Portugal's 1960-74 colonial conflicts in Africa are some of the era's lesser-known counterinsurgencies, but there is a lot to learn from them. Despite being a small country with a modest economy and tiny military, Portugal fought three wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde) for over a decade. Compared to similar conflicts in Vietnam and Algeria, Portugal's innovative strategies and the fact that a revolution in Portugal ended the war rather than outright defeat on the battlefield, has led to a degree of myth-making about Portugal's military prowess. Were they as successful on the battlefield as they claimed? And why was Portugal so eager to hold on to its colonies well after the colonial era had come to a close?
Imperial legacy
Portugal's regime wanted to use the explosive economic growth of its colonies to spearhead growth at home. Despite a large colonial empire and history of global commerce, by the mid-20th century Lisbon did not have the population, industrial base or economic might enjoyed by the US, UK or France. Antonio Salazar, who ruled Portugal from 1933 until 1968, hoped to extract the wealth of the colonies to underpin his legitimacy. By the mid-1960s the combined GDP of these colonies was on track to equalling that of Portugal itself, which provided an enormous opportunity to increase Lisbon's prosperity at the expense of its African subjects.
The desire to develop Portugal with the wealth of its colonies led the nation to use every excuse possible to maintain its possessions while the rest of the world was undergoing decolonisation. Most notably, while countries like France distinguished between the colonies and the 'metropole', Portugal's Salazar regime sought to portray the metropole and the Ultramar (the word for Portugal's overseas possessions) as a united nation.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 111-utgaven av History of War.
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COUPS & CHAOS
How the French armed forces lost the war in Algeria and almost destroyed French democracy in the process
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
When the Front de libération nationale FLN) took its war to the streets of the capital, France’s military responded with merciless wrath
THE RISE OF ALGERIAN RESISTANCE
How the anti-colonialist struggle around the globe helped inspire Algeria’s liberation movement to organise and fight back
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
A century of French occupation led to a genocide in Algeria that provoked one of the bloodiest showdowns of the modern age
DWIGHT W BIRDWELL
In the opening hours of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, this Specialist Five led his armoured cavalry detachment in repulsing a fierce communist assault against Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon
THE FIVE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Phillips O’Brien discusses how this quintet of national leaders impacted the course of the Second World War
Great Battles FLODDEN
On the morning of 9 September 1513, King James lV of Scotland stood atop Flodden Hill with what seemed an insurmountable advantage over the English. Yet by the day's end he would lay slain and his army shattered
FERDINAND 'THE BLOODY'
Known for his brutal martial punishment and execution of his own men, Ferdinand Schérner’s ruthlessness was matched only by his devotion to Nazi ideology
AIRBORNE UNDER SIEGE ARNHEM
For nine days the heroic 1st Airborne fought desperately, waiting vainly for relief that never came
SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK
Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway ina grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe
