit, he and the rest of the Brazilian delegation were able to tour several recent industrialized cities south of Lisbon. Then he travelled on the recently completed “fogette” high speed train travelling between Lisbon and Porto. On the day before his visit to Fatima he visited newly mechanized and modernized farms in the Alentejo area before touring several hydroelectric and thermal plants. To say that President and the Brazilians including press were shocked at the changes and industrialization Portugal was an understatement.

[2] While President Dutra was in Washington and New York the Portuguese embassy aware of Dutra desires invited him to visit Portugal again. Following the trip the previous year the Portuguese offered to help Brazil in its development and also become a conduit for both Portuguese and other Foreign investment.

[3] Roberto Marinho the owner of both Radio Globo and Globo Newspaper was forced to stop all public support for the coup and as part of the agreement with the military was forced to not talk or print anything in support of the attempted coup. As for the Newspaper which already had the editorial written for next day plus front page supporting the attempted coup it scrapped the next day edition blaming it on press failure. Both the radio and newspaper never mentioned the coup, the government military action and President’s pardon. As though it never happened.

[4] The Brazilian Communist Party had criticized both the initial visit of President Dutra to Portugal and come out against the 1948 accord between the two countries. But what sealed their fate was several articles in the communist party newspaper supporting the communist insurrection and military action in Europe.

[5] The Portuguese-German accord signed in 1940 after the fall of France had several provisions that tried to protect Portuguese ships from German submarine attacks. Portuguese merchant ships in addition to flying Portuguese flag also had the word “Portugal” written on their sides in an effort to identify them and reduce risk of German U-boats attacking them. During the war about a dozen Portuguese ships were lost the large Portuguese merchant fleet was largely spared German U-boat attacks when compared to the Allied ship loses. In 1942 majority of Argentina merchant ships also began flying the Portuguese flag and had “Portugal” written on their sides much to the displeasure of the Argentina government but this action resulted in Argentina not losing any of its ships during war. (Although when these ships reached Argentina waters, they flew Argentina flag, but nothing could be done regarding the wording on the side of the ship.)

[6] The Argentina Navy was tasked with escorting both Portuguese and Argentina merchant ships between Argentina and Portugal and then joined the Portuguese and British naval ships escorting Merchant ship convoys to Britain and later liberated Europe. A few weeks before the Argentinian government declared war select Buenos Aires theatres began showing the Portuguese documentary called “A Solução Final: O Inferno na Terra”, “The final solution: Hell on Earth” about German extermination camps. This was the first country to show the documentary outside of Portugal. (see Security section for explanation of the documentary). The documentary angered many people and also was condemned by many but it was crucial in convincing many people it was important to join Allies.

[7] iOTL Argentina fiscal situation was more complicated with part of its foreign reserves tied up in Britain and no export outlet provided by Portugal. Economic growth from 1948 to 1950 was actually negative and Argentina GDP reached 85,524 million by 1950. iTTL Argentina foreign reserves at end of war were in much better position and its trade with Portugal had allowed Argentina GDP to reach 92,101 million by 1950.


In this post I wanted to elaborate on the several sections; the start of Portuguese friendly diplomatic and mutual beneficial trade relations with both Brazil and Argentina. Both of the countries fell into the "American Sphere" and the Americans view of the Portuguese went from irate with its Nazi past, frustrated at Portuguese movement towards Federation, pissed off at Portuguese involvement in both Indian subcontinent and South East Asia to angry at Portugal's meddling in US backyard. While Portuguese involvement was minor in comparison to the overall development of both countries but over time would become another major issue in the Portuguese-American relationship.

Questions / Comments?

In two weeks on September 29 we will return with 1st of the Economic post discussing the economic changes being witnessed in the country.

 

[TimTurner]

to see Brazil become pals with Portugal is quite natural ITTL. Argentina is more surprising but makes sense given Peron's independent streak.

 

[Sceonn]

Brazil and Argentina tying the knot with Portugal will certainly give the Third World (assuming Portugal uses that epithet) enough bite to their bark.

