Vivam Lusos Valorosos, A Feliz Constituição - A Portuguese Timeline
- Thread starter RedAquilla
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Just asking, when is the next chapter going to be? This is a very interesting TL but I understand if the other one takes priority, since that’s the longer and more developed one
Well, I have the Economy Chapter written in Portuguese, meaning I have to translate it into English and I'm still not fully happy with it. I originally wanted to write about every Province's economy but I realized it was rather redundant as I already spoke about the major economic centres in the general area but then the chapter becomes a bit too small...so...I'm still debating how to proceed. I think I may write a few other chapters before I publish them. I'm also planning on switching the names to Portuguese though I'm unsure if it's my TL's Portuguese or OTL's Portuguese with just more "z"s.
have you thought of talking about the colonies’ economics as well? Maybe distribution of the money into different sectors, such as schools, ports, local garrisons, etc?
I have but I want to put it in the Empire Section. For the time being, roughly the 19th Century I want to separate the Mainland's Economy from the Empire's Economy, at least in the specifics.
Don't expect too much in the 1830s.
Mainland trade with other European countries maybe? I would especially focus on Russia since the two countries are now building a closer bond, Brazilian trade should be saved for the empire section, since they would actively be trading with Angola, São Tomé, etc.
I can try to delve a little more into what's being traded with other European countries. The re-establishment of a relationship with Russia only happen at the end of the decade and results will only come in 1840s. I will also try to delve a bit more into Brazil too, some of the products are likely to come to Portugal too.
Yeah, because Russia is only now mending relations with Portugal, and Brazil is bound to trade with the mainland in terms of immigration or goods. I would also say maybe a better relationship with France but the Napoleonic Wars are still a sore subject
To add on, I think addressing industrialization, infrastructure, and production of ships, wine, and cork could give the chapter some meat
The Kingdom: The Economy in the 1830s
The Economy in the 1830s
The 1830s were marked, in regards to the Portuguese Economy, as years of gradual and steady increases in State revenues and a decrease in external debt. The standardization and modernization of the tax system implemented by Mouzinho da Silveira in the previous decade was the main reason why this happened but not the only one as the country increased its agricultural and industrial output which in turn allowed it to increase trade.
Agriculture
The scourges that hindered Portuguese agriculture caused by the Napoleonic Wars ceased during the 1820s and in the 1830s, the country had recovered its pre-war output. Conservative politicians were deeply concerned with agriculture as nearly all of them were landowners who, upon losing their manorial privileges, had their fortunes tied with agricultural production despite the more astute ones diversifying their sources of income by investing the commercial enterprises and industry.
Since the right ruled through the decade, plenty of laws were passed in favour of these landowners so they could increase production and profit. One such law was the Amortization laws which took place in several stages and consisted in acquiring the Church’s extensive properties by closing monasteries and then selling them for profit. Coincidentally, most of these acquired properties were sold to the rich, either nobles or bourgeoisie, because only they had enough capital to buy them.
This was not a phenomenon exclusive to Portugal, it happened in many countries and was not necessarily bad because these rich individuals were able to increase production which brought higher profits and more money for the country, however, it had other more grim consequences such as the enclosing of the properties which left many peasants not only without work but also without the areas that they used to graze, collect firewood and do other small agricultural activities of subsistence. Only in some Municipalities, groups of peasants were able to buy properties and transform them into communal lands but they were extremely rare.
The living standards of the peasantry decreased and forced many to emigrate either abroad, namely to Brazil and the Estados Unidos [United States] or inside the country, either to areas that needed more people to work on the land or to the cities where other economic opportunities were available. The Empire received some emigrants but in this decade it was not the most attractive destination as many areas lacked the conditions to receive them. Once again this phenomenon was not exclusive to Portugal but rather a normal occurrence throughout Europe.
Another problem faced was the differences in property sizes in the various Provinces. In Minho, Douro Litoral, Beira Litoral and Beira Central, small properties for subsistence predominated; in Trás-os-Montes, Beira Interior, Estremadura, Grande Lisboa and Algarve had a predominance of medium-sized properties that allowed bigger outputs with only Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo having large estates set not only for internal consumption but also exportation to the rest of the country. The various Governments attempted to standardize the size of the properties to match the ones in Alentejo through the acquisition of small properties and their subsequent integration into larger properties but the results were reduced outside of Estremadura and so the investment was not worth it.
At the end of the 1830s, with the increase in agriculture outputs, thanks to having more land being actively cultivated and more dynamism from the rural landowners, Portugal’s chronic dependence on food importations was greatly reduced though not fully eradicated as Estremadura, Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo were progressively becoming breadbaskets of the country. However, wine production was still the most important part of Portugal’s agricultural output as it was sold internationally for good profits.
Mining and Industry
The various Governments of the 1830s sought to relaunch the mining sector either by improving the conditions of existing mines or prospecting new ones. The results were rather underwhelming considering the lack of important ores in the country. Dreams of achieving the same results as the 18th Century Brazilian Gold Rush in Africa were important to relaunch the Empire’s expansion but for the time being all the focus in Portugal itself.
The most needed ores were gold, silver, iron and coal and as such, concessions were made to individuals to carry out surveys throughout the country to reduce costs though the State secured juicy rewards despite the lack of investment. The bulk of these mines were located in Northern Portugal with the Province of Trás-os-Montes standing out the most with iron at Moncorvo and Vila Real and gold in Alfarela de Jales along with smaller mines all around; the Province of Douro Litoral had gold mines in Aguiar de Souza and Penafiel and coal mines in Gondomar; Beira Litoral had coal in Figueira da Foz. In Baixo Alentejo and Alto Alentejo there were copper mines and marble deposits that were growing in profitability and with more uses likely to come in the next decades.
Since coal and iron were produced in quantities that were not able to fully supply the growing industry of the country it was necessary to import these resources from Portugal’s main trading partners in Europe. The number of factories grew to reach the hundred by 1840 most of which were textile industries that were spread throughout the country from Lisboa and its surroundings, passing by Porto, finding itself in Tomar, Almeirim and Torres Novas in the Province of Estremadura, Portalegre and Niza in Alto Alentejo though the bulk of them were starting to concentrate in the Province of Beira Interior more specifically in Guarda, Covilhã, Fundão, Gouveia and Castelo Branco which showed the potential of becoming a large centre of industry.
