Portuguese South African Portuguese South African Portuguese South Africans () are South Africans of Portuguese ancestry. The Portuguese explored the coasts of South Africa in the late 15th century, and nominally claimed them as their own with the erecting of "padrões" (large stone cross inscribed with the coat of arms of Portugal placed there as part of a land claim). Bartolomeu Dias did so in 1486, and Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, en route to India. The early 20th century witnessed a trickle of emigrants from Madeira whose numbers greatly increased in the decades
East Timor–Portugal relations Portugal as the administrative authority in East Timor. For their part, Portuguese officials saw a "moral obligation" to continue involvement in the affairs of a former colony. Portugal tried to get the Indonesian government to agree to a settlement, and even independence, for East Timor. However, Indonesia refused the offer because of fears that other secessionist movements could be emboldened. In 2007 and 2010, East Timorese President José Ramos Horta (who himself is half Português) visited Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates. Sócrates said that Portugal will strengthen relations with East Timor in various sectors, including education, justice, technology and politics,