Will the world then becme a quadro-order with US, Soviet, Portuguese and Anti-Colonialists/Western? Taiwan/Nationalists might pursue Portuguese as the better option if/when the US dumps them for China.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

It's time for a South Atlantic Treaty Organization

 

[Lusitania]

to see Brazil become pals with Portugal is quite natural ITTL. Argentina is more surprising but makes sense given Peron's independent streak.

Yes it is very natural for Brazil and Portugal to team up and an industrialized Portugal would be beneficial to Brazil and Brazil market beneficial to Portugal as we are seeing. As for Argentina it just "happened" trade between the two countries leads to mutual respect. Circumstances and foreign pressures brings them closer. It helps that Peron's attitude of not following America's lead but trying to find a neutral path trading and living with both groups runs into America "my way or the highway". This left Peron looking for partners in which support his vision for Argentina. The thing is that Peron is a bi naïve in his thinking. If he had been a staunch anti-Communist leader while nationalist and trying to modernize and industrialize Argentina he might of had US support. But he tried to both industrialize, develop country and go his own way diplomatically which during the cold war was a dangerous combination.

 

[Lusitania]

Brazil and Argentina tying the knot with Portugal will certainly give the Third World (assuming Portugal uses that epithet) enough bite to their bark.

Will the world then becme a quadro-order with US, Soviet, Portuguese and Anti-Colonialists/Western? Taiwan/Nationalists might pursue Portuguese as the better option if/when the US dumps them for China.

You are not too far from your mark. For in the 1960s the Cold War actually became a 4 way race (US & western allies, Soviet Union & Leninist communist Allies, Communist China & Maoists Communist Allies, and portuguese Federation & Allied nations) this would change again in the 1990s with Soviet schism and become a 3 way Cold War with US & Allies, Communist Cooperative, and Lusitania Alliance.

It's time for a South Atlantic Treaty Organization

Yes it does seem that is the way it seems to be going. While iotl SATO never really got off the ground and achieved equivalency with NATO having the federation presence in the Southern Hemisphere did change the emphasis from just the northern hemisphere. It would be one of several treaty defense organizations the Federation would belong to since it had provinces and interests in several areas.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Yes it does seem that is the way it seems to be going. While iotl SATO never really got off the ground and achieved equivalency with NATO having the federation presence in the Southern Hemisphere did change the emphasis from just the northern hemisphere. It would be one of several treaty defense organizations the Federation would belong to since it had provinces and interests in several areas.

So aside from the Federation, Brazil, and Argentina, who else can be roped in? South Africa? Uruguay? the UK?

 

[Lusitania]

So aside from the Federation, Brazil, and Argentina, who else can be roped in? South Africa? Uruguay? the UK?

South Africa is not what we would consider a friend of the federation the divergence was in the 1940s as Portugal went about dismantling the laws and institutions that discriminated against Africans and started treating them same as Europeans the South Africans instead went about bringing in greater repression of non Europeans.

Iotl South Africa limited immigration of Europeans on fear they would dilute the power of the Afrikaners. Iotl They were a natural ally of Portugal which was practicing similar Type of government as South Africa and Rhodesia. Here they are not and in many ways felt threatened by Portugal’s development of Portuguese and political changes (federation).

In addition the industrialization of the Portuguese overseas provinces meant that South African companies also lost a huge and rapidly growing market. More on this in the Economics section we will start posting next weekend.

Now for other countries Uruguay is a very good example of a small country being dominated by its larger neighbors and being forced to follow their lead. This was very true Following the plaza de Mayo attack.

As for UK and France are very important players in the area with both countries having major presence in area. The problem for both was budgetary but more importantly being forced to be secondary powers in the region dominated by Federation, Brazil and Argentina all of whom would have much larger naval and military presence in the region. There is a lot of cooperation and support including some military exercises but they not part of the alliance. Secondly both countries especially Britain are making a complete withdrawal from Africa starting in the 1950s while France is more gradual but still reduced presence starting in 1960s.

Now Chile be a good candidate, along with Paraguay of new member candidates in the 1960s.

The 1970s will also be a time that the Alliance could grown but growth in the Alliance is tempered by growth in the Lusitania Commonwealth which got its start in the early 1960s. Without getting too much into specifics it has been compared to British commonwealth, NATO and EEC, with elements of EU all combined into one organization. (We will cover it in detail during the 1960s forward).

