Portuguese Africans country in 1974, followed by the rest of the colonies in 1975. Most Portuguese residents, for this reason, returned to Portugal, where they were called "retornados". Some from Angola or Mozambique went to South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, or Zimbabwe, and Brazil or the United States. When the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries was founded in 1996, some Portuguese and a number of Brazilians of Portuguese racial background arrived for economic and educational aid to the Portuguese-speaking African countries. Some of these Portuguese adopted them as their permanent home. Most Portuguese Africans are Portuguese-South Africans, mainly as a result of direct migration
Economic history of Africa to spread Christianity, and to establish Africa as a bastion of Christianity against the Ottoman Empire, which was making many African converts to Islam. Africa was exploited for commercial purposes because of another Portuguese goal: to find a route to India, which would open the entire Indian Ocean region to direct trade with Portugal. Conquest of territory in Africa also meant that the Portuguese could use African gold to finance travel along this new trade route. The Portuguese began significant trading with West Africa in the 15th century. This trade was primarily for the same commodities the Arabs had bought—gold,