The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Imprio Portugus), also known as the Portuguese

Overseas (Ultramar Portugus), was the first global empire in history.[1][2][3] In

addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spa
nning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of
Macau in 1999 or the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spr
ead throughout a vast number of territories that are now parts of 53 different s
overeign states.
The First Portuguese Empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery,
initiated by Portugal, expanding across the globe. Portuguese sailors began exp
loring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418-19, using recen
t developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the ca
ravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative
spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498
, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by t
he crown's secret design, Pedro lvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South Amer
ican coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore
the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they we
nt. By 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the c
oasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and South Asia. This commercial network
, brought great wealth to Portugal.
When Philip II of Spain inherited the Portuguese crown in 1580, this began a 60
year union between Spain and Portugal that has since been given the historiograp
hic term of the Iberian Union. Though the realms continued to be administered se
parately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid.
As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the s
ubject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain: the Dutch Rep
ublic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to
effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts, and the empire be
gan a long and gradual decline. Eventually, significant losses to the Dutch in P
ortuguese India and Southeast Asia during the 17th century brought an end to the
Portuguese trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean. Brazil became the most valuable
colony of the Second Portuguese Empire until, as part of the wave of independenc
e movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century, it broke away
in 1822.
The Third Portuguese Empire represents the final stage of Portuguese colonialism
after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions
had been reduced to the African coastline (expanded inland during the Scramble
for Africa in the late 19th century), Portuguese Timor, and enclaves in India an
d Macau. The disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portugu
ese ambitions in Africa. Under Antnio Salazar, the Second Portuguese Republic mad
e some ill-fated attempts to hold on to its last remaining colonies and overseas
provinces after the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa, embarking on the Portuguese
Colonial War in Africa which lasted until the final overthrow of the regime in t
he Carnation Revolution of 1974. Macau was returned to China in 1999 and East Ti
mor was given independence in 20