 

[Jürgen]

Honestly I don’t see a antagonistic relationship between South Africa and Portugal ITTL. Portugal will be seen negative by the pan-Africans and communists here just as much as in OTL. While the stronger and more industrial Portuguese Africa will weaken some South African export opportunities, a stronger southern African economy will ultimate lift all boats and both countries benefit from trading with each and far more than with the poorer African countries. Yes there will be ideological difference, but both will deal with the fact that they have common enemies.

 

[Lusitania]

Honestly I don’t see a antagonistic relationship between South Africa and Portugal ITTL. Portugal will be seen negative by the pan-Africans and communists here just as much as in OTL. While the stronger and more industrial Portuguese Africa will weaken some South African export opportunities, a stronger southern African economy will ultimate lift all boats and both countries benefit from trading with each and far more than with the poorer African countries. Yes there will be ideological difference, but both will deal with the fact that they have common enemies.

While I would of preferred to discuss this in the Foreign Relations section I think it appropriate to discuss it now since I brought it up.

As per iotl South Africa wanted to invade and occupy Portuguese Africa (Angola and Mozambique) due to Portugal’s neutrality and trade with Axis during WW2 (It was nothing more than greed) but the British vetoed the plan and ittl Portugal greatly increased both troop level and fighting ability to make it more difficult.

in the TL we also have new twists that started to sour Portuguese - South Africa relations in the 1930s and 1940s:

• the elimination of the trading companies operating in Mozambique that practically controlled the production of colony. (Many were based in South Africa)
  
• Expelling of all foreign missionaries (replace by Portuguese both catholic and Protestant)
• Enactment of laws and policies that provided Portuguese nationality to thousands of blacks (speak Portuguese and catholic) the religion aspect was changed to christian in the mid 1940s.
  
• legal protection to all remaining blacks now considered residents. Which outlawed servitude or slavery without payment.
  
• Development of Portuguese industry in these colonies including auto industry in late 1940s that resulted in imposition of substantial tariffs on foreign products.
• Standardization of standards such as electrical, automobile and other standards that differed from South Africa shutting out many South African firms from Portuguese market.
  
• Increase in Portuguese military forces in Portuguese Africa such that South Africa felt threatened. (Note When news of 1940s Portuguese arms deal with Britain reached South Africa there was anger and strong protest and lobbying but to no avail. Britain could not afford not to sell to Portugal)
• In addition to Portuguese tariffs on items made in South Africa, the Portuguese also reformed their taxation on imports and exports. Gone were the taxation on trade between Portugal and its colonies replaced by higher taxation on imports and continued taxation on exports (lower level).
  
• Lastly and even more importantly was the concept of the federation with removal of all colonial, residency and nationality laws that discriminated against non-Europeans.

These factors on their own are irritants and should not of prevented the two countries from cooperating and even allying when faced with Pan-African communist threat. But that was in the 1960s. From 1945 to 1960 the two countries continued to diverge even more to point by 1960 they had broken off diplomatic relations. While I won’t go into the specifics of the 1950s I do want to point out several important 1940s divergences:

• The creation of Apartheid in South Africa in late 1940s was completely contrary to direction Portuguese were going with their Federation.
  
• Portuguese Africa European population by end of 1940s was over 1 million, vast majority were recent arrivals and did not have the traditional segregation and colonial attitudes of those living in Africa for long time.
  
• South Africa government lost the referendum on leaving British Commonwealth and government blames recent immigrants from Britain and elsewhere in Europe for loss. (Vote iotl was won by 1/2 percent this time loss by 3/4 percent. Some speculate due to Portuguese example.) in response SA imposes restrictive emigration policy in place and only admits Europeans who share Afrikaners point of view. No new Portuguese immigrants.

These factors were the basis for deterioration relations between the two countries. How it all plays out in the 1950s and 1960s we will see.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

South Africa government lost the referendum on leaving British Commonwealth and government blames recent immigrants from Britain and elsewhere in Europe for loss. (Vote iotl was won by 1/2 percent this time loss by 3/4 percent. Some speculate due to Portuguese example.) in response SA imposes restrictive emigration policy in place and only admits Europeans who share Afrikaners point of view. No new Portuguese immigrants.

