What sort of variables, precedents, or PoD's would be required for Portugal to gain a set of colonies connecting Angola to Mozambique, during the Scramble for Africa?
doesn't matter as British have naval superiorityIf Britain controls everything south, and someone else Britain is hostile to controls everything north, the Pink Map could be a buffer between them. Maybe France or Germany gets the Congo.
One way might be to make Britain see it as economically beneficial for itself, rather than just in terms of security; in other words, if it is Portuguese they may well be able to secure some kind of privileged access to the area commercially, given their relationship with Portugal, while not having to pay for the upkeep of the colonies.
doesn't matter as British have naval superiority
And what is stopping Britain from conquering them?I should note that colonial Portugal already had some inroad with the African kingdoms of the region IOTL. For instance, they had a foothold in the kingdom of Yeke (modern-day Katanga) through Portuguese-African traders selling gunpowder to the reigning king, Msiri. He even married a Portuguese-Angolan woman, Maria de Fonseca, and she became his favorite wife of them all.
Other than outright conquest, Portugal could also play the diplomacy card and make protectorate treaties with the kingdoms and peoples within the Pink Map, offering protection from Msiri's rapaciousness or Tippu Tip's slavers, all in exchange for a few 'suggestions'. Given that Yeke lies smack dab in the middle of regional trade routes, the Portuguese could even use Yeke as an native 'cadet' to subjecting the central heart of the Pink Map.
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And what is stopping Britain from conquering them?