claim: "at the beginning of world war ii, we had a relatively small army, smaller than portugal’s."
author: ken paxton
evidence_1: spices, sugar, and slaves became relatively less important with the advance ...  superior military strength to achieve the transfer to european merchants of as .....  spanish and portuguese colonialism had left a heritage of disunity and .... ( 620,000 square kilometres) a year between the late 1870s and world war i ( 1914–18).
evidence_2: says ken paxton "shut down the world's largest human trafficking ... "at the  beginning of world war ii, we had a relatively small army, smaller than portugal's. ".
evidence_3: the portuguese army (portuguese: exército português) is the land component of  the armed forces of portugal and is also its largest branch. it is charged with the  defence of portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the armed forces. it is  one of the oldest armies in the world, with its origins going back to the ... the  portuguese army has a long history, directly connected to the history of ...
evidence_4: "at the beginning of world war ii, we had a relatively small army, smaller than  portugal's." — politifact texas on friday, june 13th, 2014. page 1 of 1.
evidence_5: the portuguese navy is the naval branch of the portuguese armed forces which,  ... the navy played a key role at the beginning and during the great voyages of  the ... 16th century, the portuguese india armadas and fleets, then the world  leader ..... in the brief war of independence of brazil, some small naval  engagements ...