Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal and its overseas empire, from its founding in the 12th century to the loss of Brazil in 1822.
Category: States, Places
- 1147Portugal takes Lisbon from the Almoravids with help from crusaders
King Afonso Henriques of Portugal captures Lisbon after a siege in 1147, helped by northern European crusaders on their way to the Holy Land. The conquest roughly doubles the size of the young Portuguese kingdom.
- July 16, 1212Christian kings defeat the Almohads at Las Navas de Tolosa
On 16 July 1212 a coalition of Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Portugal defeats the Almohad caliph al-Nasir in the Sierra Morena. The Almohads' power in Iberia collapses, opening Andalusia to Castilian conquest.
- 1341Niccoloso da Recco leads a Portuguese-backed expedition to the Canary Islands
The Genoese navigator Niccoloso da Recco sails to the Canary Islands in 1341 in an expedition backed by the Portuguese crown. It is the first well-documented European voyage to the archipelago since antiquity.
- August 21, 1415Portugal conquers Ceuta in Morocco
King John I of Portugal and his sons, including Prince Henry, capture the Marinid port of Ceuta on 21 August 1415. It is commonly treated as the start of Portugal's overseas expansion.
- c. 1419Portuguese captains reach Madeira and Porto Santo
Captains João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, serving Prince Henry, reach Porto Santo and Madeira around 1418-1419. Settlement on Madeira begins in the 1420s, with sugar and wine later its main products.
- c. 1427Portuguese navigators reach the Azores
The Azores are reached by Portuguese ships around 1427-1431; Diogo de Silves is credited with 1427 on a disputed map inscription, and Gonçalo Velho Cabral officially claims them in 1431. Settlement begins in the 1430s-40s.
- c. 1434Gil Eanes sails beyond Cape Bojador
On Prince Henry's orders Gil Eanes sails past Cape Bojador on the West African coast and returns, in 1434 (some sources say 1435), after a failed attempt in 1433. The voyage opens the coast south of the cape to Portuguese ships.
- January 13, 1435Pope Eugene IV orders the release of enslaved Canary Islanders in Sicut dudum
Eugene IV issues Sicut dudum on 13 January 1435, threatening excommunication for those who keep Canarians enslaved after Christian conversion. It follows Creator omnium and is partly reversed for Portugal in 1436.
- August 1444Lançarote de Freitas lands the first large group of enslaved Africans at Lagos
A fleet of six caravels returns to Lagos from the Arguin coast in August 1444 with over 200 captured Africans, who are sold at a public market. It is seen as the start of Portugal's slave trade from West Africa.
- 1455 – 1456Alvise Cadamosto makes two voyages to West Africa for Prince Henry
The Venetian Alvise Cadamosto sails along the West African coast in 1455 and 1456, reaching the Gambia River. His voyages are traditionally linked to the sighting of the Cape Verde Islands.
- November 13, 1460Death of Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry, son of John I and patron of Portuguese voyages along the Atlantic coast of Africa, dies on 13 November 1460. The 'school of Sagres' attached to him is now seen as a legend; Lagos was his main base.
- September 4, 1479Treaty of Alcáçovas divides Atlantic claims between Castile and Portugal
The treaty of 4 September 1479 ends the Castilian succession war. Castile keeps the Canary Islands, while Portugal gets the Guinea coast and the Atlantic south of the Canaries. It was ratified in 1480.
- June 21, 1481Pope Sixtus IV confirms the Alcáçovas division in the bull Aeterni regis
Sixtus IV issues Aeterni regis on 21 June 1481, confirming the Treaty of Alcáçovas, including Portugal's rights to African lands. John II of Portugal later cites it against Columbus's claims.
- c. 1482Diogo Cão reaches the mouth of the Congo River
Diogo Cão, sailing for John II, reaches the Congo River in 1482 (the date is not fully settled) and sets up a stone padrão to mark Portugal's claim. His later voyage carries him further south along the African coast.
- January 1482Portugal builds São Jorge da Mina (Elmina) on the Gold Coast
Diogo de Azambuja lands in January 1482, gets permission from local ruler Kwamina Ansa and starts building the fort of São Jorge da Mina. It is the first permanent Portuguese fort in sub-Saharan Africa.