Other industries such as the production of clocks, baubles, varnishes and tapestries were mainly in Grande Lisboa, on both sides of the Tejo, which was also the area in which metals were forged, weaponry was built and where the first hybrid steam/sail vessels were built in the late 1830s despite many voices against it.
The use of steam engines and hydraulic energy became the norm by the end of the decade thanks to the monetary incentives from multiple Governments and a more dynamic private sector that wanted to try and compete with foreigners. Despite the increased mechanization, the industries and manufactories were able to absorb the peasantry that was coming from the countryside searching for work and a better life and in some cases, they were even struggling to find workers.
The protectionist measures implemented since 1834 were strengthening the national industries and making them increasingly more competitive not only in the national markets where the bulk of the production was sold but also in Europe and Brazil. However, there were still problems with the flowing of the production as the rivers and poorly maintained royal roads were the main means of movement of goods and not only the industrialists and merchants that supported the Reformistas but also the landowners that supported the Regeneradores wanted the situation to change.
One of the possible solutions was to build canals but with the railroads becoming increasingly more attractive throughout Europe and with King Augusto being one of its early supporters as the years went by, it became the preferred solution albeit without the necessary consensus and most importantly, the necessary funds. Or so was said...
Finances:
As stated, Public Debt declined during most years of the decade, with only the period between 1834 and 1836 seeing a slight increase due to the many reforms made that forced a momentary increase in expenditures. Below is the Public Debt from 1827-1840:
There were no major changes in wages but the prices also did not seem to change, the biggest and most important exception to this was that due to the increase in agricultural products, namely cereals, their price dropped a little which in turn allowed the population (mostly in urban areas) to be able to either afford slightly bigger quantities of food and thus be better fed or spend money in other things such as the now more numerous textiles. In other words, the standard of living improved and plenty of room to improve further.
Another phenomenon of the 1830s was the appearance of many new banks as the progressively wealthy bourgeoisie and some nobles invested heavily in finances in hopes to achieve the financial might of the Rothschilds. For the most part, these banks appeared in the most populous Municipalities and in the Provincial capitals namely: Lisboa, Porto, Coimbra, Barcelos, Guimarães and Braga. These banks were also able to issue paper money as it was not a monopoly of the State, a common practice at the time. They also allowed the Governments to diversify their sources of loans and issue public debt in better terms for the country.
The Monetary Reform of 1838 facilitated the conversion of foreign currencies which in turn facilitated international transactions which in itself was good for the economy, however, the Portuguese Real was not a strong currency by any means and an increase in paper money coupled with large transactions being made in foreign currencies such as the British Pound, French Franc or the Spanish Real weakened it further, bringing in the first demands of a stronger currency that were promptly ignored.
Commerce
The 1830s saw an increase in trade, with both exports and imports increasing considerably and the trading balance remaining barely positive largely due to the Empire’s nascent markets that allowed products to be sold with next to no competition which in turn kept the profit inside the country as well as Portugal being able to either insert or reintegrate itself in the Northern European markets.
While Reino Unido [United Kingdom] remained Portugal’s main trading partner, supplying textiles, coal, iron and other commodities while receiving Portuguese wine, salt and cork, its share of the market decreased a lot as Orleanist França with its more liberal economic and political stances became a fierce competitor, especially of technology and capital, to the British, especially in the Metropolis.
Another important partner was Bélgica [Belgium], which since its independence in 1830, approached Portugal as both were Catholic countries with liberal regimes for trade. Bélgica [Belgium] provided iron and coal and Portugal provided colonial products, cork and salt. Espanha [Spain] also remained an important trading partner, although less so than before mostly because of the civil unrest going on there. It was yet another source of coal and iron as well as grain.
Outside Europe, Brazil was Portugal’s main trading partner. The Colonial Pact that existed before Brazil’s independence did not disappear, rather, it changed somewhat its terms but the trading system that exist for centuries in which Brazil provided raw materials to Portugal while Portugal provided Brazil with manufactured goods continued despite both countries making efforts to not be dependent on the other. Despite xenophobic sentiments, Portuguese merchants continued to have strong interests in northern Brazil, especially in Grão-Pará and Maranhão.
There was something in common between all these countries and that was that the trade balance with them was negative for Portugal as what the country exported was in smaller quantities and generated less money than what it imported from them. In opposition, Portugal managed to achieve positive trading balances with Dinamarca [Denmark], Suécia-Noruega [Sweden-Norway], Prússia, Baviera [Bavaria] and other countries in the Confederação Germânica [German Confederation] thanks to the exportation of cork, salt and wine, the latter especially the Port wine starting to see some appreciation outside of Reino Unido [United Kingdom] and competing with French and Spanish wines, the other problem being that transactions were still reduced in quantity.
As promised, here's a general look at the Portuguese Economy during the 1830s. Plenty of it was already addressed in the previous chapters, I just developed some points. Thanks to ToasterOven456 for the suggestions, I tried to implement as much as I could and while I'm not 100% happy with everything, neither am I disappointed. If anyone has any further suggestions I can always add-in afterwards.
I also decided to translate names into Portuguese. This TL's version for the time being is nearly equal to OTL the biggest exception is that words such as Brazil, Souza, Luiz remained as they were before the 1911 Reform, meaning with the letter z which also replaces all of the intervocalic s such as Rosa>Roza. I'm pretty sure most of those who are reading the TL know Portuguese, nevertheless, I'm putting translations in English in bold so the eyes are attract to them immediately (or so I would think...) so do tell me your opinion on the matter. I have started revising Cessa o Nevoeiro's chapters and I have chosen this approach so let's see.
Next update will be about the Armed Forces and then I don't I have much else so the Empire will follow. As always thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.
Great chapter, but I have a question, were the Rothchilds important in the 1830’s?
I mean I read the finance of the British war machine in the Napoleonic Wars and that in OTL they loaned a large amount of money to the Portuguese Governments following the Civil War so I guess they were. Thank you for the comment.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for the comment.
Overseas: The Empire in the 1830s (Part 1 of 2)
The Empire in the 1830s (Part 1 of 2)
O Império na Década de 1830 (Parte 1 de 2)
O Império na Década de 1830 (Parte 1 de 2)
As the liberal regime stabilized, the country was able to refocus on its Overseas Possessions, especially those in Africa which the Portuguese Politicians believed was the future of the Empire. Portugal was a unique case in Europe because it granted limited representation to its colonies and kept it throughout its democratic years, unlike Espanha and França.
