Here is a very brief history of Portugal and Colonies from 1861 until 1910, useful to stamp collectors and postal historians alike.

On Queen Maria’s death, her son Pedro V succeeded, and reigned till 1861, when his brother Luiz I became king.

In the 1880s the scramble for Africa began, and Portugal found that territories, which hitherto she had considered as well-nigh worthless were valuable. In 1884 Great Britain recognised her ownership of the river Congo; but the Berlin Conference placed the Congo Free State under an international commission.

In 1889 Carlos I became king of Portugal. On February 1, 1908, along with the Crown Prince, were assassinated while driving.

His second son, Manoel, was immediately proclaimed king, as Manoel II. A revolution broke out in Lisbon on October 4, 1910. The flight of the king and the royal family was almost immediate. On the evening of October 5, the successful insurgents proclaimed the Republic of Portugal. The insurrection, actively confined to the city of Lisbon, was led by Admiral Candido Reis of the Portuguese Navy. Both the navy and the army supported him. During the operations of October 4 and 5, Portuguese warships, lying in the river Tagus, bombarded the city, without doing much damage, however.

There was some resistance to the movement by loyal troops and subjects, but with comparatively small loss of life. King Manoel, Queen Amélie, and the Dowager Queen Maria Pia fled to the palace at Mafra; and from there to British protection at Gibraltar, and later to England

Subsequent royal uprisings failed and the republic soon became firmly established.

In 1891 England and Portugal had agreed to a treaty defining their respective share of influence in East and West Africa. Manicaland, with the valuable port of Beira, remained in Portuguese hands, and Delagoa Bay was one of Portugal’s most valuable possessions.