Fingerprint Lusophone Countries (21th Century) by Fernanda BarbosaVirtual Museum of Lusophony
From Angola to Mozambique and beyond, Lusophone countries spread across the globe. Scroll on to visit them in Street View, and use click-and-drag to explore.
Angola
The seventh-largest country in Africa, its capital is Luanda, which has more than 8 million people living in the metropolitan area. Luanda is known as the "Paris of Africa" because of its development, stable economy, and prices similar to the European city.
Here, you can see the Miradouro da Lua.
Brazil
The country with the highest number of Portuguese-speaking population, more than 210 million, is Brazil. Portuguese is therefore the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere. The name of the country came from the brazilwood, a tree which was largely commercialized by Portugal in the 16th century.
Salvador, in Bahia, closely resembles some Portuguese cities.
Cape Verde
This African archipelago is the first European settlement in the tropics and it is composed of ten volcanic islands. Pico do Fogo, the largest active volcano in the region, last erupted in 2014 for 77 consecutive days, from November 23rd and finished on February 8th 2015!
The city Cidade Velha was the first to be settled and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
East Timor
Located in Asia, next to Indonesia, the name of the country is a tautological toponym, which means that the two words of the place name have the same meaning. "Timor" in Malay is east, making the country name "East East".
It is possible to see Portuguese architectural influence in some buildings, such as Ai Pelo Prison.
Equatorial Guinea
The African country adopted Portuguese as one of its official languages only in 2010, as it is spoken by a minority of its population. Its native language, Annobonese Creole, however, has a strong connection with the Latin language, even though not listed as an official tongue.
The capital, Malabo, is the oldest city of the country.
Guinea-Bissau
Even though the African country was known as the Portuguese Guinea, only 2% of its population speaks Portuguese as the first language. 33% speak it as a second. The main language is Creole. In Ilha de Rubane, it is possible to see the beauty of the country and the potential for ecotourism.
Macau
The special administrative region belonging to China is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's a unique example of contact between two completely different cultures, Portuguese and Chinese. Due to its gambling tourism, Macau is the country with the highest gross domestic product in the world, according to the World Bank.
In the historic center, it is possible to see the Portuguese influence in its architecture.
Mozambique
Scrabble players remember this name! Mozambique is one of the country names with highest scores in the game, followed by Kyrgyzstan. It is one of the few countries belonging to the Commonwealth that were never part of the British government.
Its capital, Maputo, is known for street art, but also for its beautiful landscapes.
Sao Tome and Principe
The smallest Portuguese-speaking country is also the second-smallest African state. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The majority of its population lives in the first one. Around 98% of the residents speak Portuguese as their first language. The landscapes are incredible!
Portugal
Finally, the birthplace of Portuguese language! The country is one of the oldest nation states in Europe. Its capital, Lisbon, suffered a horrific earthquake in 1755 followed by a tsunami that devastated around 85% of the city's buildings.
The Praça do Comércio was one of the key places for Lisbon's reconstruction considering that the Royal Palace was located there.
Fingerprint Lusophone Countries (21th Century) by Fernanda BarbosaVirtual Museum of Lusophony