AHC: Portugal sells Mozambique and/or Angola

[KN1]

As it says on the tin. Preferably with a post-1918 pre-1939 POD, under what circumstances would Portugal sell/relinquish her African colonies?

 

[yourworstnightmare]

None, Portugal was actually paranoid about the big countries trying to steal their colonies.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Countries mostly 'sell' territory as a face saving gesture for land thats lost already or totally undefendable.

Best bet is South Africa. Either Apartheid SA occupies it to suppress guerrilla activity or Black SA attacks it* to 'free' the locals. In either case the was might be as much to distract voters at home.

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* 'it' probably being Moçambique, being closer and easier for SA to project power to.

 

[Flubber]

Post-1918 is tough. Just prior to WW1, Britain and Germany had agreed in a secret treaty to force Portugal to default on her loans and trigger a sell off of her empire. The war saved Portugal from that plan. A pre-war sell off is as "easy" as delaying WW1 for a few years.

A Portugal which is much more involved in WW1 much earlier could find itself more "socially damaged" after the war. Throw in a disappointing Versailles and such a Portugal could experience revolutions and/or other political upheavals in the post-war period. Depending on what sort of Portugal comes out of that period, the empire and/or parts of it could be up for sale or transferred to the League as mandates which would then be assigned to other powers.

 

[Chris Triangle]

A Portugal which is much more involved in WW1 much earlier could find itself more "socially damaged" after the war.

Or a Portugal that comes out on the losing side of the war. Still, even then they would not be forced to give it all up.

 

[Flubber]

Or a Portugal that comes out on the losing side of the war. Still, even then they would not be forced to give it all up.

Which, of course, is why I wrote ... "the empire and/or parts of it...".