Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History
Portugal's Sugar Revolution and the Rise of Slavery
This episode explores the brutal economic engine that transformed Portugal from a small Iberian kingdom into a global imperial power: sugar. We move beyond the navigation tales to examine how Prince Henry the Navigator’s establishment of a plantation system on Madeira, and later in Cape Verde and Brazil, relied entirely on enslaved labor. Lucas and Luna trace the migration of Jewish merchants who brought crucial expertise from the Levant, the shift from indentured servitude to chattel slavery, and the social upheaval caused by the influx of 'New Christians' into Lisbon. The…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.