How did portugal, a small country, become the world's first colonial power?
How did it occupy Macau from the powerful Ming Dynasty?
Why did it end up decaying again?
In the 15th century, small Portugal, with a population of less than 2 million, was smaller in area and resources than Fujian Province in China, but it became a worldwide commercial empire that monopolized the world's trade in spices, sugar, and black slaves. And it was the first empire to span half the world.
First, why was the first worldwide commercial empire and colonial power a small country like Portugal?
In the dark Middle Ages, Portugal was small in size and limited in resources, facing a shortage of precious metals (especially gold) and a shortage of spices.
Here to popularize science, spices (the four main spices: cloves, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg, mainly produced in India and Asia) role is mainly condiments and used in perfumes, medicines and religious ceremonies, is an indispensable and important item in the Middle Ages, and Europe did not produce spices, so it is particularly precious.
Once people live too poorly, they will find ways to change, that is, as we say: poor think of change.
Portugal is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe, on three sides by land and on one side by sea.
In the Middle Ages, the inland divisions and civil strife of Europe were so severe that it was impossible to seek development from the land, and the vast sea became their only hope.
Portugal at this time: first, the unification of the regime laid a political foundation for the first sea exploration (at this time Spain was still in civil strife); second, the long coastline was its good natural environment; third, the three princes of King João I of Portugal, Prince Henry the Navigator, longed for adventures, organized and funded systematic navigational expeditions, prompting Portugal to establish the world's first-class fleet, first-class shipbuilding technology and training first-class navigators.
We ancients all paid attention to: time, place, people and people.
Portugal was like this at that time, which laid a solid foundation for Portugal to become the world's first colonial power.
It was also by relying on a first-class fleet that Portugal took advantage of the weakness of human nature to explore the New World while expanding its territory.
By the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese Empire had reached its peak. It controlled Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the Indian Ocean, Hormuz, Malacca, the Spice Islands and Macau, and also established strongholds in Japan and Brazil, controlling commercial routes across half the world, and basically monopolizing the world trade in spices, sugar, and black slaves.
Second, how did Portugal occupy Macau?
When Portugal first arrived in China, it was during the Ming Dynasty, when the national strength was prosperous, and the policy of total national isolation was implemented, and the Portuguese relied on bribes all the way to meet the Ming Wuzong at that time.
In fact, it can already be seen from here that the Ming Dynasty at that time was already particularly prominent in internal troubles.
The Ming Dynasty was established with a harsh penal system, and the corruption of officials heralded the decline of the Ming Dynasty.
With the death of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, the irreconcilable contradictions between the Ming Dynasty and Portugal became increasingly prominent. There were two skirmishes, both of course ending in Portuguese defeat.
Even so, Portugal still relied on bribes to smuggle merchants with the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and was tacitly approved and connived by local people and local officials, which shows that the Ming Dynasty was also a building.
Portugal's smuggling trade did not last long.
In 1548, the Ming army drove the Portuguese from Zhejiang to Fujian and Guangdong, and finally the Portuguese waited for the opportunity to settle in Macau. At that time, Macau was only a small island.
There are different theories about how portugal occupied Macau, which cannot be verified, or of little significance.
Theory 1: The Portuguese were allowed to land in Macau on the pretext that the ship was entering the water and needed to temporarily borrow land to dry the goods, or by bribing Guangdong officials.
The second theory: the Ming Dynasty also needed to trade with the outside world, at this time the Portuguese had been driven out of the bustling area, and on a small island like Macao, the Portuguese were acquiesced in trading in Macau.
Statement three: This is actually the Portuguese version, which is the least likely. Because there were many pirates in Macau, Guangdong officials invited them to suppress the pirates on the condition that they be allowed to live in Macau.
But whichever of the three accounts, the Portuguese were fully governed by the Ming Dynasty in Macau. At that time, the Ming government practiced "building a city and setting up an official and ruling the county", and the deputy envoy of Guangzhou Haidao was specially in charge of Macao affairs.
In 1582, the Portuguese were allowed to live in Macau with the permission of the Governor of Liangguang, subject to the law of Daming. It should also be allowed in the case of bribery.
It was not until 1849, when the Qing government was defeated in the Opium War, that Portugal took the opportunity to drive out Qing government officials and effectively control Macau.
On December 1, 1887, Portugal and the Qing government signed the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, and Macao was completely reduced to a Portuguese colony.
Third, how did the Portuguese Empire decline?
Just like the hidden worries of the Ming Dynasty, there are hidden worries under the prosperity, Portugal's success has made European countries red-eyed, and in the fierce competition, Portugal's own problems have been fully exposed, which eventually led to the decline of Portugal.
First, the population is too small.
The Portuguese population in the 16th century was only 1.5 million, which was really too few for an empire spanning Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and the Portuguese in each region were very few, and the ability to control them must be insufficient.
In 1610, the grapes had only 6,000 seafarers worldwide and were simply unable to control all their own ships.
Second, there is a large loss of wealth.
Although Portugal was initially able to control the trade in spices, sugar, and slavery, it was completely unable to achieve the purpose of complete monopoly, and there was also the problem of too small population. Therefore, european countries competed with each other, and the cost of navigation was relatively high, and the income from the spice, sugar, and slave trade was getting less and less, so the Portuguese's income was decreasing.
The third is to covet pleasure.
This is a common problem of upstarts, who have money and just want to enjoy themselves, and do not reinvest. Once the trade they monopolize goes wrong, it is only a matter of time before it declines.
Fourth, the ruling class is short-sighted.
When developing navigation, the ruling class also has a strong pioneering spirit. When it became an empire, the eyes of the ruling class were focused on how to enjoy itself, and there was no sense of danger in peace, and it did not know how to open up new areas.
All of this makes the transcendence of Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain inevitable.
I am a post-80s full-time secretary, to be a better self.
(Picture from the Internet, invasion and deletion)