Editing Afonso de Albuquerque (section)

==Governor of Portuguese India, 1509–1515==
[[File:Afonso de Albuquerque (with Santiago cloak).jpg|thumb|Afonso de Albuquerque as Governor of India]]
Afonso was released after three months' confinement, on the arrival at Cannanore of [[Marshal of Portugal|the Marshal of Portugal]] [[Fernando Coutinho]] with a large fleet sent by the king.<ref name=Chisholm /> Coutinho was the most important Portuguese noble to visit India up to that point. He brought an armada of fifteen ships and 3,000 men to defend Afonso's rights, and to take [[Kozhikode|Calicut]].<ref>Neto, Ricardo Bonalume. ''MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History'' p. 68. Cowles Enthusiast Media Spring. 1 April 2002 (Page news on 20 October 2006)</ref>

On 4 November 1509, Afonso became the second Governor of Portuguese India, a position he would hold until his death. Almeida set off to return to Portugal, but he was killed before he got there in a skirmish with the [[Khoekhoe]].<ref>{{harvnb|Crowley|2015|p=240}}</ref> Upon his assuming office, Afonso intended to dominate the Muslim world and control the [[Spice trade]].<ref name=Andaya>{{harvnb|Andaya|Andaya|1984}}</ref>

Initially, King Manuel I and his council in Lisbon tried to distribute the power by outlining three areas of jurisdiction in the Indian Ocean.<ref name="Foundations" /> In 1509, the nobleman [[Diogo Lopes de Sequeira]] was sent with a fleet to Southeast Asia, to seek an agreement with [[Sultan Mahmud Shah]] of [[Malacca]], but failed and returned to Portugal. To Jorge de Aguiar was given the region between the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and [[Gujarat]]. He was succeeded by [[Duarte de Lemos, 3rd Lord of Trofa|Duarte de Lemos]], but left for Cochin and then for Portugal, leaving his fleet to Afonso.

===Conquest of Goa, 1510===
{{Main|Portuguese Conquest of Goa (1510)}}
[[File:"Plan de Goa", in Histoire générale des voyages,1750.jpg|thumb|Illustration depicts the aftermath of the [[Portuguese conquest of Goa]], from the forces of [[Yusuf Adil Shah]].]]

In January 1510, obeying the orders from the king and aware of the absence of the [[Zamorin]], Afonso advanced on Calicut. The attack was initially successful, but unravelled when Marshal Coutinho, infuriated by Albuquerque's success against Calicut and desiring glory for himself, attacked the Zamorin's palace against Albuquerque's advice, and was ambushed. During the retreat, Afonso was badly wounded and was forced to flee to the ships, barely escaping with his life, while Coutinho was killed.<ref name="Foundations" /><ref>{{harvnb|Crowley|2015|pp=248–254}}</ref>

Soon after the failed attack, Afonso assembled a fleet of 23 ships and 1200 men. Contemporary reports state that he wanted to fight the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate]] fleet in the Red Sea or return to Hormuz. However, he had been informed by [[Timoji]] (a privateer in the service of the Hindu [[Vijayanagara Empire]]) that it would be easier to fight them in [[Goa]], where they had sheltered after the Battle of Diu,<ref name=Shastry>{{harvnb|Shastry|Borges|2000|pp=34–36}}</ref> and also of the illness of the Sultan [[Yusuf Adil Shah]], and war between the [[Deccan sultanates]].<ref name=Shastry /> So he relied on surprise in the capture of Goa from the [[Sultanate of Bijapur]].

A first assault took place in Goa from 4 March to 20 May 1510. After the initial occupation, feeling unable to hold the city given the poor condition of its fortifications, the cooling of Hindu residents' support and insubordination among his ranks following an attack by [[Ismail Adil Shah]], Afonso refused a truce offered by the Sultan and abandoned the city in August. His fleet was scattered, and a palace revolt in Kochi hindered his recovery, so he headed to [[Fort Anjediva]]. New ships arrived from Portugal, which were intended for the nobleman Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos at Malacca, who had been given a rival command of the region.