- c. 1484John II of Portugal's advisers reject Columbus's plan to sail west to Asia
A committee of mathematicians and cosmographers appointed by King John II judges Columbus's estimate of the distance to Asia too small and turns down his proposal, in 1484 or 1485. Columbus then goes to Castile.
- 1488Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
Sent by John II, Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa in early 1488 and reaches Mossel Bay on 3 February, proving the Indian Ocean can be reached by sea. He first calls the Cape the Cape of Storms.
- March 1493Columbus returns to Europe and Portugal disputes Castile's claim
Storm-driven, Columbus's Niña reaches Lisbon on 4 March 1493 before going to Palos. John II of Portugal says the discoveries fall under earlier treaties, which leads to the papal bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas.
- June 7, 1494Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world between Spain and Portugal
Spain and Portugal agree on 7 June 1494 on a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Lands to the west are Spain's to explore and claim; those to the east are Portugal's. It replaces a papal line set the year before.
- July 8, 1497 – May 1498Vasco da Gama sails from Lisbon to India
Vasco da Gama leaves Lisbon on 8 July 1497 with four ships, rounds the Cape, crosses the Indian Ocean with a pilot from Malindi and reaches Calicut in May 1498, the first sea route from Europe to India.
- April 22, 1500Pedro Álvares Cabral sights Brazil
A Portuguese fleet under Cabral, bound for India, sights Monte Pascoal on the Bahia coast on 22 April 1500 and claims the land for Portugal. Dates for the landing at Porto Seguro vary between sources.
- 1534John III divides Brazil into hereditary captaincies
From 1534 the Crown grants the Brazilian coast as 15 hereditary captaincies to 12 donees. Only four, São Vicente, Pernambuco, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro, survive beyond 1549; the others are never settled or are overrun by Indigenous peoples.
- May 6, 1542Francis Xavier reaches Goa to begin the Jesuit mission in Asia
Francis Xavier, who left Lisbon on 7 April 1541, arrives at Goa, the capital of Portuguese India, on 6 May 1542. The Jesuit begins missionary work in Asia that takes him to Japan in 1549.
- c. 1549Enslaved Africans are brought to Brazil's plantations
The first arrival of enslaved Africans cannot be dated; the earliest firm mark is 1549, and they become the preferred plantation labour from the 1570s. About 5.5 million Africans are brought to Brazil between 1540 and the 1860s, by one estimate.
- March 29, 1549Tomé de Sousa founds Salvador as seat of Brazil's first governor-general
In 1549 Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general, arrives with six ships and the first six Jesuits and founds Salvador, which is dated to 29 March. The city is Brazil's capital until 1763 and a major port for sugar and the slave trade.
- August 15, 1549Francis Xavier lands at Kagoshima, beginning the Christian mission to Japan
Francis Xavier goes ashore at Kagoshima on 15 August 1549, beginning the first Christian mission to Japan. His ship had reached Japan on 27 July, but he was not allowed into port until 15 August.
- 1555Villegaignon founds France Antarctique in Guanabara Bay
In 1555 the French naval officer Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon founds a colony near present-day Rio de Janeiro, in Guanabara Bay. The French hold it until the Portuguese expel them in 1567.
- March 1, 1565Estácio de Sá founds Rio de Janeiro
On 1 March 1565 Estácio de Sá, nephew of the governor-general Mem de Sá, founds São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro near Sugarloaf Mountain, as a base against the French and their Indigenous allies.
- January 20, 1567The Portuguese defeat the French and their allies in Guanabara Bay
On 20 January 1567 the Portuguese win the decisive battle against the French of France Antarctique and their Indigenous allies. Estácio de Sá dies of his wounds a month later; Mem de Sá then moves the city to Morro do Castelo.
- 1580 – 1640Philip II of Spain also becomes king of Portugal, uniting the Iberian crowns
After the death of Sebastian at Alcácer Quibir in 1578 and of Cardinal Henry, Philip II claims the Portuguese throne in 1580 and is recognised by the Cortes of Tomar in 1581. Portugal and its empire stay under the Habsburgs until 1640.
- 1589Drake and Norris's 'English Armada' fails against Spain
In 1589 a large English expedition under Drake and Sir John Norris attacks Corunna and Lisbon, hoping to destroy Spanish ships and raise Portugal in revolt. It fails at heavy cost; estimates of the dead vary widely.
