President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said late on Tuesday that hashtag#Portugal 🇵🇹 was responsible for crimes committed during #transatlantic #slavery and the colonial era, and suggested there was a need for #reparations.

For over four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported long distances by mainly European ships and merchants, and sold into slavery.

Those who survived the voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the hashtag#Americas, mostly in #Brazil and the #Caribbean, while others profited from their labour.

Portugal trafficked nearly 6 million Africans, more than any other European nation, but has failed so far to confront its past and little is taught about its role in transatlantic slavery in schools.

Instead, Portugal's colonial era, during which countries including #Angola 🇦🇴, #Mozambique 🇲🇿, #Brazil 🇧🇷, #CapeVerde 🇨🇻 and #EastTimor as well as parts of hashtag#India 🇮🇳 were subjected to Portuguese rule, is often perceived as a source of pride.

Speaking at an event with foreign correspondents late on Tuesday, Rebelo de Sousa said Portugal "takes full responsibility" for the wrongs of the past and that those crimes, including colonial massacres, had "costs".

"We have to pay the costs," he said. "Are there actions that were not punished and those responsible were not arrested? Are there goods that were looted and not returned? Let's see how we can repair this."

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