On April 28, 1831, the Sociedade de Expansão Marítima Portugueza [Portuguese Maritime Expansion Society], aka SEMP was founded by Jozé António Braclami, the Minister and Secretary of State of the Navy and Overseas, and it aimed to collect ideas, formulate projects and create conditions to create “New Brazils in Africa” as well as assure that changes in Governments did not hinder the Overseas Expansion. In this sense, the SEMP was successful and its worth was recognized because every single Minister of the Navy and Overseas belonged to it.
Braclami divided the Portuguese Empire into four Zonas de Atuação Provizórias [Provisional Areas of Operation] and each of these was further divided into Capitanias [Captaincies] in the following manner:
The main goals of these new administrative and military divisions was to survey the potentials of the territories, choose the best approach to increase said territories and obtain the economic benefits to not only keep funding these explorations but help reduce the country’s debt and lack of necessary resources. Nearly everywhere the economy was reshaped with the introduction of new cultures, mining prospection, investment in animal husbandry and fishery and some cases manufacturers.
The military benefitted immensely from these renewed expansion campaigns as the soldiers could hone their skills against usually weaker opponents. The problem was that not many men were willing to serve Overseas despite the substantial pay increase. Soldiers had to endure long voyages, lack of conditions upon arrival, frequent and often ferocious attacks by natives and epidemics like malaria leading in some cases to have prisoners be coerced to serve when the quotas were not met.
By 1840, about 4 000 soldiers were serving Overseas, which was a smaller amount than what is estimated for the Estado da Índia in its heyday. To swell the troop numbers, native allies were used which also helped promote the Portuguese language and culture. As stated, while these numbers were able to work wonders in most of the adversities they endured due to superior quality of troops and weaponry, in Moçambique for example they faced many difficulties that sent the message that more troops were needed.
Cabo Verde and Guiné:
The Archipelago of Cabo Verde began the decade in the worst way with a great famine that lasted from 1831 to 1833 which coupled with a severe drought and chronic poverty led to the deaths of many people. Portugal sent aid and so did the Estados Unidos [United States] and Reino Unido [United Kingdom] and the situation eventually got under control.
In 1834, Captain-General Manuel António Martins ordered a census to be carried out to better understand the situation of the islands and the official results were the following:
Santo Antão | 22 857 |
São Vicente | 278 |
São Nicolau | 4 752 |
Sal | 333 |
Boa Vista | 3 859 |
Maio | 2 341 |
Santiago | 30 879 |
Fogo | 9 572 |
Brava | 7 678 |
Total | 82 549 |
The vast majority of the population was black or mulatto, the result of the archipelago being a stopping point for the slave trade. These people had nearly no knowledge of Portuguese and were poor, meaning they had next to no rights but the most basic ones.
Things started to change for the better when the Governments started focusing more on the archipelago following the famine. In 1833, the State monopoly on orchil was at last abolished, allowing the producers to make higher profits while the overall price dropped. This was especially good for the textile factories in Beira Interior and Alto Alentejo which had high demand for the product.
Salt extraction on the island of Sal started on a large scale during that same year, making it another product to improve the economy of the archipelago. Many of António Saldanha’s suggestions during the previous decade were followed, namely the introduction of peanuts, sesame and palm trees and a strong focus on fishing and fruits.
In 1836, the Englishman João Luíz [John Lewis] visited the island of São Vicente intending to evaluate its conditions to build a stopover port for ships of the British East India Company and was very pleased with Porto Grande, the best natural harbour of the island and thus he recommended it to the aforementioned company. A consortium was thus founded between the Portuguese State and the British East India Company to transform the Porto Grande Bay into a modern port adjoined to a modern town. The town of Porto Grande de São Vicente had its streets paved, wells and aqueducts built and a primary school and later a secondary school built through the rest of the decade.
British ships began to stop, get supplied and deposit coal as early as 1838 when the harbour was being finished. Porto Grande de São Vicente immediately began prospering as it became an obligatory stopping point for ships going to Índia and beyond. The population of the island had been small when compared with other islands and mostly concentrated near the port but it immediately began growing at a very fast rate and had the particularity of having a very high percentage of white people as British, Irish and Madeirans made their residences there.
Due to these developments, many started advocating for the capital of Cabo Verde to change to Porto Grande de São Vicente which represented a new start for the archipelago but the elites in Santiago contested this and nothing changed then. Nevertheless, Maria II decreed in 1838 that Cabo Verde was now part of the Ilhas Adjacentes [Adjacent Islands] and a Province of Portugal. Following the laws in effect, Cabo Verde got 3 Deputies and 2 Peers who were elected right in the 1838 Elections, a fact that was celebrated all over the archipelago.
Cabo Verde was without doubt the poster model that the SEMP wanted to reproduce all over the Empire though many politicians in the more conservative wing felt this annexation was done too early and that there were too few voters to justify such a move. As a Province of Portugal, slavery was forbidden, being one of the few Portuguese African territories in which it happened. All slaves were freed and many were transferred as free men to Africa itself and while some people consider this ethnic cleansing, others think it was a necessary evil due to the desertification of the islands or simply because these free men had to return to their homelands.
In mainland Guiné, Portugal has a lot to thank for the deeds of Honório Pereira Barreto, an assimilated Guinean of Cape Verdean origins in both the male and female line who completed his studies at the University of Coimbra was a son of Roza de Carvalho Alvarenga a woman who was growing to become an influential slave trader and plantation owner in the region.
Pereira Barreto promoted the economic diversification of the region by introducing sugar cane, cotton and tobacco which quickly became important commodities in the region and was largely done by slaves despite being a measure to make Guiné less dependent on slavery.
Portuguese interests in the region were threatened by the French along the River Cazamança [Casamance] where they acquired the island of Carabã [Carabane] at the mouth of the aforementioned river from which they began imposing tolls on Portuguese and native traders. At the same time, the British were attempting to create a colony on the Bolama Islands southeast of Bisau from 1838 onwards, when the brig HMS Brisk commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Artur Quelete [Arthur Kellet] which was repressing the slave trade, seized the Portuguese schooner Aurélia Félix, a ship Quelete considered a slave ship, liberated 212 workers, claimed Bolama and desecrated the Portuguese flag.
