Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Empire was an empire in Iberia (Europe) that lasted from 1415 to 1999 CE, about 584 years. Its people spoke Latin and Romance languages (Latin, Italic, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian).

Starting with the capture of Ceuta in 1415, Portugal built the first global seaborne empire, from Brazil to Goa, Malacca and Macau. It ended with the handover of Macau in 1999.

See Portuguese Empire on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1415 to 1999 CE

Duration

584 years

Type

Empire

Region

Iberia, Europe

Language family

Latin and Romance

Capital

Lisbon

Events in Europe during its time

• 1450 Gutenberg's printing press
• 1453 Fall of Constantinople
• 1492 Fall of Granada and Columbus's voyage
• 1517 Luther's Ninety-five Theses
• 1648 Peace of Westphalia
• 1683 Siege of Vienna
• 1769 Watt's steam engine
• 1789 French Revolution

Neighbours in Europe

• Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE
• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
• Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
• Habsburg Monarchy 1526 to 1804 CE
• United Kingdom 1801 CE to the present
• Dutch Republic 1581 to 1795 CE
• Kingdom of France (Bourbon) 1589 to 1792 CE
• Russian Empire 1721 to 1917 CE
• Spanish Empire (Habsburg Spain) 1516 to 1700 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE, Middle East
• Swahili city-states c. 800 to 1700 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Khmer Empire 802 to 1431 CE, Southeast Asia
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Mali Empire c. 1235 to 1670 CE, North and West Africa
• Ayutthaya Kingdom 1351 to 1767 CE, Southeast Asia
• Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE, South Asia
• Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE, South America

Questions