Portuguese Timor (Portuguese: Timor Português) refers to East Timor during the historic period when it was a Portuguese colony that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the region were the Portuguese in 1515. Dominican friars established a presence on the island in 1556, and the territory was declared a Portuguese colony in 1702. Following the beginning of a Lisbon-instigated decolonisation process in 1975, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia. However, the invasion and subsequent annexation was not recognised by the United Nations (UN), which continued to regard Portugal as the legal Administering Power of East Timor, and the independence of East Timor was achieved in 2002 after a UN-administered transition period. |
