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> It's pretty amazing how such a small colonial power stayed under the radar for so long. I'm biased because being Brazilian the history of the Portuguese empi
by mrisoli 9y ago
> It's pretty amazing how such a small colonial power stayed under the radar for so long.
I'm biased because being Brazilian the history of the Portuguese empire wasn't exactly under the radar for us, especially during history lessons.
IMO Portugal never stayed under the radar, it just faded into its own disarray, they had all the tools and resources(its colonies and geographical position) to rule over the world but didn't due to widespread corruption and bureaucracy.
- sageikosa 9y agoPortugal was more concerned with getting trade goods from the far east than trying to build up sub-Saharan Africa for most of it's history. It just so happened that when the Scramble for Africa started, Portugal already had toeholds all along the coast.