The map above shows the size of the Portuguese Empire in 1934 compared to Europe in attempt to show that Portugal was not a small (aka unimportant) country.
The title is in French and says: “Portugal N’est Pas un Petit Pays”, Portugal is Not A Small Country.
And although it’s probably the best known version of the map, it’s actually not the original.
From the Cornell Library:
This map is based on one produced by Henrique Galvão in 1934, supporting the imperial ambitions of the then-new Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar. That map showed the colonies of Portugal overlaid on a map of Europe accompanied by data showing that Portugal with its colonies (principally Angola and Mozambique) was larger than the total area of Spain, France, England, Italy and Germany combined.
The original is this slightly different looking one in Portuguese called: Portugal não é um pais pequeno (again Portugal is Not A Small Country).
From Cornell:
Antonio Salazar became the Prime Minister of Portugal’s military dictatorship in 1932.
He founded the authoritarian “Estado Novo” in 1933 and presided as Portugal’s strongman until 1974. Salazar was intensely focused on promoting the greatness of Portugal and the significance of its Empire, at home and abroad.
Maps were a significant part of this effort, and the output of the Salazar regime “demonstrated how cartography can be used as a propaganda weapon in the nationalist and colonialist discourse.” Corkill 2009, 398. See generally ibid. and Cairo 2006.
One of its first initiatives was the First Colonial Portuguese Exhibition (I Exposição Colonial Portuguesa), held in Porto in 1934 (Cairo 379). A brochure entitled No rumo do império (The Course of Empire) was published to illustrate the Exhibition, and this map was the heart of the brochure.
The Exhibition was directed, and the map was produced, by Henrique Galvao, an army officer “very active in the colonial administration and colonial propaganda.” (Ibid.)
The map shows the colonies of Portugal overlaid on a map of non-Portugese Europe and is entitled “Portugal is not a small country” (Portugal não é um pais pequeno).
In the unlikely case that the image alone were insufficient, data on the map shows that Portugal with its colonies (principally Angola and Mozambique) was larger than the total area of Spain, France, England, Italy and Germany combined.
This map was produced not only in the Exhibition brochure, but in a number of other forms and formats over the years. Versions were published not only in Portuguese (aimed at strengthening internal support for the state) but also in other languages (aimed at visitors to Portugal).
Here’s what the legend says:
Superfícies do Império Colonial Português comparadas com as dos principais países da Europa:
- Portugal (Continental): 89,106 km²
- Açores (Azores): 2,392 km²
- Madeira: 870 km²
- Cabo Verde (Cape Verde): 3,930 km²
- Guiné: 36,126 km²
- São Tomé e Príncipe: 971 km²
- Angola: 1,255,755 km²
- Moçambique (Mozambique): 756,112 km²
- Estado da India (Goa): 3,806 km²
- Macau: 14 km²
- Timor: 18,989 km²
- Total: 2,168,077 km²
Comparative areas of European countries:
- Espanha (Spain): 505,202 km²
- França (France): 560,98 km²
- Inglaterra (England but actually UK): 244,734 km²
- Itália (Italy): 308,717 km²
- Alemanha (Germany): 472,000 km²
- Total: 2,091,639 km²
And finally there was also an English version of the map compared to the United States:
This map was published after World War 2 in 1951. Again from Cornell:
In this case, an English language postcard published in 1951 shows Portugal and its colonies overlaid not on a map of Europe, but a map of the U.S. Text on the verso of the postcard compares the area of the U.S. to that of “Portugal, on the continent and overseas . . . more than the united area, in Europe, of Germany, France, Spain, England and Italy.” The card concludes – in text not found on European versions – “By its history Portugal contributed more than any other country in the world to the discoveries and to the extension and predominance of Christian civilization.” The postcard itself is a “QSL card,” confirmation of radio communication between two amateur (“ham”) radio stations.
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