In June, I had the opportunity to make a brief visit to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Most of my time there was spent in a sleepy village on the outskirts of the capital, amidst the rolling hills covered with olive trees.
This was my first visit to Portugal, although I feel as though I have encountered the broad influence of Portugal many times in my travels. This is especially the case in former Portuguese colonies that retain the Portuguese language, including Brazil and Mozambique, as well as Angola (which I have not visited). Yet I have also felt Portuguese influence in places as diverse as Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Benin, Malaysia, South Africa, China, and Sri Lanka, where various family and city names, as well as the presence of the Catholic Church, reveals a distant influence of Europe's first great colonial power.
Portugal today is a relatively small nation of 10.5 million on the western edge of Europe, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Spain. For centuries now, it has been rather distant from the centers of European power further north. Yet at one time, Portugal was among the most powerful nations on earth, launching the age of exploration in the fifteenth century with exploration of the West African coast and later Brazil, southern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Southeast Asia.
Although Portugal's greatest colony, Brazil, became independent in the early nineteenth century, Portuguese colonial power remained in Angola, Mozambique, several smaller African nations, the city-state of Goa in India, and the city-state of Macau in China into the late twentieth century. The independence of East Timor in 2002 brought an end to the Portuguese colonial empire that began in the fifteenth century. Today, Portugal is rather dwarfed in the Portuguese-speaking world by its giant protégé, Brazil, with a population of 200 million.
Most of my time in Portugual was spent in a rather sleepy village on the edge of Lisbon, surrounded by rolling hills and olive trees. The following are a few photos of that small village of São Antão de Tojal.
This was my first visit to Portugal, although I feel as though I have encountered the broad influence of Portugal many times in my travels. This is especially the case in former Portuguese colonies that retain the Portuguese language, including Brazil and Mozambique, as well as Angola (which I have not visited). Yet I have also felt Portuguese influence in places as diverse as Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Benin, Malaysia, South Africa, China, and Sri Lanka, where various family and city names, as well as the presence of the Catholic Church, reveals a distant influence of Europe's first great colonial power.
Portugal today is a relatively small nation of 10.5 million on the western edge of Europe, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Spain. For centuries now, it has been rather distant from the centers of European power further north. Yet at one time, Portugal was among the most powerful nations on earth, launching the age of exploration in the fifteenth century with exploration of the West African coast and later Brazil, southern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Southeast Asia.
Although Portugal's greatest colony, Brazil, became independent in the early nineteenth century, Portuguese colonial power remained in Angola, Mozambique, several smaller African nations, the city-state of Goa in India, and the city-state of Macau in China into the late twentieth century. The independence of East Timor in 2002 brought an end to the Portuguese colonial empire that began in the fifteenth century. Today, Portugal is rather dwarfed in the Portuguese-speaking world by its giant protégé, Brazil, with a population of 200 million.
Most of my time in Portugual was spent in a rather sleepy village on the edge of Lisbon, surrounded by rolling hills and olive trees. The following are a few photos of that small village of São Antão de Tojal.
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| A view of São Antão de Tojal |
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| An old fountain beneath a viaduct |
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| The same viaduct on the city's main street |
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| The village church |
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