When the HMS Brisk returned to Bolama in the following year, 1839, it repeated the process, seizing more ships, freeing more works and desecrating the Portuguese flag. Pereira Barreto sought to resolve the situation through negotiations but he quickly realized that neither the French nor the British would respect Portuguese interests. With barely 100 soldiers and about three times that number in native allies, Pereira Barreto began increasing his hold in the coastal region between Ziguinchor, Cacheu and Bisau, using diplomacy and force of arms, trying his best to turn the natives against the French and English.
The fact that he was black gave him a considerable advantage in securing alliances. His strategy was very effective as he succeeded in turning the natives on the shores of the Cazamança against the French, and they attacked the Carabã multiple times before the end of the decade, after all, French tolls were prejudicial to everyone.
Further south, Captain-Major of São Tomé, Joaquim Bento da Fonseca began negotiations with the powerful Portuguese-Brazilian slaver Francisco Félix de Souza to regain full control of the Fort of São João Batista de Ajudá and expand Portuguese influence in the region. Souza, who at the time was using Portuguese citizenship without authorization for his illicit purposes while also being disappointed with Brazil’s lack of interest, agreed to represent Portuguese interests at the expense of being made the Governor and being granted diplomatic immunity.
Bento da Fonseca informed the authorities in Lisboa about Souza’s demands and both the SEMP and the Government officially refused to support a known slaver. However, unofficially, Saldanha’s Government gave the green light to Bento da Fonseca so that he could fulfil Souza’s demands but urged the man to be very discreet in his businesses.
In 1836, King Guezo de Daomé [Ghezo of Dahomey] gave the Portuguese preferential treatment and permission to open a trading post in Ajudá and another in the new port village of Cotonu [Cotonou], both locations dominated by Souza, the man who convinced Guezo on this move. From then the Portuguese superseded the French and British despite their dependency on Souza who controlled Daomé’s foreign trade.
When São Tomé and Príncipe switched to the cultivation of coffee and cocoa in about 1822, the demand for slaves increased as did the profits. Despite the islands of Fernando Pó and Ano Bom being lost to Espanha thanks to the Treaty of El Pardo, the Portuguese remained interested in them. With the loss of its American territories, Espanha ceased to be interested in the islands and leased Fernando Pó to the British so that they could hunt slave ships from there.
This lack of interest provided an opening for the Portuguese to exploit and so Afonso Dias, a Portuguese merchant from São Tomé made a visit to Ano Bom in late 1832 to ascertain the island’s conditions for cocoa and coffee cultivation and he was amazed to find the island fending for itself and unaware that a transfer of sovereignty to Espanha had occurred, for they still recognized the Portuguese Monarch as their lord. Dias informed Bento da Fonseca and the man decided to occupy the island, agreeing the pentarchy regime of Ano Bom to remain.
Thus, Portugal began to disregard the Treaty of El Pardo which with the loss of Brazil was deemed obsolete and even prejudicial though the worry of a war with Espanha made this happen rather slowly. The Spanish only became aware of this development after the Spanish merchant Jozé de Moros visited the island and claimed it for Espanha before being expelled by the population. Espanha protested but with the Carlist War still going on and with the island being so small and insignificant, Portugal did pretty snatch it.
Portuguese West Africa/Angola:
The Captaincy of Congo was the one furthest to the north and its name came from the River Congo and the Kingdom of the Congo, the most powerful country in the region despite falling into factionalism in the previous century and being unable to stabilize.
In 1830, Brazil abandoned Cabinda where since 1827 it had established the Eastern Naval Division whose purpose was to inspect Brazilian ships to ensure that they did not carry slaves although, in reality, it acted as escort and protection for slavers. The presence of Brazilian ships in what was considered Portuguese territory was highly contested by Portugal who eventually succeeded in having its will accepted.
From that date onwards, Cabinda became the seat of the Captaincy, experiencing moderate improvements in infrastructure. After the death of Manicongo Garcia V in the early 1830s, the Portuguese recognized the pretender André II, who had been competing against Garcia V since 1825, as the Manicongo. André signed renewed commercial treaties with Portugal and some sort of peace and stability returned to the area.
The contingent of Portuguese troops in the region increased substantially as the defeats the Kingdom of Congo inflicted on them in the 17th Century demanded caution. But the Portuguese captains grew bolder and the potential to control the mouth of the River Congo was far too tempting for them to stay put especially when multiple golden opportunities arose.
One of the native kingdoms by the mouth of the Congo was the Kingdom of Angoio [Ngoyo] which gave Portugal a lot of headaches in the 18th Century had also fallen into anarchy with the death of its last king in 1833 and the nobility was unable to elect a new Kingdom. Captain Manuel Nunes Lobo saw the opportunity and invaded the kingdom in early 1835 to pacify it but rather than installing a new King, he created the Protectorate of Angoio, controlling everything inside from Cabinda although he maintained the local administration and taxes to not turn the population.
The Kingdom of Cacongo followed suit and willing submitted to the Portuguese authorities, giving control of the north bank of the River Congo to the Portuguese and with the connivance of André II, Nunes Lobo attacked the autonomous Principality of Soio [Soyo] in late 1838 with almost 2 000 men, three quarters of which were local natives and after complicated guerrilla battles, the Principality was subdued in July 1839 and was granted by André II to Portugal as a reward for destroying a centre of noble revolts of the Kingdom of Congo.
The Captaincy of Congo was likely the area in which Portugal had the best military and diplomatic records considering how powerful the native kingdoms in the area were. By 1840 they controlled the mouth of the River Congo without opposition. But this rapid expansion of power began causing fear among the vassals of the Kingdom of Congo who feared that Portugal would turn against them next and this added to the already existing plots against André II caused a new wave of political instability that Portugal did not take advantage immediately not only because Nunes Lobo was replaced but also because the local authorities preferred to consolidate their gains.
Further south, in the Captaincy of Luanda, the most important in Angola thanks to the city of São Paulo da Asunção de Launda which was the most important port of the area and it was from there that the vast majority of slaves left for Brazil and the Estados Unidos. Due to this, the Portuguese had a considerable force to protect it.
In 1833, King Andala Camana of Matamba and Andongo died. He had tried his best to end the fragmentation that those two kingdoms suffered in the 18th Century due to civil wars but his death ended that process. Governor Domingos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, a brother of the Marquis of Saldanha decided to end Matamba-Andongo’s independence and with an army of 1 000 men, most of them natives, subdued the entire territory.
