Portuguese Colonies

State · 1564–1910 CE · at its largest around 1640 CE

The overseas colonies and possessions of Portugal, including territories in Africa, Asia and South America, administered from Lisbon.

On its lands while it lasted

Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646 CE): South Indian empire founded by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I in 1336, a major patron of Hindu culture and temple architecture.
Ayutthaya (1351–1767 CE): Capital of the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya, founded in 1351, which became one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in Asia before it was destroyed by Burmese forces in 1767.
Manila galleon (western Pacific) (1565–1815 CE): For 250 years Spanish galleons sailed once or twice a year between Manila and Acapulco, exchanging Mexican silver for Chinese silk and porcelain; westbound ships called at Guam, and eastbound ships rode the westerlies across the North Pacific.
Aurangzeb (1618 CE – 1707 CE): Sixth Mughal emperor under whom the empire reached its greatest extent; his long Deccan wars strained its resources.
Batavia (1619 CE): Founded by Jan Pieterszoon Coen of the Dutch East India Company in 1619 on the ruins of Jayakarta; headquarters of Dutch Asia and now Jakarta.
Shivaji (1630 CE – 1680 CE): Founder of the Maratha state who fought the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughals and was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674.
Maratha Empire (1674–1818 CE): Maratha state founded by Shivaji's coronation in 1674, which became the dominant power in India in the 18th century before defeat by the British.
Eruption of Mount Tambora (1815 CE): The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history, on Sumbawa in April 1815; it killed tens of thousands and caused the 'Year Without a Summer' in 1816.
Founding of modern Singapore (1819 CE): Stamford Raffles established a British trading post at Singapore in 1819, which grew into a major free port.
José Rizal (1861 CE – 1896 CE): Filipino writer and reformer whose novels exposed Spanish colonial abuses; his execution in Manila in 1896 fuelled the Philippine Revolution.
Eruption of Krakatoa (1883 CE): Catastrophic eruption in the Sunda Strait in August 1883 whose tsunamis killed more than 36,000 people; its explosion was heard thousands of kilometres away.
Ho Chi Minh (1890 CE – 1969 CE): Vietnamese revolutionary who led the Viet Minh independence movement, declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and led North Vietnam until his death.
B. R. Ambedkar (1891 CE – 1956 CE): Jurist and social reformer who campaigned against caste discrimination and chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India.
Philippine Revolution (1896–1898 CE): Revolt against Spanish rule begun by the Katipunan secret society in 1896, which led to the proclamation of Philippine independence in 1898.
Sukarno (1901 CE – 1970 CE): Leader of the Indonesian nationalist movement who proclaimed independence in 1945 and was the country's first president until 1967.