Three months later, on 25 November Afonso reappeared at Goa with a renovated fleet. Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos was compelled to accompany him with the reinforcements for Malacca<ref name="Foundations" /> and about 300 Malabari reinforcements from Cannanore. In less than a day, they took Goa from Ismail Adil Shah and his Ottoman allies, who surrendered on 10 December. It is estimated that 6000 of the 9000 Muslim defenders of the city died, either in the fierce battle in the streets or by drowning while trying to escape.<ref>{{harvnb|Kerr|1824}}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}</ref> Afonso regained the support of the Hindu population, although he frustrated the initial expectations of Timoji, who aspired to become governor. Afonso rewarded him by appointing him chief "[[Aguazil]]" of the city, an administrator and representative of the Hindu and Muslim people, as a knowledgeable interpreter of the local customs.<ref name=Shastry /> He then made an agreement to lower the yearly tribute.
[[File:Coining of money for D'Albuquerque at Goa, 1510.jpg|thumb|Coining of money for d'Albuquerque at Goa (1510)]]
In Goa, Afonso established the first Portuguese [[Mint (coin)|mint]] in the East, after Timoja's merchants had complained of the scarcity of currency, taking it as an opportunity to solidify the territorial conquest.<ref>{{harvnb|De Souza|1990|pp=220–221}}</ref> The new [[Portuguese Indian rupia|coin]], based on the existing local coins, showed a cross on the obverse and an [[armillary sphere]] (or "esfera"), King Manuel's badge, on the reverse. Gold cruzados or ''manueis'', silver ''esferas'' and ''alf-esferas'', and bronze "leais" were issued.<ref>{{harvnb|Dalgado|1982|p=382}}</ref>

Albuquerque founded at Goa the ''Hospital Real de Goa'' or Royal Hospital of Goa, by the Church of Santa Catarina. Upon hearing that the doctors were extorting the sickly with excessive fees, Albuquerque summoned them, declaring that "You charge a physician's pay and don't know what disease the men who serve our lord the King suffer from. Thus, I want to teach you what is it that they die from"<ref>Gaspar Correia ''Lendas da Índia'', book II tome II, part I pp.440–441, 1923 Edition</ref> and put them to work building the city walls all day till nightfall before releasing them.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Germano|last1=de Sousa|year= 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvg_mAEACAAJ&q=Hist%C3%B3ria+da+Medicina+Portuguesa+Durante+a+Expans%C3%A3o|title=História da Medicina Portuguesa Durante a Expansão|publisher=Temes e Debates|location=Lisbon|language=pt|isbn=978-9896442194}}</ref>

Despite constant attacks, Goa became the center of Portuguese India, with the conquest triggering the compliance of neighbouring kingdoms: the [[Sultan of Gujarat]] and the [[Zamorin]] of Calicut sent embassies, offering alliances and local grants to fortify.

Afonso then used Goa to secure the [[spice trade]] in favor of Portugal and sell [[Persia]]n horses to [[Vijayanagara]] and Hindu princes in return for their assistance.<ref name="britannica.com" />

===Conquest of Malacca, 1511===
[[File:Iberian mare clausum claims.svg|thumb|Map of the ''[[mare clausum]]'' claims made by [[Spanish Empire]] and [[Portuguese Empire]], with Afonso's "Strait Controlling" strategy marked in blue circles.]]

{{Main|Portuguese Empire in the East}}
{{main|Capture of Malacca (1511)}}

Afonso explained to his armies why the Portuguese wanted to capture Malacca:
:"''The King of Portugal has often commanded me to go to the Straits, because...this was the best place to intercept the trade which the Moslems...carry on in these parts. So it was to do Our Lord's service that we were brought here; by taking Malacca, we would close the Straits so that never again would the Moslems be able to bring their spices by this route.... I am very sure that, if this Malacca trade is taken out of their hands, Cairo and Mecca will be completely lost.''" (The Commentaries of the Great Afonso de Albuquerque)

In February 1511, through a friendly Hindu merchant, Nina Chatu, Afonso received a letter from Rui de Araújo, one of the nineteen Portuguese held at Malacca since 1509. It urged moving forward with the largest possible fleet to demand their release, and gave details of the fortifications. Afonso showed it to Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos, as an argument to advance as a joint fleet. In April 1511, after fortifying Goa, he gathered a force of about 900 Portuguese, 200 Hindu mercenaries and about eighteen ships.<ref name="RICKLEFSp23">{{harvnb|Ricklefs|1991|p=23}}</ref> He then sailed to [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]] against orders and despite the protest of Diogo Mendes, who claimed command of the expedition. Afonso eventually centralized the Portuguese government in the Indian Ocean. After the Malaccan conquest, he wrote a letter to the king to explain his disagreement with Diogo Mendes, suggesting that further divisions could be harmful to the Portuguese in India.<ref name="Foundations" /> Under his command was [[Ferdinand Magellan]], who had participated in the failed embassy of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in 1509.

[[File:Conquista de Malaca, estudo - Ernesto Condeixa.png|thumb|"Conquest of Malacca", study painting by Ernesto Condeixa]]

After a false start towards the Red Sea, they sailed to the Strait of Malacca. It was the richest city that the Portuguese tried to take, and a focal point in the trade network where Malay traders met Gujarati, Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Bengali, Persian and Arabic, among others, described by [[Tomé Pires]] as of invaluable richness. Despite its wealth, it was mostly a wooden-built city, with few masonry buildings but was defended by a mercenary force estimated at 20,000 men and more than 2000 pieces of artillery. Its greatest weakness was the unpopularity of the government of [[Sultan Mahmud Shah]], who favoured Muslims, arousing dissatisfaction amongst other merchants.