The annexation of Matamba-Andongo led to territorial disputes with the until-then Portuguese ally of the Kingdom of Casanje, ruled by the Jagas, a warlike people who now felt threatened by the Portuguese. The founding of the Forte de Calandula in 1838 almost led to war between both forces but at the last minute, it was averted.
Apart from annexing Matamba-Andongo, Portugal preferred to consolidate its position before making further expansions. Luanda experienced considerable development in the 1830s with the construction of a primary school, a secondary school and right at the end of the decade, a lyceum; the port and the streets were paved and improved; an aqueduct and other amenities were also built. Luanda was thus able to cement its position as the most important city in Portuguese West Africa having about 5 400 people in 1840, of which a large portion were white or mulattoes.
Military explorations were also conducted, the largest ones following the course of the River Quanza to find its source but they failed because the river entered Casanje and the Jagas did not allow them to continue. However, despite the setbacks, the first deposits of gold, iron and copper were discovered near the outpost of Quilombo dos Dembos which provided interesting prospects for the following decades.
The centre of the Captaincy of Benguela was São Filipe de Benguela, at the time the second most important settlement in Angola with about 600 people and four times as many slaves which were often sold to Brazil and Estados Unidos. The town experienced considerable infrastructural developments but was nowhere near the levels of Luanda. The Captaincy also had the Sumbe copper mines which had, for a long time, been one of the region’s most important economic sources of income.
In the interior stood the Ovimbundu kingdoms: Benguela, Bailundo, Huambo, Bié and Galangue which although subjugated by the Portuguese in the First Luzo-Ovimbundu War had benefitted from Portugal’s instability at the beginning of the century to, with the exception of Benguela, regain their autonomy and military might. For these reasons, the Portuguese preferred to be diplomatic and promote trade with all kingdoms but Benguela which as it was closer to the coast was progressively absorbed.
The southernmost Captaincy of Moçâmedes had its centre in a fishing village in the Angra dos Negros which had been founded in 1645 and was baptized as Moçâmedes in 1785 in honour of the then Governor of Angola, Jozé de Almeida e Vasconcelos, Baron of Moçâmedes. The village was the main entrance to the interior and was surrounded by the Namibe Desert.
In 1627, a Portuguese-Spanish expedition commanded by Lopo Soares Laso left Angra dos Negros and explored the interior, passing the Chela Range from where it was possible to see the Huíla Plateau and the vast valley dominated by King Calubango. Quite early in this exploration, the Portuguese found the region less socio-politically organized and with fertile valleys with tremendous agricultural potential.
However, because Portuguese interests were focused on Brazil at the time, no settlement was promoted. The only sign of Portuguese presence was the fortress of Alva Nova later known as Caconda, built in 1682 with the permission of the Kingdom of Galangue and which was sustained by the slave trade and was seriously threatened during the First Luzo-Ovimbundu War in the 18th Century with the Portuguese being kicked away from there multiple times though not permanently.
In 1833, Captain Jozé Lopes Severino led 200 men on a mission to rediscover the previously used Portuguese routes to reach Caconda and make trade and vassalage treaties. They climbed the Chela Range and decided to build the Forte de Santa Maria de Calubango as a midway point to support future expeditions and after almost six months of travel they arrived at Caconda which was in poor shape so they rebuilt it before returning to Moçâmedes.
It was a very profitable exploration, they barely had to use violence and signed multiple treaties which convinced Severino to promote more expeditions. In the following year, he led an expedition to the mouth of the River Cunene where he had the Forte da Nosa Senhora da Salvação da Foz do Cunene built and went eastwards as he followed the course of the river to its source which they were unable to find.
Between 1834 and 1836, several outposts were built along the Captaincy following the many expeditions:
- Forte do Bom Jezus [OTL Caraculo], between Moçâmedes and Calubango;
- Forte de São João de Cacula between Calubango and Caconda;
- Forte da Imaculada Conceição [OTL Quipungo] between Lubango and the River Cunene;
- Forte do Rei Augusto [OTL Dongue] to the southeast of Calubango;
- Forte de Dona Maria [OTL Cahama] southeast of Forte do Rei Augusto.
These settlers built houses, warehouses, churches, small shops and started the first cultivations of cereals. Not all of the forts were able to attract the population, however, Imaculada Conceição and Dona Maria II were abandoned and Rei Augusto was close to it as well.
Estimates for 1840 indicate the following populations:
Moçâmedes | 157 |
Calubango | 88 |
Caconda | 67 |
Foz do Cunene | 52 |
Cacula | 48 |
Bom Jezus | 43 |
Rei Augusto | 31 |
Total | 436 |
These estimates ignore, on one hand, those who were not white and on the other hand the Portuguese settlers who were not in the vicinity of the forts, which were very few however. Historians pushing the 500 Portuguese people for the Captaincy of Moçâmedes are likely not too far from the truth. These numbers were very small compared to Luanda and Benguela but the colonization of Moçâmedes had begun in less than a decade.
The estimates of the white people (including soldiers which represent around half of the total) for the entirety of Angola in 1840 are:
Congo | 611 |
Luanda | 1 489 |
Benguela | 728 |
Moçâmedes | 436 |
Total | 3 093 |
While the slave trade was still the main pillar of Angola’s economy, the successive Governors tried to diversify the economic activities namely introducing large-scale cultivations of cotton, sugar, coffee and cocoa to compete with Brazil, Estados Unidos and Reino Unido but also more niche-like products such as cassava, sorghum, banana. These were common all over the region with only Moçâmedes, which barely had slavery and used the settlers as workforce, focusing more on cereals like corn and wheat but also potatoes.
Cattle breeding and fishery were also important activities as well as the search for ores which had good results in Luanda and Benguela. Industry was non-existent and trade was heavily promoted both with Portugal, to where the local products were sent, and with the local kingdoms.
So my plan was to publish about the Military first, however, it ended up having a connection with Overseas and Foreign Policies so I decided to write the Overseas first. It took quite a bit and while I'm not 100% happy with some parts, I think it ended up well. Next Sunday I will publish Part 2 which is about the territories in the Indian Ocean. Without further ado, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.
Fantastic update , was waiting for this and it didnt disapoint , the possibilties for portuguese africa are endless, it should receive a lot of white settlers from the groing portuguese population , also i think the pace of the progress seams very realistic , slow but steady as it should , also really looking foward to see how the english react to a more active portugal in africa.