You mean the referendum to abolish the monarchy?

If the Afrikaner population is too weak to force that through I doubt the Nationalist party would even be in power.

 

[Lusitania]

You mean the referendum to abolish the monarchy?

If the Afrikaner population is too weak to force that through I doubt the Nationalist party would even be in power.

The referendum was not that lopsided it was only won 52 to 48 iotl it was only voted upon in 1960 here in 1949 after several public disputes with Britain specifically Britain selling Portuguese advanced military hardware, including best British tanks, ships, aircraft. Then when portuguese enacted tariffs on SA cars and switched from right hand to left hand in Mozambique and elsewhere in Portugal it caught the SA car manufacturers off guard some of whom had just recently expanded to meet Portuguese demand. Then the currency conversion negatively affected SA companies and individuals. That many British firms were benefiting from Portuguese actions made the Afrikaners angry and there was a huge demand to abandon Commonwealth and become republic. The referendum went against Nationalist who blamed British loyalist and enacted new emigration laws.

As for staying in power they certainly did in the 1948s but we will have to see what 1950s entail.

 

[Sceonn]

What rational is there to turn to left hand driving? Economically I don't see it.

 

[Lusitania]

What rational is there to turn to left hand driving? Economically I don't see it.

think there bit of confusion we had left hand move to right hand.

The Portuguese standardized the whole country (all colonies) to same standards that was being used Portugal. Therefore car manufacturers were able to manufacture car for whole country. The idea with establishment of the federation was to unite all provinces including overseas provinces into single country using same standard. So electric standard plus motor vehicle standard were just the beginning. The provinces affected by motor vehicle change were in East Indies, Indian subcontinent and Portuguese East Africa that moved to same as standard as Portuguese Atlantic African provinces and Metropolitan Portugal.

 

[Lusitania]

1940 – 1949 (cont.)

The Post War Years 1945 – 1949 (cont.)

Economy (1 of 2)​

The development of the economy become one of the primary objectives of the government, and together with business and unions worked together to expand the country’s industrial capacity, jobs were aplenty even with all the immigration and the attitude of the people having come through some of the darkest times was one of optimism. The Portuguese government spent large amount of money that it had squirrelled away during the war and a large portion of the country’s gold reserves to finance many badly needed infrastructure projects and support industry who themselves also had large amounts of capital saved and ready to invest.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing​

The Agricultural development started after the 2nd “Strategic Development Plan” continued both in Europe, Africa and other parts of country to increase agricultural production. This was facilitated by the continued movement of people from rural parts of Portugal to the growing cities in search of better jobs. The cooperative model used in Azores was started in Guinea and other parts of the country.[1] The domestic farm machinery, tractor and lorry manufacturers were able to double production in the late 40s and along with several new companies finally started to resolve the mechanization deficiencies in Portugal. Just as important to the development of agriculture was the thousands of kilometers of rural roads that were widened and paved and the expanded railway network.

In Metropolitan Portugal, the majority of the forests were equally divided between pine and eucalyptus trees. As demands for paper and paper products increased the size of the eucalyptus forests also increased. Demand for cork increased and by end of 1940s cork tree farms were started in Angola.

In Ultramar Provinces, agricultural development continued, in Angola, agricultural production started surpassing local demand by the mid-40s and by end of decade it became an exporter of coffee, cotton, maize, beef, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, and sisal. Mozambique became an exporter of cotton, cashew nuts, tea, sugar, copra, sisal, rice and coconut by end of decade. In Portuguese India the production of rice, areca, cashew and coconut was also encouraged and invested in with Portuguese India’s food deficit being cut by over 30% by end of decade. In Timor/Flores production of coffee, cinnamon, coconut and cocoa also increased, Coffee became the region’s major cash crop and by early 1950s with Timor’s coffee production alongside Angola’s made Portugal not only became self-reliant in coffee but also became a coffee exporter. Corn, rice, fruit also increased in Timor and the other islands to meet the growing local demand.

