East Timor

Portuguese traders first arrived in 1509, and in 1556 a handful of Dominican friars established the first Portuguese settlement at Lifau, in the present-day Oecussi enclave in East Timor. Portuguese Timor was a neglected outpost, ruled via a traditional system +show all of local chiefs who acted as agents for the colonisers. It wasn't until the 20th century that Portugal assumed more direct control - up until then, the island's traditional political systems were intact. European influence was concentrated in coastal areas, the interior of the island only being encroached upon in the 1920s. -show less