British Ultimatum
Encyclopedia
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
by the British government delivered on 11 January 1890 to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in breach of the Treaty of Windsor of 1386. The ultimatum forced the retreat of Portuguese military forces in the land between the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola (most of present-day Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
) which had been claimed by Portugal and included in its "Pink Map
Pink Map
The Pink Map was a document representing Portugal's claim of sovereignty over the land between Angola and Mozambique, which today is currently Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.The Pink Map collided with Sir Cecil Rhodes' "Cape to Cairo Red Line"...
", which had clashed with British aspirations to create a Cape to Cairo Railway, thereby linking its colonies from the north of Africa to the very south.
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
in Portugal, who denounced the government and the King as responsible for it. The government fell, and António de Serpa Pimentel
António de Serpa Pimentel
António de Serpa Pimentel was Prime Minister of Portugal from January 14 to October 11, 1890. His term in office began as a reaction to the British ultimatum concerning Portuguese colonial policy in southeast Africa...
was appointed Prime Minister. The British Ultimatum inspired the original lyrics of the Portuguese National Anthem, "A Portuguesa
A Portuguesa
A Portuguesa , , is the national anthem of Portugal. It was composed by Alfredo Keil and written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça during the resurgent nationalist movement ignited by the 1890 British ultimatum to Portugal concerning its African colonies...
". The 1890 British Ultimatum was considered by Portuguese historians and politicians at that time to be the most outrageous and infamous action of Britain against her oldest ally.
On 20 August 1890 the Treaty of London was signed between Portugal and the United Kingdom, defining the territorial limits of Angola and Mozambique. The treaty was published in the Diário do Governo (Portugal's Government Diary) on 30 August and presented to the parliament that same day, leading to a new wave of protests and the downfall of the Portuguese government. When this treaty was not ratified, a new treaty was afterwards negotiated and accepted by both governments the following June. This ultimatum was one of the main causes for the Republican Revolution
5 October 1910 revolution
The revolution of 1910 was a republican coup d'état that occurred in Portugal on 5 October 1910, which deposed King Manuel II and established the Portuguese First Republic....
, which ended the monarchy in Portugal 20 years later.
See also
- Perfidious AlbionPerfidious Albion'Perfidious Albion' is a pejorative phrase used within the context of international relations and diplomacy to refer to acts of duplicity, treachery and hence infidelity by monarchs or governments of Britain in their pursuit of self-interest and the requirements of...
- Portuguese EmpirePortuguese EmpireThe Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
- Scramble for AfricaScramble for AfricaThe Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
- Pink MapPink MapThe Pink Map was a document representing Portugal's claim of sovereignty over the land between Angola and Mozambique, which today is currently Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.The Pink Map collided with Sir Cecil Rhodes' "Cape to Cairo Red Line"...
- Anglo-Portuguese AllianceAnglo-Portuguese AllianceThe Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, ratified at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between England and Portugal is claimed to be the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force — with the earliest treaty dating back to the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373.This alliance, which goes back to the...
- LusophobiaLusophobiaLusophobia is a hostility toward Portugal, a nation occupying the west of the Iberian Peninsula in south-western Europe, its Portuguese people or the Portuguese language and culture. Like Lusitanic, the word derives from Lusitania, the Ancient Roman province that comprised what is nowadays Central...
Further reading
- Charles E. Nowell, The Rose-Colored Map : Portugal's Attempt to Build an African Empire from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Lisbon, Portugal : Junta de Investigações Científicas do Ultramar, 1982.