1939-1945 Indonesian occupation
1975-1999






Portuguese Timor 1946-1975



In 1946 the Portuguese administration returned. In 1951, Timor was proclaimed an OVERSEAS TERRITORY. However, Portugal was under a rightist dictatorship (Salazar), and its policies of suppression (censorship etc.) were also implemented in the overseas territories.
A 1959 revolt was forcefully suppressed. Radio broadcasting in Portuguese, Chinese and Tetum gegan; in 1960 Voz de Timor, a newspaper began publication. At a time when the state administration was reactionary, the Catholic church, which ran the schools, promoted written Tetum and taught progressive contents; the church won influence and members and, if involuntary, contributed to the formation of a national movement.
In 1974, progressive Portuguese military officers staged a coup d'etat, ending several decades of reactionary rule. While Portugal took the path toward democracy and modernization, the colonies ('overseas territories') were given the option of independence. In East Timor, political parties formed, the APODETI, ASDT, UTD.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		World War II and After, Struggle for Independence, from Genocide in Paradise by Noam Chomsky
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE Article : Portuguese Colonial Empire, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1945 pp.560-561, 1946 pp.591-592, 1947 p.614, 1948 p.600, 1949 pp.532-533, 1950 p.558, 1951 p.565 [G]
Article : Portuguese Overseas Territories, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1952 p.567, 1953 p.575, 1954 pp.574-575, 1955 pp.623-624, 1956 pp.561-562, 1957 pp.624-625, 1958 pp.557-559, 1959 pp.556-557, 1960 pp.557-558, 1961 pp.569-570, 1962 pp.558-561, 1963 pp.662-664 [G]
Article : Colonies and Other Dependencies, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1964 pp.265-268, 1965 p.255, 1966 p.206, 1967 p.221, 1968 p.219 [G]
Article : Dependent States, Timor, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1969 p.281, 1970 p.281, 1971 p.271 [G]
Article : Dependent States, Portuguese Timor, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1972 p.243, 1973 p.234, 1974 p.250 [G]
Article : Portugal : Timor, in : The Statesman's Year-Book 1970-1971 pp.1262-1263, 1975-1976 pp.1267-1268 [G]
Article : Portuguese Colonial Empire - Territories in Oceania, in : Americana Annual 1947 pp.576-577 [G]
Article : Portuguese Territories - Portuguese Timor, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.637-638, 1961 pp.604-605 [G]
Article : Portuguese Territories, in : Americana Annual 1962 pp.610-612, 1963 pp.541-543, 1964 pp.538-539 [G]
Article : Timor, Portuguese, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1961 p.331 [G]
Article : Portuguese Territories, in : Americana Annual (on events of 1963) [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on May 14th 2002, last revised on April 26th 2007

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