Portuguese Timor – Production and Markets in the 1920s

Abstract

Portuguese colony of Timor was presented as having multiple possibilities of exploitation, but the reality was different. In this article, based on reports and letters of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (Overseas National Bank) managers, in the 1920s, I analyse its main agricultural products, the difficulty of the oil exploration and the trade relations; I also consider the obstacles to local development. These were due to local reasons, such as need of infrastructure, the policies and the lack of direction by the change of governors, but also the difficulties to assert internationally, which led it in dependence on the nearest markets.