Afonso made a bold approach to the city, his ships decorated with banners, firing cannon volleys. He declared himself lord of all the navigation, demanded the Sultan release the prisoners and pay for damages, and demanded consent to build a fortified trading post. The Sultan eventually freed the prisoners, but was unimpressed by the small Portuguese contingent. Afonso then burned some ships at the port and four coastal buildings as a demonstration. The city being divided by the Malacca River, the connecting bridge was a strategic point, so at dawn on 25 July, the Portuguese landed and fought a tough battle, facing poisoned arrows, taking the bridge in the evening. After fruitlessly waiting for the Sultan's reaction, they returned to the ships and prepared a [[Junk (ship)|junk]] (offered by Chinese merchants), filling it with men, artillery and sandbags. Commanded by [[António de Abreu]], it sailed upriver at high tide to the bridge. The day after, all had landed. After a fierce fight during which the Sultan appeared with an army of [[war elephant]]s, the defenders were dispersed and the Sultan fled.<ref name="Foundations" /> Afonso waited for the reaction of the Sultan. Merchants approached, asking for Portuguese protection. They were given banners to mark their premises, a sign that they would not be looted. On 15 August, the Portuguese attacked again, but the Sultan had fled the city. Under strict orders, they looted the city, but respected the banners.<ref name="Bosworth2007">{{harvnb|Bosworth|2007|page=317}}</ref>

[[File:Manuel Godinho de Erédia - Description of Malacca, Meridional India and Cathay - A Famosa.png|thumb|left|An illustration of the keep of the fortress of Malacca, which included a stone relief of Afonso de Albuquerque, by [[Manuel Godinho de Erédia]] (1613)]]
[[File:Malacca in 1550-1563.png|thumb|Malacca, with [[A Famosa]], depicted by Albuquerque's scrivener, [[Gaspar Correia]]. ]]

Afonso prepared Malacca's defenses against a Malay counterattack,<ref name="RICKLEFSp23" /> building a fortress, assigning his men to shifts and using stones from the mosque and the cemetery. Despite the delays caused by heat and malaria, it was completed in November 1511, its surviving door now known as "[[A Famosa]]" ('the famous'). It was possibly then that Afonso had a large stone engraved with the names of the participants in the conquest. To quell disagreements over the order of the names, he had it set facing the wall, with the single inscription ''Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes'' (Latin for "The stone the builders rejected", from [[David]]'s prophecy, Psalm 118:22–23) on the front.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Afonso|last1=de Albuquerque|title=Commentarios do grande Afonso Dalboquerque: capitão geral que foi das Indias Orientaes em tempo do muito poderoso rey D. Manuel, o primeiro deste nome|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4UILAAAAYAAJ|year=1774|publisher=Na Regia Officina Typografica}}</ref>

He settled the Portuguese administration, reappointing Rui de Araújo as [[factor (agent)|factor]], a post assigned before his 1509 arrest, and appointing rich merchant Nina Chatu to replace the previous [[Bendahara]]. Besides assisting in the governance of the city and the first Portuguese coinage, he provided the junks for several diplomatic missions.<ref>{{harvnb|De Souza|1985|p=60}}</ref> Meanwhile, Afonso arrested and had executed the powerful Javanese merchant Utimuti Raja who, after being appointed to a position in the Portuguese administration as representative of the Javanese population, had maintained contacts with the exiled royal family.

====Shipwreck on the ''Flor de la mar'', 1511====
[[File:Portuguese ship museum Melaka.jpg|thumb|Replica of a Portuguese carrack at the Maritime Museum of Malacca, made in reference to the Flor do Mar]]
On 20 November 1511 Afonso sailed from Malacca to the coast of Malabar on the old ''[[Flor de la Mar]]'' [[carrack]] that had served to support the conquest of Malacca. Despite its unsound condition, he used it to transport the treasure amassed in the conquest, given its large capacity.<ref name="Foundations" /> He wanted to give the court of King Manuel a show of Malaccan treasures. There were also offerings from the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] (Thailand) to the king of Portugal, and all his own fortune. On the voyage, the ''[[Flor de la Mar]]'' was wrecked in a storm, and Afonso barely escaped drowning.<ref name="RICKLEFSp23" />

