 The Minister of the Navy and Overseas Territories, Henrique de Barros Gomes, conspired with German diplomats to expand colonial territory and create "a new Brazil in Africa".This was in conflict with British interests, and Portugal was quickly forced to abandon these designs under threat of diplomatic sanctions and military action.King Carlos attempted to mitigate the losses with diplomacy and leveraging blood relations with both British and German royalty; he was moderately successful, but Portuguese Africa was ultimately limited to territory in Angola and Mozambique.