I think the hardest part in writing TLs of countries such as Portugal is to make sure you don't go crazy with territorial expansion right off the bat otherwise not only does it get unrealistic but you also lose most of the content for future chapters. Glad you enjoyed the update, I'm hoping Moçambique, Índia and Timor don't disappoint.
Overseas: The Empire in the 1830s (Part 2 of 2)
The Empire in the 1830s (Part 2 of 2)
O Império na Década de 1830 (Parte 2 de 2)
Portuguese East Africa/Moçambique:O Império na Década de 1830 (Parte 2 de 2)
The Captaincy of Moçambique was administrated from the island of Moçambique which until 1834 was the capital of Portuguese East Africa but the diminutive size of the island and lack of water together with the need for a more central seat of government made the Portuguese authorities choose Quelimane as the new capital.
Despite the loss of protagonism, the Captaincy of Moçambique managed to achieve the best results of all four in Portuguese East Africa despite the emergence of multiple emirates by the coast that were sponsored by Sultan Saíd Albusaide [Said bin Sultan] of Omã who had designs in the area. These emirates employed guerrilla techniques to prevent the Portuguese from expanding and attacked the town of Angoche multiple times as well as the Portuguese allies of the Kingdom of Maravi/Malauí which showed signs of decadence. Slowly and steadily the Portuguese were able to consolidate most of the coast below the Island of Moçambique and establish secure pathways to the heart of Maravi.
The Captaincies of Quelimane and Sofala were separated by the mighty River Zambeze and the authorities in both of these captaincies converged their strength to control its valley which was vital to the region. Between 1794 and 1802, several droughts and epidemics devastated the valley and the effects lasted until the 1830s with the most significant one being the collapse of the Prazo system since the chicundas (slaves/servants) could barely feed themselves and thus exportations were out of question.
Many chicundas deserted the Prazeiros and turned to banditry, elephant hunting or became mercenaries. However, some Prazeiros were able to increase their power with thousands of chicundas serving as soldiers and creating powerful potentates that could contest the directives sent by the Portuguese Governments.
The Portuguese tried to take advantage of this period of anarchy and were able to control the mouth of the Zambeze and the valley all the way to the decaying town of Sena but to reach the important settlements of Tete and Zumbo further north which they exerted nominal control, they were forced to obtain authorizations from the Prazeiros which was seen as a humiliation.
In 1837, Gonçalo Caetano Pereira, Prazeiro of Macanga and Alves da Silva, Prazeiro de Masanjire decided to join forces and block the Portuguese from reaching Tete to show force to the meddlesome authorities in Quelimane but this only made Governor-General Luíz Miguel Sarmento to start the First Prazo War. After a year of vicious fighting, Sarmento entered the fortified village of Chamo, which was the capital of Masangire, in triumph and forced the Alves da Silva family to flee eastwards.
The passageway to Tete was reopened and the Portuguese victory made António Manuel de Souza, Prazeiro of Gorongoza within the territory of the Captaincy of Sofala join forces with Sarmento but it was not the only reason Souza took this decision because aside from the authorities of Quelimane and the Prazos, a third player entered the scene...
King Soxangana [Soshangana], a relative of the famous Xaca Zulu [Shaka Zulu], expanded the territory of his kingdom from the shores of the River Limpopo to the banks of the River Save which he reached on 1836 after subduing the Tsongas, the Xonas [Shona] and many other tribes whose young men he incorporated into his army and whose women he made into wives of his men. It was the birth of the Gaza Empire named after Soxangana’s grandfather.
Soxangana defeated two other Zulu warlords named Zuánguendaba [Zwangendaba] and Nexaba [Nxaba] and pushed his empire’s borders to the Zambeze valley and which point he became a serious problem for Portugal and the Prazos. A smallpox epidemic cost the King many of his soldiers so he decided to return to Bileni on the banks of the Limpopo and leave his son Muzila [Mzila] to subdue the Zambeze Valley.
António Manuel de Souza judged that an alliance with the authorities of Quelimane was his best course of action but Sarmento’s invasion of Masangano at the end of 1838 that Souza supported was a failure and almost brought some of the other Prazos to Masangano’s side with Sarmento having to bribe Macocolo to keep it away.
Muzila’s raids and frontal attacks against Gorongoza despite the peace treaty between Portugal and the Gaza Empire were stopped by Souza and Sarmento’s forces with the tacit connivence of Gonçalo Caetano Pereira who did not exploit his victory against the Portuguese simply because he feared Muzila would destroy him after he wasted his resources against Portugal. The Portuguese victory pushed the Gaza Empire away from the Zambeze.
The Captaincy of Inhambane was not so lucky with both Inhambane and Lourenço Marques being attacked multiple times by Soxangana and to stop these attacks he demanded a tribute which the Portuguese were forced to pay. Further, any person wishing to pass through the Gaza Empire’s territory had to pay a toll. In 1834 Soxangana mounted a large attack at Inhambane that was repelled with much difficulty by the Portuguese and not to give up, he made yet another attack in 1836 that was also repelled.
After this, Soxangana decided to make peace with the Portuguese and delivered 2 Boer children to Lourenço Marques as a token of goodwill, thinking the terrified children to be Portuguese. The children were Maria de Rensburgo [Maria van Rensburg] of 12 and her brother Pedro de Rensburgo [Piet van Rensburg] of 7, children of João de Rensburgo [Johannes van Rensburg], a Boer leader whose expedition was massacred by Soxangana on July 1836, with only the children being saved by one of the King’s men. Captain João Miguel Serafim accepted the children and settled them in Lourenço Marques, making them the first Boers of Portuguese East Africa.
Just like Guiné, the Lourenço Marques Bay was contested between Portugal and Reino Unido and for this reason, the official settlement of the Espírito Santo Estuary started in 1826. The British tried to kick the Portuguese away without success but they were not the only ones trying this, in 1833 the King of the Zulus, Dingane Senzangacona [Dingane kaSenzagakhona] attacked the settlement likely because he felt the Portuguese were usurping his territory, allying with Soxangana and stealing profit from him.