Fishing shipyards were both expanded and built in several ports both in both Metropolitan and Ultramar to supply the growing fish fleet with ships. By 1949 the tonnage of fish caught had doubled from 1940 levels.

Fitting into the development of Portuguese agriculture was the emphasis on agricultural consumer goods that during the war had also been rationed. Companies such as Superbock, Regina, Tabaqueira SA tobacco, Imperial, Cerealis, Confaco, Conservas Ramirez and Conservas de Angola all expanded building additional plants many in Ultramar provinces. They were joined by several new companies such as Compal, Refrigor, Refinarias de Açúcar Reunidas (RAR) and Delta Coffees who with government assistance took on the role of providing a variety of agricultural products to consumers and also a market for Portuguese agricultural resources.

At same time the dispersed milk industry and producers joined together and formed several cooperative. On the Iberian Peninsula AGROS and UCRL were the largest of 12 cooperatives, while in Azores LactAçores was formed and Lactiangol was formed in Angola. All of these cooperatives were formed to both promote and assist in the production and distribution of milk and dairy products in the country. Different products started being manufactured and government provided a lot of assistance to increase the infrastructure and plants for the cooperatives.

Instituto do Café de Angola was formed to both promote and distribute coffee in Portugal and for export. It represented several large coffee producers as well as variety of both small producers and several cooperatives operating in Angola. It established standards and certified both the producers and product. By the end of the 1940s Portugal was one of the top 10 coffee producers in the world and one with a very good reputation and prestige.

In many sectors of agricultural production and distribution local producers and small regional companies started superseded by new national companies. One of the most successful was Companhia de Produtos Alimentares Barreiros, S.A. a company started on the Iberian Peninsula in 1942 expanded in Angola and by end of decade became the largest abattoir and meat processor in the province meanwhile in Mozambique COLCOM established itself as the province’s leading meat processing and distributor.

Large industrial companies also invested in agriculture with the formation of companies such as Sovena which became not only major player in the food processing segment of the industry but also a major owner of agricultural land and manufacturer of agricultural implements and tools.

Oil / Gas and Mineral ​

In the late 1940s the iron ore smelters in Angola were expanded to meet growing Portuguese demand, even so by 1949 Portugal continued to need to import steel. That year the Goa Steel Company began construction in Panjim the country’s third Iron ore smelter and steel mill to not only to process the iron ore from Goa but also the increased iron ore production in Angola. In 1949 iron ore production in Angola reached 3.9 million tons per year and while Goa production reached 1.2 million tons.

In 1949 coal production in Tete Mozambique reached 21 million tons providing coal for growing industrial base, power generation and export.

Portugal doubled its investment in transportation infrastructure as production of raw materials in all of Portugal including Portuguese Africa continued to be hindered by inadequate transportation infrastructure. Investment in rail transportation, highway and ports was one of the country’s top priorities.

In 1949 oil production in Algarve reached full capacity of 372,000 bpd and Angola production surpassed Algarve and reached 504,000 bpd. In 1948, the Sines refinery and Luanda refineries entered their 3rd and 2nd set of expansions while a refinery was started in Quelimane Mozambique.

Mineral production in Angola continued to expand as well as exploration for new minerals continued. In addition to the huge iron ore production, Angola’s diamond mining continued to grow at rate of 25% a year with production reaching 10 million carats a year by 1949. DGS and local police forces were employed full time in an attempt to stop illegal mining and corruption. In addition to the two largest minerals mined Iron ore and diamonds Angola had several copper, gold, lead, tin, wolfram, marble and quartz mines in operation by 1949. Of special interest to Portuguese government were the deposits of Uranium discovered in both the Iberian Peninsula and Angola following the use of atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. In Guinea in addition to the Bauxite mines gold and diamond mines were also opened.

In addition to the improvements in infrastructure mining industry also benefited from the increased production of mining machinery. The Atlas-Sand company benefited greatly from the mining growth. In 1946 Portuguese government became involved in the negotiations with Caterpillar to supply both mining and construction machinery to the Portuguese market which was held up by the US government. When Caterpillar finally received green light from the US government, they demanded Portugal pay a 30% premium. The Portuguese refused the huge price increase and instead the government turned to Portuguese company Atlas-Sand and to British companies such as Aveling-Barford, JCB, and Terex Pegson to supply both heavy construction and mining machinery needs.