- c. 1591The Coimbra Jesuits publish commentaries on Aristotle
From 1591 the Jesuits of Coimbra, under Pedro da Fonseca ("the Aristotle of Portugal"), publish commentaries on Aristotle drawn from their lectures, partly to counter pirated copies. Widely used in the 17th century, they may have influenced Descartes and Leibniz.
- c. 1605Runaway slaves found the quilombo of Palmares
In 1605, by the article's dating, escaped enslaved Africans settle at Serra da Barriga in northeastern Brazil, though Portuguese complaints of flight into the area date from 1602. It grows into the largest fugitive community in colonial Brazil.
- May 8, 1624 – April 30, 1625The Dutch West India Company captures Salvador and loses it a year later
A Dutch fleet takes Salvador on 8 May 1624, and the Portuguese governor surrenders. A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet retakes the city on 30 April 1625.
- 1628 – 1629Paulista bandeirantes raid and destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá
In 1628-29 bandeirantes from São Paulo, led by Manuel Preto, destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá and enslave their Guaraní. Estimates of captives range from about 5,000 to 100,000, and raids on other missions go on until 1632.
- February 1630 – 1654The Dutch take Olinda and Recife and begin their rule in northeastern Brazil
In February 1630 the Dutch West India Company takes Olinda, and Recife by 3 March. Dutch Brazil lasts until 1654, when the Portuguese regain the northeast.
- December 1, 1640Portugal revolts against Spain and acclaims John IV
On 1 December 1640 nobles and wealthy townsmen revolt and acclaim John IV, Duke of Braganza, ending 60 years of Habsburg rule. Spain accepts Portugal's sovereignty only in 1668.
- April 19, 1648 – February 19, 1649The Portuguese defeat the Dutch at the Battles of Guararapes
Two battles near Recife, on 19 April 1648 and 19 February 1649, turn the war in Portugal's favour. The Dutch are later besieged in Recife, which falls in 1654.
- January 1654The Dutch surrender Recife and leave Brazil
After a siege of about two years, the Dutch capitulate at Recife in January 1654 (26 or 28 January, depending on the source). The Dutch lose their Brazilian colony.
- c. 1695Gold is discovered in the interior of Brazil, starting the gold rush
In the 1690s, with 1695 given for the strike at Rio das Velhas by Manuel Borba Gato, gold is found in Minas Gerais. Vila Rica, now Ouro Preto, is founded in 1698; about 800 tonnes of gold go to Portugal in the 18th century.
- November 20, 1695Zumbi is captured and beheaded after the fall of Palmares
In January 1694 Portuguese forces take Palmares's main settlement, Cerca do Macaco; Zumbi escapes wounded and is betrayed and beheaded on 20 November 1695. Resistance in the region continues for decades.
- January 13, 1750Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, replacing Tordesillas
On 13 January 1750 the two crowns set the borders of their South American colonies by actual possession, accepting Brazil's westward expansion. Spain gets Colonia del Sacramento; Portugal the seven Jesuit missions; Spain annuls it in 1761.
- September 3, 1759Pombal expels the Jesuits from Portugal and its empire
On 3 September 1759 the Marquis of Pombal, chief minister of Joseph I, decrees the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Portuguese domains. Their temporal power in Brazil had already been curtailed in 1758.
- 1763Brazil's capital moves from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro
In 1763 the colonial administration moves from Salvador, the capital since 1549, to Rio de Janeiro.
- 1789The Inconfidência Mineira, a plot to free Minas Gerais from Portugal, is uncovered
In 1789 informers reveal a conspiracy in Minas Gerais, sparked by a planned derrama tax on the declining gold output and inspired by the thirteen colonies' independence. The conspirators are arrested; the plot has no clear leader or plan.
- April 21, 1792Tiradentes is hanged in Rio de Janeiro for the Inconfidência Mineira
On 21 April 1792 Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, is hanged, and his body is quartered and displayed in Vila Rica. Queen Maria I commutes the other death sentences, but not his, since he took full responsibility.
- November 29, 1807 – March 7, 1808The Portuguese court flees Napoleon's invasion for Brazil
On 29 November 1807, as French troops advance on Lisbon, Prince Regent John and the court, perhaps 10,000-15,000 people, sail for Brazil. They reach Salvador on 22 January 1808 and Rio de Janeiro on 7 March, making it the seat of the empire.