Portuguese Timor

Timor-Leste, 1702–1975. Draft, not yet reviewed

Portuguese Timor was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste from 1702 until 1975. The first Europeans to arrive in the region were the Portuguese in 1515. Dominican friars established a presence on the island in 1556, and the territory was declared a Portuguese colony in 1702. Following the beginning of the Carnation Revolution, a civil war broke out and then East Timor was invaded by Indonesia.

Seat of power: Dili

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The island's large stands of fragrant sandalwood were its main commodity.
• The Portuguese introduced Catholicism to Portuguese Timor, as well as the Latin writing system, the printing press, and formal schooling. By the end of the colonial administration in 1974, 30 percent of Timorese were practising Catholics while the majority continued to worship spirits of the land and sky.
• Timorese systems of tax and labour control were preserved, through which taxes were paid through their labour and a portion of the coffee and sandalwood crop.

Picture

The Church of Santo António de Motael is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Timor-Leste and is located in Dili.

Image: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

• Portuguese Timor (Wikipedia)
• Portuguese Timor (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.