51–60 of 82 posts
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> but every time that I spend some time in Portuguese cities, I feel just bad What do you mean? (Asking this as a Portuguese guy who really doesn't feel at home back there any more)
The Chinese selling Portuguese souvenirs made in China?
Technically, also the last global empire. Macau wasn't returned to China until 1999. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handover_of_Macau
Portuguese - wind
british - coal
america - oil
now we're witnessing Chinese master renewables (solar & wind)
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I think the comparison with the Netherlands is generally appropriate, but we must recognize that what they did in Brazil was exceptional (meaning not comparable to their former possessions in Asia and Africa, a difference from the mere trading nodes) and the NL never did achieve anything like it. The Portuguese managed to maintain territorial integrity and make their religion and language dominate it entirely, in wha…
Didn’t the Dutch basically take over the Portuguese trading empire from them?
I think that the losses in Asia were more lasting, or permanent.
When xenophobia is a useful social defence : > They were most successful in Japan, creating about 300,000 converts until their activities induced a wave of xenophobia and they were either expelled or killed. I am immensely glad that Japan was not colonised early on like the Philippines to their south unfortunately was.
Spain was the first globalization, not Portugal. The article forgets to mention two key elements: 1) The Manila galeon[1], the first trading route connecting Europe, America and Asia. This was the first trully global trade route (Portugual never established a trans-Pacific route). 2) The Real de a Ocho[2], the first global currency, used virtually everywhere including the US until the modern dollar replaced it in 185…
When xenophobia is a useful social defence : > They were most successful in Japan, creating about 300,000 converts until their activities induced a wave of xenophobia and they were either expelled or killed. I am immensely glad that Japan was not colonised early on like the Philippines to their south unfortunately was.
The peak of Japanese xenophobia in the 1930s however was conversely very unfortunate for everyone nearby.
Native cultures (however you want to define that) have always shown some curiousity and openness to visitors from outside the culture but that is balanced by some level of xenophobia too, that ramps up as people inside the culture feel that they are being overwhelmed. Both aspects of openness and shutting out are natural traits in any homogenous culture.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the comparison with the Netherlands is generally appropriate, but we must recognize that what they did in Brazil was exceptional (meaning not comparable to their former possessions in Asia and Africa, a difference from the mere trading nodes) and the NL never did achieve anything like it. The Portuguese managed to maintain territorial integrity and make their religion and language dominate it entirely, in wha…
> The Portuguese Empire did exist but AFAIK never did aspire to world hegemony like the U.K Every time I meet a laid back, easy going and kind Portuguese person — which is most of them — I always think that explains their relatively unambitious world domination plans.
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>This was the first trully global trade route (Portugual never established a trans-Pacific route). You're saying because Portugal traded with Asia through the wrong ocean, it wasn't global? Seems like an odd metric.
No, I'm sayng that Portugal never closed the circuit that led to a global trade route. They built a line between Europe and Asia, but Asia and America remained economically disconnected. It was that loop that Spain closed that enabled a global economy.