The Urgent Empire Portugal Between 1475 and 1525

After a survey of the natural resources in the different areas of the Portuguese territory, the effects of the overseas expansion on these sectors were studied. An excessive demand was noted, given the scale of the available resources, together with the general incapacity to rapidly replace them. The serious involvement of all social classes in the realm’s principal political projects was demonstrated, as well as the existence of leaderships and the financial and technical resources necessary for ensuring Portuguese primacy in European expansion. Urgency justified the overexploitation of resources and the heavy tax burden, but it also compromised the country’s future, with its small metropolitan space proving incapable of sustaining a lengthy revitalization effort, hence the title of this paper.