The Siege of Lourenço Marques began on September 16, 1833, and continued for weeks with Captain Serafim and his garrison withstanding the violent assault and surprising the Zulus with daring night raids. When Inhambane and Quelimane spared some extra troops that arrived in late October, Dingane fearing more losses decided to cease the siege and negotiated with the Portuguese before his political opponents could take advantage of the situation. Thus in exchange for a heavy tribute, the King of the Zulus gave control of the lands to the east of the River Matola to the Portuguese and after a prisoner exchange, peace was made and Lourenço Marques was saved.
About two years later, on April 13, 1838, an expedition of Boers commanded by Luíz Tregarte [Louis Tregardt] arrived at Lourenço Marques after five years of travelling. Like the Rensburgo children, they were well received by the new captain, Manuel Costa who did not want to lose a golden opportunity to increase the white population of the village and the pool of available to fight.
The Boers were given a lot of freedom to build houses, a school and a church as long as they recognized Portugal’s authority. While initially sceptical of accepting such terms, Maria de Rensburgo, then 14, convinced them to accept. They were, however, hit by malaria that cost the lives of about a third of the party, including Tregarte’s wife Marta. Tregarte sent a servant to Natal to request an evacuation by sea but many of the Boers led by Maria and her brother Pedro did not want to leave. Tregarte also succumbed to malaria on October 25 and with his death, Maria’s faction eventually overtook the community and nearly all of the remaining 37 Boers remained in Lourenço Marques.
The Boer school opened up in November 1838 and while many members of the community did not want the Portuguese and the local natives to attend, it allowed them to. While the Boers spoke the Cape Dutch dialect, the more numerous Portuguese soldiers influenced their dialect and most of them learned to speak Portuguese, especially the children. In opposition, the Dutch Calvinist Church managed to convert many soldiers and natives early on despite the local Catholic priest’s attempts to prevent this from happening.
Moçambique was without any doubt the Overseas territory in which the Portuguese struggled the most. It was clear that the 1 500 soldiers were not enough to address all the enemies in the region. The development of the cities and towns was also far below what was witnessed in Angola with only Quelimane, the capital having the most improvements though the Island of Moçambique, Angoche and Inhambane also had considerable improvements.
There were also attempts to improve Tete, Sena and Sofala but they were in such a terrible condition that they were mere carcasses of their past glory, threatened by the Prazos and the Gaza Empire. Lourenço Marques received little help from Quelimane but despite it, it was also improving at its own pace with a whaling company founded in 1818 by American whalers and by the Boers planting the fields.
A diversification of the economy was also noticeable following the same pattern as in Angola meaning increments in the plantation of sugar, tobacco, cocoa and coffee, cattle breeding, ore extraction and fisheries.
The estimates of the white people (including soldiers which represent around half of the total) for the entirety of Moçambique in 1840 are:
Moçambique | 408 |
Quelimane | 613 |
Sofala | 333 |
Inhambane | 367 |
Total | 1 721 |
Índia Portugueza:
The Estado da Índia was composed of Goa, the most populous and largest of the Indian territories, Damão, Diu, Dadrá and Nagar Aveli as well as the islands of Timor, Solor, Flores and the Macau Peninsula until 1837 when their autonomy was consolidated.
While Cabo Verde was the first colony to be fully integrated into Portugal, the Estado da Índia was the most likely to be next. This, however, was not something supported by the more conservative Deputies and Peers who considered the distance to Lisboa to be a big problem as in the 1830s one still had to sail for about a year to reach Goa. Indian Deputies often missed the Cortes’ sessions due to this.
The integration process, however, started despite the opposition but except for the creation of the Indian branch of the Real Guarda Nacional (RNG) in 1831 the Status Quo remained until 1836 when the first Goan Governor-General was nominated by Saldanha. Bernardo Peres da Silva had already served multiple terms as a Deputy for the Estado da Índia as an Independent although he had links to the Left and was an advocate of more liberties and autonomy to the colonies and for this reason he was received in Goa with great enthusiasm by the local population after his nomination.
Peres da Silva’s goal was to make sure the natives of the Estado da Índia had the same rights as the Europeans which he deemed as the only way the territory could be properly integrated in Portugal. For this reason, he facilitated the access of the natives to the judicial, fiscal and administrative positions that he reorganized; he continued to follow the directives coming from Lisboa such as the extinction of the monastic orders and the sale of their properties, the construction of primary and second schools as well as the Lyceum of Goa and reduced most of the taxes that were exclusive to the native population.
While very beneficial in the long term, Peres da Silva’s measures seriously affected the interests of the Goan aristocracy, especially the metropolitan bureaucratic officials and military commanders. These groups joined forces in a revolt that happened on April 9, 1836, about a month after Peres da Silva’s appointment led by General Joaquim Manuel Correia da Silva e Gama, the most important military commander in the Estado da Índia and a member of Peres da Silva’s Governing Council.
The rebels surrounded the Governor’s Palace in Panjim and eventually entered it, capturing Peres da Silva and forcing him to sail away in humiliation. This, however, caused the people in Panjim to protest and the RNG, essentially made of natives led a counter-revolt against Silva e Gama, starting a brutal urban battle between the two sides.
The soldiers won the battle after six hours but they had suffered considerable casualties and the beaten RNG fled but incited revolts all over the Municipality of Ilhas de Goa which by April 10 was in mutiny and readying a large assault against Panjim. When the revolt started spreading to the other Municipalities of Goa, most of the soldiers from the European contingents that were neutral declared for Peres da Silva and joined the natives in their struggle.
By April 14, the rebels were surrounded by a much larger force of troops, RNG and armed peasants which led most of the soldiers to surrender. Those who kept fighting were overwhelmed and Silva e Gama was captured by Colonel João Cazimiro de Vasconcelos who was appointed Interim Governor until Peres da Silva’s return. Messengers were sent to Lisboa and after the humiliated Governor, who got knowledge of the counter-revolt’s success in Bombaim and immediately returned to Goa where the population was celebrating.
Saldanha in Lisboa was forced by his followers, coalition partners and pragmatism to accept the result of the counter-revolt as he feared that Portuguese Índia could follow Brazil’s footsteps and declare independence, though they sent Manuel Correia da Silva e Gama to Moçambique with next to no punishments.
Peres da Silva was able to rule without opposition and with the support of the people and Lisboa and until his term ended in 1840, he promulgated many decrees to cease and punish racism and discrimination including against White people born in the Estado da Índia which were often considered lesser individuals to those from Portugal and motivated by the Silva e Gama’s revolt he wanted to get rid of the Portuguese garrison in favour of the RNG but the Government forbid him from doing so and even started distrusting his intentions. He did, however, manage to reduce the garrison’s size by sending troops to Moçambique and Timor to help the local administrations.
