My guess is that the map of Nova Lusitania represents nominally controlled areas + uncontested claims + protectorates, similar to many imperialist maps of the 18th and 19th centuries. I think what's jarring is that we don't see the same liberal definition of territorial control for much of the Americas, so it looks like Portugal controls far more territory relative to the other imperial powers.
Portuguese Southern Africa - a TL
- Thread starter Viriato
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abc123
Banned
Maybe, don't know...
I mean, about 3 mil. of Portuguese in Nova Lusitania is IMO too small number for such big territory...
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I never implied they were all Europeans there, quite the opposite. Just like Brazil where the majority of Europeans tended to live along the coast, the interior was dominated by persons by a handful of European landowners and administrators with a larger number mixed race and indigenous peoples under Portuguese suzerainty. In this case it includes areas that could be termed protectorates and Jesuit, Dominican and Franciscan missions.
The Planalto do Norte refers to the highlands of present-day Zimbabwe and the Manica region of Mozambique. The word Planalto generally refers to a plateau, often the highlands (where the gold is located). Most of this region is above 3,000 ft in elevation and generally free from many of the tropical diseases found along the coast. In OTL, as early as 1900, the British settlers in this region recorded a lower mortality rate than that of England. Interestingly enough in the mid-19th century even Durban in British Natal had a much lower mortality rate than England and Wales. Also, the Planalto do Norte enjoys a similar climate to the plateau of Minas Gerais, a subtropical highland climate. The benefit though is that Conceição enjoys 60% less rainfall than Ouro Preto.
Similarly the original settlements along the low-lying regions of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia had fairly high mortality rates among European immigrants well into the 19th century. The result was a negative growth rate for Europeans in Georgia and South Carolina and one that was flat in Virginia and Maryland. Once European immigrants moved further inland to away from the coast and inland, their mortality rates decreased.
In OTL Ceylonese solders wore an important part of the Portuguese armies in the Vice-kingdom of Goa.
Given that here Ceylon is controlled by Portugal, and the Portuguese in Ceylon had a very big interest in pearls(in OTL Portugal did tried to get the area, failed but convert a lot of local fisherman).
I'm supposing that one of the first areas of India to be conquered will be the Madurai.
Given how successful is the Vice-Kingdom of Nova Lusitania, the Vice-King of Goa will try to prove to Lisbon that Goa can also grow.
Given that here Ceylon is controlled by Portugal, and the Portuguese in Ceylon had a very big interest in pearls(in OTL Portugal did tried to get the area, failed but convert a lot of local fisherman).
I'm supposing that one of the first areas of India to be conquered will be the Madurai.
Given how successful is the Vice-Kingdom of Nova Lusitania, the Vice-King of Goa will try to prove to Lisbon that Goa can also grow.
The numbers I stated were below:
4.1 million (3.1 million Europeans, 600,000 Slaves, 400,000 mixed and free persons of colour).
Keep in mind that mixed race peoples played an important role as agents of colonisation in various empires, especially the Portuguese empire. The Asian Empire became by and large the work of mixed race individuals and creolized natives. The slave trade in Portuguese Guinea was largely controlled by mixed-race Cape Verdeans. Communities of Portuguese ancestry lasted in Ceylon and Malacca well into the 20th century, long after Portuguese rule had ended. In Timor and the Lesser Sundas they were what kept Portuguese sovereignty alive in those largely neglected islands in the 19th century.
In OTL the region comprising Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Leotho and Swaziland had perhaps 4-5 million people by 1700.
Let us not forget that between 1500 and 1850 Africa's population declined. Between 1700 and 1850 by about 23-25 million people (around 16 million of that number was due to the slave trade). The introduction of maize and manioc from the Americas in the 18th century, helped alleviate the population decline somewhat. In this TL we have the usage of slaves in large numbers in Southern Africa itself. This is going to have negative repercussions on African population growth in the region especially due to the constant need to replenish the slaves on the sugarcane plantations.
In OTL the Portuguese had expanded as far inland as Tete up the Zambezi by the 17th century along with establishing "feiras" in what is today Zimbabwe. In Angola, they had forts at Massangano, Muxima and even Ambaca. The point of this TL is to show if the Portuguese had settled immigrants in the region much as they had in other regions.
In OTL Dutch South Africa, the Dutch had expanded inland by 1800, due to a growing European population (just under 50,000 by 1820). Keep in mind the Dutch only settled a net of around 2,000 Europeans at the Cape during their 150-year rule of the region. This was mostly due to the limitations placed on the settlers by the VOC coupled with the favourable economic conditions in the Netherlands that prevented many Dutch from ever emigrating before the mid 19th century. In OTL the Dutch had to rely on recruiting foreigners from Scandinavia, Germany and French Huguenots to settle in South Africa (only just over 1/2 of immigrants were Dutch).
abc123
Banned
OK, it seems that you have pretty strong arguments here.
So, in that area, S. Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, lesotho, Swazi, Angola and Botswana, Namibia- natives are practiclly decimated, 600- 700 000 out of former 4-5 mil.?
Yes, due to a number of factors. Firstly due to the usurpation of grazing lands by Europeans. Much of this region of Africa was dependent on pastoralism, and without lands to graze on many of the Africans are either going to face enslavement or starvation. Many are probably going to prefer to move northwards away from the grips of slave traders. Also, the overwhelmingly preference for male slaves, is going to make many ethnicities have far too few men (hunters etc) and will enter into demographic decline.
The growth of plantation agriculture in the region is also going to have serious impacts on the indigenous people of Nova Lusitânia. Sugarcane plantations were perhaps the most brutal form of enslavement due to the high incidence of accidents and difficulty of the labour. In Jamaica for instance, over 1 million slaves were imported by 1800, yet their descendants numbered fewer than 300,000 by that time. In Brazil around 4.5 million slaves were imported between 1530 and 1850 (1.5 million between 1800 and 1850 alone), yet the black population only numbered 2 million by 1871 and another 3.8 million people were of mixed race.
That wouldn't make any sense considering the sizable mixed race population already present that's probably going to grow even more sizable as time goes on.
Remember, too, that in much of OTLs South Africa, the only natives were KhoiSan at a pretty low population density. The Bantu entered much of that area about the same time as Europeans. If the Portuguese start earlier than the Dutch AND bring in more people, then the Bantu migration into the area may be stopped cold.
Certainly there were Bantu to the north (OTL Zimbabwe, e.g) and to the east, but the Portuguese could maintain numerical superiority just by population growth supported by more productive agriculture.
Plus, as others said, if the wanted to take the High Veldt, with increased numbers (compared to the Boers), it would be fairly easy.
Certainly there were Bantu to the north (OTL Zimbabwe, e.g) and to the east, but the Portuguese could maintain numerical superiority just by population growth supported by more productive agriculture.
Plus, as others said, if the wanted to take the High Veldt, with increased numbers (compared to the Boers), it would be fairly easy.
