Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.The first Europeans to arrive in the region were Portuguese in 1515. Dominican friars established a presence on the island in 1556, and the territory was declared a Portuguese colony in 1702. Following a Lisbon-instigated decolonisation process, Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975.