Portuguese East Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portuguese East Africa is the name formerly applied to a string of Portuguese overseas colonies along the south-east African coast, which now form the republic of Mozambique.

Portuguese trading settlements and, later, colonies were formed along the coast from 1498, when Vasco da Gama first reached the Mozambican coast. Some of these colonies were handed over in the late nineteenth century for rule by chartered companies such as the Companhia de Moçambique.

Portugal possessed the following colonies in the area, which were known collectively as Portuguese East Africa:

(From south to north)

Lourenço Marques (now Maputo, the Mozambican capital city)
Inhambane
Manhica e Sofala (administered until 1942 by the Companhia de Moçambique)
Quelimane and Tete (these last two were initially separate, then combined as Zambezia)
Moçambique (now Nampula Province)
Niassa (administered until 1929 by the Companhia de Niassa).

In 1951 the colonies were combined into a single overseas province under the name Moçambique. In many cases the colonies have given their names to the modern provinces of Mozambique.

Colonial flags of Mozambique

History of Mozambique

v • d • e

Portuguese Empire

North Africa

15th century
1415–1640 Ceuta
1420 Madeira
1458–1550 Alcácer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir)
1471–1550 Arzila (Asilah)
1471–1662 Tangier
1485–1550 Mazagan (El Jadida)
1488–1541 Safim (Safi)

16th century
1505–1769 Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué (Agadir)
1506–1525 Mogador (Essaouira)
1506–1525 Aguz (Souira Guedima)
1506–1769 Mazagan (El Jadida)
1513–1541 Azamor (Azemmour)
1577–1589 Arzila (Asilah)

Sub-Saharan Africa

15th century 1455–1633 Arguin 1470–1975 São Tomé¹ 1474–1778 Annobón 1478–1778 Fernando Póo (Bioko) 1482–1637 Elmina (São Jorge da Mina) 1482–1642 Portuguese Gold Coast 1496–1550 Madagascar (part) 1498–1540 Mascarene Islands	16th century 1500–1630 Malindi 1500–1975 Príncipe¹ 1501–1975 Portuguese E. Africa (Mozambique) 1502–1659 St. Helena 1503–1698 Zanzibar 1505–1512 Quíloa (Kilwa) 1506–1511 Socotra 1557–1578 Accra 1575–1975 Portuguese W. Africa (Angola) 1588–1974 Cacheu² 1593–1698 Mombassa (Mombasa)	17th century 1642–1975 Cape Verde 1645–1888 Ziguinchor 1680–1961 São João Baptista de Ajudá 1687–1974 Bissau² 18th century 1728–1729 Mombassa (Mombasa) 1753–1975 São Tomé and Príncipe 19th century 1879–1974 Portuguese Guinea 1885–1975 Portuguese Congo (Cabinda)
¹ Part of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1753. ² Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879.

Southwest Asia

16th century
1506–1615 Gamru (Bandar Abbas)
1515–1622 Hormuz (Ormus)
1515–1650 Muscat
1521–1602 Bahrain

Indian subcontinent

15th century
1498–1545 Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep)

16th century
Portuguese India
   1500–1663 Cochim (Kochi)
   1502–1661 Quilon (Coulão/Kollam)
   1502–1663 Cannanore (Kannur)
   1507–1657 Negapatam (Nagapattinam)
   1510–1962 Goa
   1512–1525 Calicut (Kozhikode)
   1518–1619 Paliacate (Pulicat)
   1521–1740 Chaul
   1523–1662 São Tomé de Meliapore
   1528–1666 Chittagong
   1534–1601 Salsette Island
   1534–1661 Bombay (Mumbai)
   1535–1739 Baçaím (Vasai-Virar)
   1536–1662 Cranganore (Kodungallur)
   1540–1612 Surat
   1548–1658 Tuticorin (Thoothukudi)
   1559–1962 Daman and Diu
   1568–1659 Mangalore
   1579–1632 Hughli
   1598–1610 Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam)
1518–1521 Maldives
1518–1658 Ceilão (Ceylon/Sri Lanka)
1558–1573 Maldives

17th century
Portuguese India
1687–1749 São Tomé de Meliapore

18th century
Portuguese India
1779–1954 Dadra and Nagar Haveli

East Asia and Oceania

	16th century 1511–1641 Malacca (Melaka) 1512–1621 Banda Islands 1512–1621 Moluccas (Maluku Islands) 1522–1575 Ternate 1576–1605 Ambon 1578–1650 Tidore 1512–1665 Makassar 1553–1999 Macau 1571–1639 Decima (Dejima, Nagasaki)	17th century 1642–1975 Portuguese Timor (East Timor)¹ 19th century Macau 1864–1999 Coloane 1851–1999 Taipa 1890–1999 Ilha Verde 20th century Macau 1938–1941 Lapa and Montanha (Hengqin)
¹ 1975 is the date of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, the independence of East Timor was recognized by Portugal and the rest of the world.