One of the longest-lived empires in world history, it existed for almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415, to the handover of Portuguese Macau to China in 1999.
The naval Battle of Swally, also known as Battle of Suvali, took place on 29–30 November 1612 off the coast of Suvali (anglicised to Swally) a village near the Surat city (now in Gujarat, India) and was a victory for four English East India Company galleons over four Portuguese galleons and 26 barks (rowing vessels
By the year 1511, the Portuguese were in control of the spice trade of the Malabar coast of India and Ceylon. Until the end of the 16th century, their monopoly on the spice trade to India was exceptionally profitable for the Portuguese.
Muslims were known to have a commercial talent notably encouraged by Islam, as well as excellent sailing skills. Thus, they could monopolize the East-West trade of the maritime Silk Roads, connecting various major ports of eastern Asian regions together.
Portugal's purpose in the Indian Ocean was to ensure the monopoly of the spice trade. Taking advantage of the rivalries that pitted Hindus against Muslims, the Portuguese established several forts and trading posts between 1500 and 1510.
The Portuguese destroyed the Arab trade routes in the Indian Ocean between Africa, Arabia and India. The Portuguese replaced Arab control of the trade in ivory, gold and slaves with their own. They traded up the Zambezi river and interfered with the existing inland African trade.
Due to poor climatic conditions, Portuguese rule come to an end in East Africa because they suffered from tropical disease example malaria, which killed Portuguese to the large extent and most of them were physically weakened which make then to fail to stand still for the long period of fighting.
Many causes were responsible for the failure of the Portuguese Empire in India. The Portuguese administration in India was very corrupt. The salaries of the officers were very low and they did not feel any hesitation to accept bribes from any quarter. The bulk of the Portuguese officers were selfish.
The Portuguese controlled Goa until 1961, when India took over. Only a very small fraction of Goans speak Portuguese nowadays. Although an essential religious language, there were 1,500 students learning Portuguese in Goa in 2015; totaling a number of 10,000 – 12,000 Portuguese speakers in the state.
European Powers That Came To India
| Europeans | Came to India | 1st factory |
|---|
| Portuguese | 1498 | Cochin |
| Dutch | 1602 | Masulipatnam |
| English | 1600 | Surat |
| French | 1664 | Surat |
The Shilaharas ruled the South Konkan Goa from 755 till 1000 AD. This was followed by the Kadambas who ruled Goa from the 10th to 14th century.
All Goans were educated in Portuguese in the past when Goa was an overseas province of Portugal. A small minority of Goans are descendants of the Portuguese, speak Portuguese and are of Luso-Indian ethnicity, however a number of native Christians also used Portuguese as their first language prior to 1961.
These are some of the most famous Portuguese explorers.
- Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama.
- Pedro Álvares Cabral. Pedro Álvares Cabral.
- Ferdinand Magellan. Ferdinand Magellan.
- Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus.
- Diogo Cão. Diogo Cão.
- Diogo Silves. Azores old map.
- Bartolomeu Dias. Bartolomeu Dias.
- Gaspar and Miguel Corte Real.
Goa on India's western coast was freed from Portuguese rule on 19 December 1961, more than four centuries after it was colonised. But Goa remained a Portuguese colony until 1961, straining relations between India and Portugal as the former's support for the anti-colonial movement in Goa grew.
Portuguese India consisted of several isolated tracts: (1) the territory of Goa with the capital, a considerable area in the middle of the west coast of India; (2) Damão, or Daman, with the separated territories of Dadrá and Nagar Haveli, north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and lying between the Indian states of
Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa.
The military exploits of the first three rulers--Chandragupta I (ca. 319-335), Samudragupta (ca. 335-376), and Chandragupta II (ca. 376-415)--brought all of North India under their leadership.
They lost their powers over Malabar upon defeated by Marthanda Verma on the battle. And owing to the provisions Treaty they had to return all their properties, establishments and posts to British rule.
When the Portuguese first came to India in search of spices, they landed in Calicut on the Kerala coast in south-west India. The cotton textiles which they took back to Europe came to be known as calico, which is derived from Calicut.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal became a leading European power that ranked with England, France and Spain in terms of economic, political and cultural influence.
Because going through all those countries with spices there would be taxes paid. So when Portugal arrived to India by sea, it allowed US to get the same spices and take them to Europe ( Portugal) without paying taxes hence a the price was much much lower but still profitableto Portugal.
David Arnold in 'The Indian Ocean as a Disease Zone, 1500-1950' discusses the diffusion of cholera, smallpox, plague and influenza in the Indian Ocean area.
World Civilization Ch. 2 Test Review
| A | B |
|---|
| Who were the first to challenge the Portuguese for control of the spice trade? | The Dutch, then the British and the French |
| Why was Spain able to conquer the Philippines so easily? | Unlike most peoples of Southeast Asia, the Filipinos were not united and were more easily conquered |
How did Portugal gain control of the spice trade? They conquered Malacca and seized cities on the east coast of Africa, using military and missionary force. They captured Malacca from the Portuguese and opened trade with China. They used military force and forged close ties with local rulers than the Portuguese had.
