| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 7,615 (Born in Portugal, 2022) [1] 71,513(Portuguese born and descendants) [2] ~0.8% of the total population | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Johannesburg, Cape Town, Edenvale, Rosettenville, Pretoria and other large urban areas | |
| Languages | |
| Portuguese, South African English, Afrikaans | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, small Protestant, Muslim and Jewish minorities | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Portuguese · Portuguese Africans · White South Africans · Italian South Africans · Greek South Africans · Mediterraneans |
Portuguese South Africans (Portuguese : luso-sul-africanos) are South Africans of Portuguese ancestry. The exact figure of how many people in South Africa are Portuguese or of Portuguese descent are not accurately known as many people who arrived during the pre-1994 era quickly assimilated into English and Afrikaner speaking South African communities. There was likely also an undercount of immigrants, especially from Madeira.
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 following World War II. Madeiran immigrants, who are traditionally associated with horticulture and commerce, form the largest group within South Africa's Portuguese community.
The largest single event of Portuguese settlement occurred when the former Portuguese colonies became independent in 1975. Most of them went to Portugal and Brazil, but a significant number of black and white refugees from Angola and Mozambique made their way to South Africa. Their arrival made South Africa the home of the largest Portuguese African population, increasing it from about 49,000, [3] to 300,000. [4]
Rosettenville in Johannesburg was a significant hub for white Portuguese immigrants between the 1940s and 1980s, they were mostly from mainland Portugal. It is estimated that in this period, 50 000 Portuguese-speakers moved into the area. After Angola and Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1976 and 1975, many Portuguese Mozambicans and White Angolans settled in the area. [5] The area became known as 'Little Portugal', with residents celebrating their shared heritage in a number of ways including food and festivals. 10 June, Portugal Day was also celebrated there. [5] By 1981, Portuguese was being taught in sixteen public schools in South Africa and there were 42 Portuguese social clubs operating in the country. [4]
Woodstock in Cape Town became the first suburb in the city where a distinct Portuguese, ethnic community developed. [6] The Portuguese population in the city increased from 228 immigrants in 1936 to 1649 immigrants by 1970. [6] A total of 675 of these immigrants, coming from Madeira, settled in Woodstock between 1940-1980 and the area earned the nickname "Little Madeira." [6] Portuguese fishermen settled in the suburb in the 1930s and became known as the "pioneers" of the Portuguese diaspora in the Cape. They chose to settled in Woodstock for its location close to the harbour and for its relative affordability. [6]
The Portuguese South African community is highly active within the South African community, both politically and economically. Notable members include Maria Ramos who was the former director general of South Africa's National Treasury and later Group CEO of ABSA, one of South Africa's largest financial services companies. Other Portuguese involvement within the business community includes companies like Mercantile Bank. The community is also actively involved in investment activities with other Southern African countries like Angola and Mozambique.
Socially, the Portuguese community have held an annual festival called Lusito Land (the second largest festival in South Africa).
Most Portuguese, like other South Africans, are Christians. Most of them are Roman Catholics, although there is a Protestant minority.
The most popular sport with Portuguese South Africans is football. There are many football clubs in South Africa that are of Portuguese origin. One example was the professional football club Vasco Da Gama which dissolved in 2016. Football is a favourite pastime for Portuguese youth in South Africa, and many of them tend to join amateur and professional football clubs in the country.
Due to Portuguese exploration and navigation many points of interest on the South African coast have Portuguese names.
Portuguese Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a string of Portuguese possessions along the south-east African coast, and later became a unified province, which now forms the Republic of Mozambique.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries, also known as the Lusophone Community, is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across five continents, where Portuguese is an official language. The CPLP operates as a privileged, multilateral forum for the mutual cooperation of the governments, economies, non-governmental organizations, and peoples of the Lusofonia. The CPLP consists of 9 member states and 33 associate observers, located in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, totaling 38 countries and 4 organizations.
The Portuguese people is a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation indigenous to Portugal, a country that occupies the west side of the Iberian Peninsula in south-west Europe, who share culture, ancestry and language.
The following lists events that happened during 1984 in South Africa.
Portuguese Americans, also known as Luso-Americans (luso-americanos), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship.
Portuguese Canadians are Canadian citizens of full or partial Portuguese heritage or people who migrated from Portugal and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 448,310 or 1.21% of Canadians claimed full or partial Portuguese ancestry, a decrease compared to 482,110 in 2016.
Rosettenville is a working class suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It lies to the south of the city centre.
Woodstock is one of the earliest suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, between the docks of Table Bay and the lower slopes of Devil's Peak, about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) east of the city centre of Cape Town. Woodstock is served by Woodstock and Esplanade railway stations, and has the postal code 7925 for street addresses and 7915 for post office box deliveries.
Jaime José de Matos da Gama is a Portuguese former politician. In the Portuguese government, he served as Minister of Internal Administration in 1978, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1985 and from 1995 to 2002, and Minister of National Defence in 1999. From 2005 to 2011 he was President of the Assembly of the Republic.
Portuguese Angolans are citizens of Angola who are either descended from Portuguese people or Portuguese emigrants permanently living in Angola. The number of Portuguese Angolans precipitously dropped during and immediately after the Angolan War of Independence, but several hundreds of thousands have either returned or emigrated to live in Angola.
Portuguese Mozambicans are Mozambican-born descendants of Portuguese settlers.
Afro-Portuguese(Afro portugueses or Lusoafricanos), African-Portuguese(Portugueses com ascendência africana), or Black Portuguese are Portuguese people with total or partial ancestry from any of the Sub-Saharan ethnic groups of Africa.
White Africans of European ancestry refers to citizens or residents in Africa who can trace full or partial ancestry to Europe. They are distinguished from indigenous North African people who are sometimes identified as white but not European. In 1989, there were an estimated 4.6 million white people with European ancestry on the African continent.
Portuguese Australians refers to Australians of Portuguese descent or Portuguese-born people living in Australia.
Portuguese Venezuelans are Portuguese-born citizens with Venezuelan citizenship or Venezuelan-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship. Mostly located in Caracas, Valencia and Maracaibo, also Barquisimeto, the Portuguese community of Venezuela are among the largest ethnic groups in the country. The State of Portuguesa takes its name from the Portuguesa River, in which a Portuguese woman is said to have drowned.
Héldon Augusto Almeida Ramos, known simply as Héldon and sometimes nicknamed Nhuck, is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
Horácio da Silva Roque was a Portuguese financier and businessman, who founded the Banco Internacional do Funchal (BANIF) in 1988.
Luso-Asians are Eurasian people whose ethnicity is partially or wholly Portuguese and ancestrally are based in or hail primarily from Portugal, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. They historically came under the cultural and multi-ethnic sway of the Portuguese Empire in the East and retain certain aspects of the Portuguese language, Roman Catholic faith, and Latin cultural practices, including internal and external architecture, art, and cuisine that reflect this contact. The term Luso comes from the Roman empire's province of Lusitania, which roughly corresponds to modern Portugal.
Portugal–South Africa relations refer to the current and historical relationship between Portugal and South Africa. Nowadays the two countries have solid relations, with South Africa representing a major partner for Portugal amongst AU members.
Portuguese in Sweden are citizens and residents of Sweden who are of Portuguese descent.
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Portuguese diaspora | ||
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