Afonso de Albuquerque, the greatest Portuguese empire-builder, was a remarkable sixteenth-century man who invaded cities and established forts from the Red Sea to Malacca, three thousand sea miles apart, to control Indian Ocean trade. In 1471, he served as an officer in Morocco for eleven years, learning military skills as well as Islamophobia. His contemporaries criticized his ruthless methods of capturing towns, killing their inhabitants, torturing and mutilating prisoners, and punishing wrongdoers. However, Crown supporters justified their actions as crusading fervor and knightly courage, which may help us understand their wilful disregard for personal safety and scorn for misery and hardship that drove them to fight for superior armies. Albuquerque's desire to eradicate Islam and serve the monarch by establishing an empire and appropriating a portion of the enormous wealth of the Indies motivated his military conquests in Asia. Dom Joáo ascended to the throne in 1481. When Albuquerque returned to Portugal, the new ruler immediately entrusted him with the continued mission of locating a naval route to India. Dom Manuel I of a distant succession line became monarch in 1495 and had different view about Albuquerque. Accordingly, left Portugal to continue his fight against Muslims in Morocco for the next eight years. Albuquerque returned to Lisbon after King Manuel changed his mind and dispatched him to India in 1503 to fortify Cochin.
The Portuguese arrived in the Indian Ocean at the ideal time. The Indian Ocean has a complex society and culture that are founded on extensive, interrelated trade and commerce.
In April 1506, showing again confidence in him, King Manual dispatched another fleet under Tristao da Cunha, with Albuquerque as his second-in-command. They fought hard to gain control of the Red Sea trade by capturing Socotra. Cunha set sail to India and left Albuquerque with six ships and 500 men, intending to pillage Arabia's southern ports and explore to capture Aden which seemed difficult due to limited force. Therefore moving on, Albuquerque seized Ormuz, a Persian Gulf trade city, in 1506. However, some of his captains were dissatisfied with the distribution of booty and fled with three ships to petition the Viceroy at Cochin. Albuquerque went back to Socotra.
On November 4, 1509, Albuquerque succeeded Almeida as Governor of the Portuguese State of India, after Marshal Coutinho from the royal family and his cousin arrived with 16 ships and a large 3,000-man force for a smooth transition of power and an offensive against Calicut. Albuquerque, a battle-hardened statesman, became governor at the age of fifty. He saw India in a more concrete light than his predecessors: a firm land-based foothold in important strategic regions to support the oceanic maritime empire and monopoly, which should be self-sustaining and contribute to Lisbon's coffers and other efforts.
In February 1510, Albuquerque invaded Goa by sea, whose port was superior. Hindus dwelt on this island off India's western coast, ruled by Muslim rulers, and traded Arabian horses. Albuquerque made Goa, with its large population, a Portuguese territory that was intended to be a monsoon sanctuary for troops and ships, an arsenal where ships could be built and repaired.
In April 1511, Albuquerque sailed to Malacca with 18 ships, including three galleys. Again, amphibious operations enabled them to maneuver, shift sites, and deploy troops, allowing them to seize Malacca in July 1511. Albuquerque returned to Goa after constructing a fortress.
He departed Goa in 1513 with 27 ships and 3000 men for Aden in the Red Sea but, was unable to breach Aden. Failure to take Aden jeopardized Albuquerque's strategy and the Portuguese commercial monopoly in the Indian Ocean. In 1515, Albuquerque returned to Ormuz, taking the strategically important and rich trading city. With their Ormuz fort, the Portuguese dominated Gulf politics. He died in 1515 while coming back to Goa.
Albuquerque's conquests obligated Portugal, for the first and maybe only time in her history, to the political and military responsibilities of a great power, which Portugal lacked.
Information Provided in this video :
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* Lifetime of Afonso da Albuquerque
* Trade and Commerce in Indian Ocean during 1500-1515
* Battle of Diu
* Battle of Goa
* Battle of Malacca
* Battle of Ormuz
Acknowledgments and suggestion for further readings:
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a. Albuquerque Caesar of the East. Selected Texts by Afonso de Albuquerque and His Son
b.The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India, Volume 3 Translated from the Portuguese Edition of.
c. AFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE GOVERNOR OF INDIA HIS LIFE
CONQUESTS AND ADMINISTRATION BY EDGAR PRESTAGE
d.The Portuguese Seaborne Empire 1415-1825 (C.R. Boxer)
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