História de Portugal e do Império Português - Volume II

by Anthony R. Disney

The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. With no geographical raison d tre and no obvious roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europe s outer fringe. Then, in the early fifteenth century, this unlikely springboard for Western expansion suddenly began to accumulate an empire of its own, eventually extending more than halfway around the globe. The History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, drawing particularly on historical scholarship postdating the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of how all this happened the first such account to appear in English for more than a generation. Volume I concerns the history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807, and Volume II traces the history of the Portuguese overseas empire.

Genres: History, Portugal, Nonfiction

616 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denso e compacto é muito bom como livro intermédio para conhecer o Império Português.
O facto de ser escrito por um estrangeiro é uma grande vantagem para que os detalhes menos benéficos para Portugal apareçam.

[J]

Definitely the more interesting of the two entries in the series -- Portugal's influence outside Europe being so much greater than within it.

Thing to remember/Things I found surprising:

- The speed with which the 16th century empire was created by Da Gama, Almeida, and Albuquerque was genuinely impressive, especially given the distance and technology involved. The ability of the Portuguese to project power in such a shoestring manner was astonishing -- only a few ships annually tied the metropole to Goa, for example. I would have appreciated some higher-level analysis of how this small country was able to project power over thousands of miles with a handful of carracks. But it remains an interesting story nonetheless.
- The Portuguese clearly did not have any Anglo-Saxon scruples about races intermingling. The creation of Afro/Indian/Asian-Portuguese communities across the empire was fascinating.
- The empire was clearly maintained -- especially past its prime -- by trade between its feitoria and other colonial feitoria or, more commonly, trade with non-Europeans. Trade with the metropole clearly counted for little past the 16th century (with the obvious and huge exception of Brazil.)
- The stories of the colonization of Morocco, the Atlantic islands, and the West African coast were, predictably, the most interesting. The rapid overpopulation of Madeira and the Azores is a testament

[TalGarik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful and highly readable account of the Portuguese Empire, the structure of the book manages to move along the centuries and the many regions comprising it without effort, a glossary helps the reader through the Portuguese terms that Disney has wisely decided to leave in Portuguese, a section of maps at the beginning of the book is very useful and an extended bibliography helps the reader not only to track the sources but also to find suggestions for further readings. I have appreciated so much that while my area of interest was the Portuguese Empire I have now decided to read also the first volume where Disney narrates the story of continental Portugal in those times.

[Mason]

This is the second of two volumes. The first is a history of Portugal proper, while this one talks about the development and demise of Portuguese colonies around the world. Professor Disney suffers no fluff as he works through these dry but fascinating histories. Even with 600+ pages altogether, I have the feeling that he could have a lot of fun expanding his presentation by another 400 pages.

[Sytse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing amount of detailed objective information about the colonies of Portugal. I used it extensively for my essay about the financial explorations of Portugal in Brazil from 1500 until 1800.
The writer really did an amazing job by using hundreds of sources as a base of his writings.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who needs a complete history of Portugal.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read up on Portuguese history while wandering around Lisbon museums. I knew the rough outlines but almost no details. These volumes brought me tons of details - about Portugal and its colonial history up to 1800.

[Leo Abrantes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very concise, the perfect "manual" for an overview of the Portuguese Empire

[Susan Abernethy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Link to my review of this book:

https://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2018/...

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

omega based honestamente