Portuguese Timor

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Portuguese Timor is the former name (1515–1975) of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia.

Although Portugal was neutral during World War II, in December 1941, Portuguese Timor was occupied by Australian and Dutch forces, which were expecting a Japanese invasion. When the Japanese did occupy Timor, in February 1942, the Allies and Timorese volunteers engaged them in a guerrilla campaign. The struggle resulted in the deaths of 40,000–70,000 Timorese.

After 1949, the Dutch East Indies became independent as Indonesia. In 1975, Portuguese Timor declared its independence and changed its name to East Timor. This was quickly followed by an Indonesian invasion and annexation. The international community, however, did not recognise the annexation.

From the Portuguese and international perspective, it was technically only on May 20, 2002, that Portuguese Timor ceased to exist, as the territory gained independence once again.

The currency was the Portuguese Timor escudo, linked to the Portuguese escudo till 1975 when the currency ceased to exist as East Timor was annexed by Indonesia and began using the Indonesian rupiah.

Portuguese Timor

See also