Industrial Production​

The investment in factories and industries in Metropolitan Portugal, Portuguese Africa, India and Asia resulted in the increase in Industrial production in Metropolitan Portugal during the 1940s by 60%. Following the end of the war the industrial growth in the Portuguese Ultramar started outpacing Metropolitan Industrial increases for first time and in 1949 it accounted for 38% of all Portuguese Industrial production.

In 1946 with the war over, foreign ships became available to transport the backlog and many Portuguese transportation companies bought many ships that were on the market for sale as foreign shipping companies reduced their fleet sizes especially in US, Canada and UK, by end of the decade the size of Portuguese Merchant marine had doubled in size. At same time Portuguese shipbuilding capacity continued to be expanded with the construction of new shipyards in both Iberian Peninsula and Ultramar provinces:

• In Iberian Peninsula “Estaleiros Navais do Guadiana Lda” (NAUTIBER)
• In Iberian Peninsula “LISNAVE SUL” (Setubal)
• In Mozambique “Estaleiro de Construção Naval Beira” (1947);
• In Macau “Estaleiro de Construção Naval” (1949);

Portuguese government understanding the pent-up demand for many items in short supply during the war put a great deal on emphasis on supporting the production increase of garment, shoe and consumer goods available to Portuguese consumers. At same time that foreign products appeared again in the Portuguese market Portuguese industries expanded their production to meet growing domestic demand due to the growing population as well as increased incomes. In addition, several British firms such as Bulpill & Sons, Kenwood, Prestcold and Servis also entered the Portuguese market and either built their own plants or formed joint ventures as Portuguese consumer goods market sales outperformed British market due to the economic situation in Britain following the war.

After the war, the Portuguese plants of Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns and Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company merged into new company called RSW & MCC in order to compete with the larger Henschel & Sohn plants furnishing the growing Portuguese demand for locomotives but also railway rolling stock for Portuguese railways and export. In 1947 as part of the war reparations Austrian / German company Steyr-Daimler-Puch's and VW transferred part of their business to Portugal to build lorries, busses and cars for the Portuguese marker.[2] The Portuguese government and private investors then approached both companies in 1949 to expand their operations in Portugal. Negotiations with Steyr-Daimler-Puch's led to them increasing their lorry and bus lines as well as build a new plant in Viana do Castelo to manufacture mopeds and motorcycles. Negotiations with VW led to the creation of the joint venture called Auto-Portugal, a car assembly plant was built south of Lisbon in the district of Setubal to start producing under license the VW Beetle as well as other VW vehicles.[3] The agreement stipulated with both companies that 70% of the vehicles had to be Portuguese content to qualify for no duties and that for first 10 years the vehicles could only be manufactured for Portuguese market. Meanwhile Daimler Portugal continued to expand and build not only busses, trucks, cars but also electric rail cars.

In 1945 Grupo Salvador Caetano was founded and began manufacturing motor coaches. It started out as a Motor coach assembly company for Guy Motors and Leyland Bus from Britain. In 1948 they expanded their manufacturing and assembly plant and began manufacturing double decker buses importing only the motors and other mechanical parts.

In 1946 with war over and the reinstatement of car racing in Europe Edfor announced the Grand Sport 201 and several of its cars were entered by various racers in car races. The product line was refreshed and Edfor opens car dealerships in the most prestigious cities in Europe and world. Sales of the four Edfor cars: Grand Sport 201, Grand Touring 150, Grand Alba 105 and Grand Marlei 125 grew and delivery times reached two years by 1947. In 1948 construction of new expanded Factory on the outskirts of Porto south of the Douro River was started.

In 1949 Portugal began imposing a 25% duty on all vehicles imported into the country. This caused many of Europe’s and Americas biggest vehicle manufacturers to begin thinking of building their own plants in Portugal. In the case of Volvo from Sweden their decision was greatly influenced by joint government/private industry approaching Volvo to build a truck manufacturing plant in the country. At the end of 1949 an agreement was signed to build a plant in Luanda to manufacture trucks. As part of the agreement was the reduction of duties on Volvo cars manufactured in Sweden imported into Portugal.

