“Portugal considers its territorial possessions overseas as integral parts of Portugals. It regards them as a symbol of its proud past and as essential to its international standing. Some are also valuable earners of foreign exchange and are potentially of great economic importance. Conse-quently, the Portuguese place top priority on the retention of every foreign holding, no matter how small or poor.”
“Portuguese policy in its overseas possessions is a curious mixture of indifference to the lot of the native, half-hearted efforts to elevate him from savagery, repression of all dissident voices, and cheerful assertion that in fact no problems exist.”
“Overseas Portugal includes all the remaining holdings of what was once the formidable Portuguese empire. Most of the overseas territories have been under the Portuguese flag for several centuries, although the two largest and most important, Angola and Mozambique, were not developed or brought under effective colonization until the 19th century. Goa, on the other hand, has enjoyed representation in Lisbon since the early 19th century, and Goans have served in responsible posts throughout the Portuguese empire.”
“Official insistence in recent years that the overseas territories be considered integral parts of Portugal springs from the widespread fear that any reduction of its holdings would weaken Portugal’s claim to be a world ‘civilizing’ power”