The Mala Real Portugueza was founded in 1887, 7 years after the foundation of the Empreza Nacional de Navegação (ENN) and future Companhia Nacional de Navegação (CNN) and the third been founded after the Empresa Insulana de Navegação (EIN) in 1871.

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This was mostly a government company, similar to what we saw with Transportes Maritimos do Estado (TME) in 1916 and was to make trips to the Portuguese African colonies, mostly Angola and Mozambique. Though it was formed in 1887, the first ship, the Ibo, was received only in 1888. By 1889, more ships would enter, and these included the Rovuma and Tungue. But in that same year the company received three new vessels, the first three of a class of four ships: the Rei de Portugal, Loanda and Moçambique. In 1890 they received the last one, the Malange, which was different from the first three.

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But by this point, the company started to malfunction. Shortly thereafter the company failed many times and went bankrupt in 1893 and in 1894, the Loanda was sold to ENN. Ibo, Tungue and Rovuma were sold as well, leaving the company with three of the Rei de Portugal’s class of ships. By 1898, they started making runs to Brazil which was that time when the company changed Moçambique’s name to Álvares Cabral, after the man who discovered Brazil in 1500.

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By the beginning of the 20th Century, the company kept failing, and the Brazil run was not profitable as they saw. The government, unwilling to keep spending money on the company, finally closed down in 1902. The last three ships were sold, but only two would remain in Portuguese hands: the Loanda, which was on hands of the ENN and now the Malange, which was bought by the ENN as well in 1902.