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Portugal The Role of the Armed Forces in Africa
The Portuguese presence in Africa dates from the
sixteenth
century when fuel and water stations were established for
ships
enroute to the spice market of Goa. Portugal neglected
these
outposts for a time after the pepper trade declined.
British and
German colonial ambitions after 1885, however, led the
Portuguese
to undertake a series of military campaigns to control the
interior of Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea. The
effort
to subdue the African colonies was a slow process that was
not
completed until 1915. The costly campaigns were pursued by
the
Lisbon authorities to maintain prestige and to keep the
oversized
military establishment gainfully occupied.
Salazar strongly rejected pressures from the European
powers
to decolonize following World War II. He was grimly
determined to
maintain Portugal's overseas empire. Salazar's successor
in 1968,
Marcello Caetano, continued the struggle against the
African
independence movements in spite of its drain on resources
and
manpower.
Data as of January 1993
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