===Missions from Malacca===

====Embassies to Pegu, Sumatra and Siam, 1511====
Most Muslim and Gujarati merchants having fled the city, Afonso invested in diplomatic efforts demonstrating generosity to Southeast Asian merchants, like the Chinese, to encourage good relations with the Portuguese. Trade and diplomatic missions were sent to continental kingdoms: Rui Nunes da Cunha was sent to [[Pegu]] (Burma), from where King Binyaram sent back a friendly emissary to Kochi in 1514<ref>{{Cite book |last=Teixeira |first=Manuel |title=The Portuguese Missions in Malacca and Singapore (1511–1958) |publisher=Agência Geral do Ultramar |year=1963}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h82D-Y0E3TwC |title=The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires: An Account of the East from the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515; and, the Book of Francisco Rodrigues, Rutter of a Voyage in the Red Sea, Nautical Rules, Almanack and Maps Written and Drawn in the East Before 1515 |date=2005 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=81-206-0535-7 |editor-last=Cortesão |editor-first=Armando |volume=1–2 |location=New Delhi |orig-date=1512–1515}}</ref> and [[Sumatra]], Sumatran kings of Kampar and Indragiri sending emissaries to Afonso accepting the new power, as vassal states of Malacca.<ref name="Lach">{{cite book|first1=Donald F.|last1=Lach|title=Asia in the Making of Europe|volume=I: The Century of Discovery|year=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-46731-3|pages=520–521, 571|author-link=Donald F. Lach}}</ref> Knowing of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Afonso sent [[Duarte Fernandes]] in a diplomatic mission to the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] (Thailand), returning in a Chinese junk. He was one of the Portuguese who had been arrested in Malacca, having gathered knowledge about the culture of the region. There he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations between the kingdom of Portugal and the court of the king of Siam [[Ramathibodi II]], returning with a Siamese envoy bearing gifts and letters to Afonso and the king of Portugal.<ref name="Lach" />

====Expedition to the "spice islands" (Maluku islands), 1512====
[[File:Ternate.JPG|thumb|Depiction of [[Ternate]] with São João Baptista Fort, built in 1522]]
In November, after having secured Malacca and learning the location of the then secret "[[Maluku Islands|spice islands]]", Afonso sent three ships to find them, led by trusted [[António de Abreu]] with deputy commander [[Francisco Serrão]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ricklefs|1991|p=24}}</ref> [[Malay (ethnic group)|Malay]] sailors were recruited to guide them through [[Java]], the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]] and the [[Ambon Island]] to [[Banda Islands]], where they arrived in early 1512.<ref name="Milton 1999 5 and 7">Hannard (1991), page 7;{{cite book|last=Milton|first=Giles|author-link=Giles Milton|title=Nathaniel's Nutmeg|year=1999|publisher=Sceptre|location=London|isbn=978-0-340-69676-7|pages=5, 7}}</ref> There they remained for a month, buying and filling their ships with [[nutmeg]] and [[clove]]s. António de Abreu then sailed to Amboina whilst Serrão sailed towards the Moluccas, but he was shipwrecked near Seram. [[Sultanate of Ternate|Sultan Abu Lais of Ternate]] heard of their stranding, and, seeing a chance to ally himself with a powerful foreign nation, brought them to Ternate in 1512 where they were permitted to build a fort on the island, the ''{{Interlanguage link|Forte de São João Baptista de Ternate|pt|vertical-align=sup}}'', built in 1522.

===Return to Cochin and Goa===
Afonso returned from Malacca to Cochin, but could not sail to Goa as it faced a serious revolt headed by the forces of [[Ismael Adil Shah]], the Sultan of [[Adil Shahi dynasty|Bijapur]], commanded by [[Rasul Khan]] and his countrymen. During Afonso's absence from Malacca, the Portuguese who opposed the taking of Goa had waived its possession, even writing to the king that it would be best to let it go. Held up by the monsoon and with few forces available, Afonso had to wait for the arrival of reinforcement fleets headed by his nephew D. Garcia de Noronha, and Jorge de Mello Pereira.

While at Cochin, Albuquerque started a school. In a private letter to King Manuel I, he stated that he had found a chest full of books with which to teach the children of married Portuguese settlers (''casados'') and Christian converts, of which there were about a hundred, to read and write.<ref>Afonso de Albuquerque ''Cartas para El-Rei D. Manuel I'' edited by António Baião (1942). Letter of 1 April 1512</ref>

On 10 September 1512, Afonso sailed from Cochin to Goa with fourteen ships carrying 1,700 soldiers. Determined to recapture the fortress, he ordered trenches dug and a wall breached. But on the day of the planned final assault, Rasul Khan surrendered. Afonso demanded the fort be handed over with its artillery, ammunition and horses, and the deserters to be given up. Some had joined Rasul Khan when the Portuguese were forced to flee Goa in May 1510, others during the recent siege. Rasul Khan consented, on condition that their lives be spared. Afonso agreed and he left Goa. He did spare the lives of the deserters, but had them horribly mutilated. One such renegade was [[Fernão Lopes (soldier)|Fernão Lopes]], bound for Portugal in custody, who escaped at the island of Saint Helena and led a 'Robinson Crusoe' life for many years. After such measures the town became the most prosperous Portuguese settlement in India.