Compounding the issue of automobile manufacturing in Portugal was the decision in 1948 to introduce a common set of rules and standards, which included the switching to right hand driving in all Portuguese territory. This impacted Mozambique, Portuguese India and Timor/Flores which followed the left-hand side British model. The Government launched several incentives for individuals and businesses to switch to right hand vehicles as well as education programs before and after the transition.[4] The change had a huge beneficial impact for Portuguese companies since they did not need to manufacture two sets of vehicles. This had a significant impact to the American automobile manufactures General Motors and Ford who manufactured cars in South Africa for the Portuguese market. The new import duties and change to righthanded vehicles meant they lost over half their market.

While EFACEC received additional technology contracts and began making most of the electronic components needed for the manufacture of radios, telephones, x-rays, electrical wiring and equipment. The arrival in Portugal after the war of many Siemens technicians and engineers gave EFACEC a huge boast in the company’s research and development of radars, electron microscopes and other electronic equipment for a variety of industries.

At same time a national movement amongst other sectors of the country also began or gained momentum, foremost the regulating and standardizing of electrical code and providing a single standard throughout the country. The electrical code and standard were formalized with the establishment of “Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos” or ERSE for short. In additional national associations such as the “Ordem de Engenheiros” and “Ordem dos Advogados” were mandated by government to modernize and became inclusive as well as progressive to provide governing bodies that served all of the country including those not European. Overseeing the various professional organizations was the Ministry of Finance which in 1949 setup “Instituto de Ordens Profissionais” to oversee all Portuguese professional organizations.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] In Guinea, there was a substantial movement inland and development of several areas in the south for rice and peanut and cashew production. Most of the center and north was bought up by private enterprise but in the south many supporters of the Corporative movement organized the local holdings as cooperatives. The cooperatives allowed production of peanuts to reach 42,000 tons and cashew to reach 44,000 tons by mid 40s while rice cultivation reached 710,000 hectares. iOTL the rice cultivation only reached 400,000 hectares by 1960.

[2] RSW & MCC established itself in Metropolitan Portugal while Steyr-Daimler-Puch's established plant was located in Porto Omboim Angola.

[3] iOTL similar plant called Auto-Europa was built in Portugal post 1991.

[4] These changes along with single currency and other changes were meant to prepare the country and overseas provinces to function as a single country with same set of standards and laws.

In this post it was important to discuss many of the industrialization and development events occurring in Portugal and the Ultramar provinces. With the war over the Portuguese started investing into large scale industrialization plus both agriculture and resource development really took off. While during the war resources a agriculture development was limited due to structural deficiencies, after the war the government was able to start fixing the deficiencies, for example the Portuguese government provided cash support and brought to Portugal additional engineering and technical resources to double or in some cases triple size of Portuguese manufacturing plants. In the meantime it allowed for the import of new equipment or vehicles to assist in solving many deficiencies. The agriculture tractor and other implements was a very good example. In 1945 wait times for a Portuguese tractor was 3 years, both due to production limitations but more importantly demand. In 1946 both Portuguese tractor companies started massive building program to triple and quadruple their production capacity. Hundreds of British were brought to Portugal to help in the assistance of the projects. The British parent company of one of the manufacturers got a huge boost as part of the project, order for hundreds of tractors and other farm vehicles and implements which was huge lifeline since demand from Britain was very weak and many of their previous markets were being lost to the Americans. By 1948 when the Portuguese plants came back online and they could supply Portuguese demand the British plants had gone through an orderly phase of consolidation and merger. Some companies had simply sold out and relocated to Portugal others had transferred part of their business to Portugal (Portugal and Ultraman provinces), this also entailed thousands of British in many cases moving to Portugal with jobs and companies. The end result for both countries was very positive (Britain and Portugal) Portugal got its industrialization, British companies were able to rebuild after war and Britain economy was stronger than IOTL.

Questions / Comments?

In two weeks on October 13 we will return with part 2 of the Post War Economy section.