His tenure aside from boosting the power of the natives also saw the revitalization of the Portuguese language and culture after many decades of decadence and the immigration of the population to British Índia, namely Bombaim, in search of better opportunities. Literacy rates of the young Luzo-Indians increased thanks to their education in local schools; local newspapers written in Portuguese proliferated; cafes and salons created a new politically engaged population that wanted more representation.
The capital of Estado da Índia moved from what is now called Velha Goa [Old Goa] to Panjim, which was renamed Nova Goa and was 10km to the west of Velha Goa, being the residence of the Governor-General since the end of the last century. All this was due to the serious epidemics of malaria and cholera that caused the death of many Goans and for this reason, led to the creation of the local Medical school that was reformulated in 1840 to become the Goa Medical and Surgical School in the same model as the ones in Lisboa and Porto and would train many doctors to serve the Empire in the following decades.
Economically, agriculture production outputs increased a lot with investments in corn, rice, mangoes and coconuts, a blend of what was happening in Portugal, Africa and Asia. Large deposits of iron and coal were found in the Municipality of Bicholim in late 1839 which were seen as a good way to revitalize the economy and boost trade with Portugal which needed these commodities for its industrialization.
Goa and Damão also developed local textile manufacturers that were initially supplied by cotton coming from British Índia but were progressively replaced by cotton coming from Moçambique which was much cheaper to them. These clothing products were made in Indian fashion to not compete with those produced in Portugal and in a time when the British had euthanized Indian industry, it created economic opportunities.
Timor, Solor, Flores and Macau:
Interest in Timor and its adjacent islands was still linked to the profitable trade of sandalwood and other exotic products to Europe and China, although foreign competition from the British and Dutch was increasing. Considering that Portugal had tacit control and suzerainty over Timor and Flores, as well as the fact that Catholicism and Portuguese creoles were considerably widespread, made Lisboa attempt to exert more control over these islands with minimal costs.
During the 1830s the administration in Díli in the island of Timor was given progressively more autonomy to act. Thus Governor Jozé Maria Marques appointed in 1834 had more room to conduct an autonomous diplomatic policy to further Portugal’s interests while not provoking other Europeans such as the Dutch. In the following years, Maria Marques concluded several treaties with Timorese tribal chiefs to make them vassals of Portugal.
After skirmishes around Larantuca in Flores with troops of the Sultanate of Bima sponsored by the Dutch, the Larantucan topases accepted the presence of a Portuguese garrison. The fear of the Dutch encroachment on the island made the Larantucans act as intermediary agents to place the entire island under at least Portuguese indirect control.
This increased the tensions with the Sultanate of Bima which dominated the western part of Flores and most of the nearby island of Sumbava [Sumbawa] and its overlords, the Dutch. Skirmishes became more common but were usually won by the Portuguese as the Dutch refrained from strengthening Bima so that they could be more easily dominated soon. The Dutch also increased their forces in Western Timor namely in Cupão [Kupang] from where they also sought to make peace and subjugation treaties with the population to counter Portuguese advances.
The hierarchy of Timor and Flores that had been in use since the 16th Century was slightly changed with the Portuguese also called “white Portuguese” by the Dutch at the top, exerting unprecedented control over the population, controlling the foreign politics and trade while having the duty of protecting the population. The topases or “black Portuguese” collected tributes in the name of Portugal and exercised control over the villages and local commerce. This new model guaranteed the interests of both groups, making the control of the islands easier.
Jozé Maria Marques promoted considerable improvements in Díli and Larantuca with the first stone and brick houses, wide streets, fountains, warehouses, churches and schools being built to prevent the usual fires from constantly destroying the towns. To reduce costs in supplying the islands, the cultivation of rice was promoted but the sandalwood still dominated the fields and more profitable cultures such as coffee, cinnamon and cocoa were also being tested to diversify the economy.
Better control over Timor and Flores together with an increase in agriculture outputs allowed the many debts Maria Marques was incurring to be paid and the quality of life of the population namely in Díli and Larantuca increased which contributed to neutralising slavery.
Macau was still the main port through which Europeans could trade with Txingue [Qing] China, thus the small outpost held a huge strategic importance for Portugal who profited from Macau’s customs duties. With the administration’s separation from the Estado da Índia in 1837, the small port became the headquarters of the Captaincy of Macau, Timor and Solor, receiving for the occasion its first Captain-General.
This change in status was not recognized by China, but Portugal did not care. The Leal Senado de Macau which until then ruled the city saw most of its privileges revoked in 1834 and was relegated to a mere Municipal Town Hall with an honorific title subordinated to the Captain-General.
By the 1830s, with the arrival of more troops, Portugal was able to start expanding its influence to the islands surrounding the Macau Peninsula namely Taipa, Coloane, Lapa, Dom João and Montanha without the help of the missionaries that had made their home there without China’s permission, although the Portuguese authorities fearing China’s response did not lay claim or fully occupy the islands.
But at the same time that Portugal was regaining its strength, the British already had enough commercial and military strength to provoke the Chinese. Their intention to sell huge quantities of opium produced in British Índia to the Chinese clashed with the Chinese authorities’ desire to stop such prejudicial and immoral trade.
But after the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804) the Txingue [Qing] Dynasty saw its silver reserves deplete and as a consequence the Emperors were forced to increase taxes, especially on Chinese traders who already were overburdened with expenses needed to fight piracy and banditry and this destroyed this important backbone of society. Parallely the Army was in steep decline and outclassed by European troops in everything but their numbers.
Thus the First Opium War began in 1839 between Reino Unido and China and despite British requests, Portugal still considered the Chinese Army a threat so it declared itself neutral but the winds of change were already blowing.
And with this, I finish the Empire Updates. It took a while but I think they came out ok with Portugal expanding almost everywhere except Moçambique where they lost territory. Next chapter will be about the Military and Foreign Policies and then I will finish the decade with what's happening around Europe and Brazil though I hope I don't waste too much time there...
Without further ado, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.
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Very good update , wasnt expecting the boer setlement but is really cool , maybe more could happen in the future , in fact i am curius if a more active portugal in africa will afect the development of south africa in any way.