Portuguese East Indies

Portuguese Indonesia was part of the vast Portuguese colonial empire , which also included other Asian, African and American regions. At first, the Portuguese possessions in Indonesia were predominantly thalassocratic in nature , representing a number of coastal fortified trade and military points ( Ambon , Makassar , etc.), connected by trade relations with a whole chain of other Portuguese fortresses, which constituted a sequential trade chain linking the “spice islands” with the metropolis and markets of Western Europe ( Daman , Diu , Goa , Ceylon , Mozambique , Angola , Cape Verde , etc.). Before the Dutch advent, Makassar on the southern coast of Sulawesi (Celebes) was ruled by Portugal in 1512 - 1665 , Ambon in 1526 - 1609 . etc. The place of the first landing of the Portuguese on about. Timor became an area in the region of Lifau (now the East Timorese exclave of Okussi- Ambenu).

Social and Economic Relations in Portuguese Indonesia

The financial viability of the colony was supported by high prices for spices in Western Europe, where the Portuguese imported cloves , nutmeg , and other spices and exotic goods . The Portuguese , who are well acquainted with Islam , also showed considerable interest in the culture and traditions of the peoples of the East , enriching them in turn with European influences. In the XVI-XVII centuries, the Portuguese language began to play the role of a lingua franca in this region of Asia. At the colloquial level of the ports, he quickly mixed with the local Malay dialects, forming the Malay-Portuguese language . As a result of the mixing of the Portuguese with the local population (Malays and Hakka Chinese), mixed and transitional groups were formed professing Catholicism - Euro- Asians , Christanges , Topasses , Métis and others, for whom the mixed Malay-Portuguese language became native. Their number, however, remained insignificant throughout the archipelago (no more than 1-2%) due to the extreme remoteness of Portugal itself. And yet in a number of places ( Flores , Okussi , East Timor ) their number was quite significant (5-10%) for the subsequent organization of proportionally-guerrilla guerrilla groups that fought the Dutch, Japanese and Indonesian occupations until 1999 .

In the XVIII — XIX centuries. increasing competition with the technologically more advanced and more organized Dutch fleet led to the displacement of Portugal to the periphery of the archipelago. But the Portuguese were able to re-group, having launched extensive missionary activity in the Lesser Sunda Islands , to which Islam had not yet reached.

Geography

Portuguese possessions included the following islands (1850):

• Timor
• Flores
• Solor
• Adonara
• Lomblain
• Patar
• Alor (Ombai)
• Atauro
• Ende

After suppressing the fierce resistance of the densely populated Western Muslim sultanates , the Dutch offensive in the Portuguese sector of Indonesia resumed with renewed vigor in the mid-19th century. The Lisbon Agreement of 1859 led to the loss of Portugal 2/3 of its possessions in the region with the exception of East Timor.

The more than 4-century period of the Portuguese presence in the region (1512-1975) left a significant mark in the life and culture of the island population. It was thanks to the support of Portugal that East Timor was again able to regain independence. Portuguese is the official language in this republic. In addition, a significant number of Portuguese borrowings are available in other local languages ​​of Flores, including the Indonesian language itself. The population of Flores (1.6 million people), as well as the population of East Timor (1.2 million) for the most part profess Catholicism .

• Portuguese India
• Portuguese Timor
• Dutch East Indies
• Colonies of Portugal