6th Portuguese India Armada (Albergaria, 1504)
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The Sixth India Armada
was assembled in 1504 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
and placed under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria
.
[ No actual names of the ships are known. Only three small ships (naveta/caravel, denoted as 'nta' in the list) are clearly identified, uncertain who was actually commanding the fourth (if there was a fourth). The above list of captains is principally based on João de Barros
's Décadas (Dec. 1, Lib.7), Damião de Gois
's Chronica, Castanheda
's História and Quintella's Annaes da Marinha. The Relação das Naus da Índia introduces some of the name variations. As usual, Gaspar Correia
differs from the others: he omits Pedro Dias (or Dinis) de Setúbal, and introduces instead two small ships, one under Simão de Alcáçova, another under Cristóvão de Távora
, bringing the total to fourteen. To get thirteen again, Correia asserts the captain-major Lopo Soares Albergaria doesn't have his own ship, but is aboard the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça (at least on outbound journey)]
The admiral of the fleet (capitão-mor, captain-major) was Lopo Soares de Albergaria
(sometimes called Lopo Soares de Alvarenga, or simply Lopo Soares). Albergaria was a middling noble, well-connected to the Almeida
family, and had served a successful term (1495–99) as captain-general of São Jorge da Mina
in the Portuguese Gold Coast
(West Africa).
Lopo Soares de Albergaria sailed either on his own ship or on the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça. Lopo Abreu da Ilha may have been vice-admiral, although Leonel Coutinho may have been a higher noble. Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos was the nephew of influential Portuguese courtier and royal advisor Duarte Galvão.
Two of the captains are veterans of earlier expeditions. Pedro Afonso de Aguiar and Lopo Mendes de Vasconcellos had sailed in 4th Armada
of 1502.
There was private participation in the fleet. At least one of the ships was outfitted by Catarina Dias de Aguiar, a wealthy merchant woman from Lisbon.
The three or four small ships (navetas or caravels) were designated to remain in India, to bolster the coastal patrol.
(1500) under Pedro Álvares Cabral
had opened hostilities between the Kingdom of Portugal
and the Zamorin of Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode), the dominant maritime power on the Malabar Coast
of India.
The large and well-armed 4th Armada
of 1502 led by Vasco da Gama
had hoped, by means of strong show of force, persuade the Zamorin to sue for terms. But in spite of terror, bombardment and blockade, the Zamorin had refused to yield. The Zamorin's defiance convinced Vasco da Gama that this was going to be a longer fight than he had anticipated, one that required more men and firepower than he had at hand. Gama's 4th Armada left India, intent on requesting a stronger fleet from Lisbon, with enough men and arms, if not to reduce Calicut, to at least defend the Portuguese-allied cities of Cochin (Cochim, Kochi) and Cannanore
(Canonor, Kannur).
Gama delivered his report to Lisbon in 1503, too late to affect the outfitting of the 5th Armada
, which had left under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque
a few months earlier. Although unequipped to challenge Calicut itself, the 5th Armada did enough to save Cochin from falling into the hands of the Zamorin's army and helped bolster its defenses by erecting a timber fort in the city.
Basing themselves only on Vasco da Gama's report, the 6th Armada that set out in early 1504 was equipped more purposefully, bringing more soldiers and ships to protect the Portuguese factories in Cochin and Cannanore. As noted explicitly in his regimento, Lopo Soares de Albergaria
was under strict orders to accept no peace with the Zamorin of Calicut, and do what he could to harass Calicut.
estuary.
May 2 - Ships arrive at the first collection point, Cape Verde
. Lopo Soares announces that since they left Lisbon so late, there is no room for error. He lays down a set of strict sailing instructions, and warns pilots and masters he will dock their pay for every mistake.
June - Proceeding in good order, the 6th Armada reaches the Cape of Good Hope
.
June 25 - The 6th armada reaches Mozambique Island. There, Lopo Soares finds the testimonial letter left behind by Pêro de Ataíde
, the former captain of the India patrol, who had died there a few months later. It is here that Lopo Soares learns of the debacle of the coastal patrol of Vicente Sodré
and Calicut's attack on Cochin the previous Spring.
August 1 - Lopo Soares leaves Mozambique. Although instructed by his regimento to make a stop in Malindi
, it is possible he sails for India directly from Mozambique. But Damião de Góis
reports the 6th Armada did stop at Malindi, and was (as usual) well-received by the Sultan of Malindi. The Sultan of Malindi not only resupplied the ships, but provided him a Muslim pilot named 'Debucar' and handed over to Lopo Soares 16 Portuguese shipwrecked sailors, survivors of Ataíde's capsized ship, whom had been collected by Malindi boats earlier that year. The 6th Armada remains in Malindi only two days, before setting off on their Indian Ocean crossing.
. In March, the Zamorin of Calicut had launched a massive attack on Cochin, intending to capture the city and seize the Portuguese timber fortress. He brought some 57,000 troops, equipped with many Turkish firearms and Venetian guns. The tiny Portuguese garrison at Cochin, some 150 men under the command of Duarte Pacheco Pereira
, by clever positioning, individual heroics and quite some luck, managed to fend off attack after attack by the Zamorin's army and fleet in the ensuing months. The last assault was launched in early July, after which the humiliated Zamorin called off the invasion.
August, 1504 - Crossing the Indian Ocean, the 6th Armada of Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives at Anjediva island. There they find two Portuguese ships repairing - those of António de Saldanha
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco. They had been part of the third squadron of last year's 5th Armada
. They relate their sorry tale - how they got lost and separated in Africa, how they spent the winter season harassing East African ports and Red Sea shipping, and howw they were only able to undertake their Indian Ocean crossing this summer. They have no idea of the whereabouts of the third ship of their squadron, that of Diogo Fernandes Pereira
, having lost track of it nearly a year ago.
[As it happens, Diogo Fernandes Pereira had wintered in Socotra
by himself and undertook a solo crossing to India earlier in May; he arrived in Cochin just in time to help Duarte Pacheco fend off the last few assaults of the Zamorin.]
Late August/Early September, 1504 - Saldanha and Lourenço accompany Lopo Soares' 6th Armada down the coast to Cannanore
. Arriving there, they finally hear fuller reports from factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa of the battle of Cochin
. Lopo Soares sets sail at once.
September 7, 1504 - The 6th Armada appears before Calicut. Lopo Soares dispatches a message demanding they hand over any and all Portuguese prisoners to him; moreover, he demands that they also deliver the two Venetian engineers who had been helping the Zamorin build European cannon. The Zamorin is absent from the city at the moment, but his ministers are willing to release the Portuguese prisoners. The Italians, however, they cannot. Restless, Lopo Soares has the 6th Armada subject Calicut to forty-eight hours of continuous shore bombardment, causing great damage.
Satisfied, the 6th Armada proceeds south to Cochin. They are met before Fort Manuel by the Trimumpara Raja and the tired Portuguese garrison. But Duarte Pacheco
himself is not there at the moment - he had recently left on a jaunt to Quilon
, to check on the Portuguese factory there. Greetings and gifts are exhanged - including a sizeable chunk of money sent by Manuel I of Portugal
to bolster the Trimumphara Raja's treasury.
With the Cochin spice markets starved by the recent siege, Lopo Soares sets about collecting spices from elsewhere. Four or five ships (Lopes da Costa, Aguiar, Coutinho, Abreu and perhaps another) are sent down to Quilon
to load up. Two ships (Pêro de Mendonça and Vasco Carvalho) are sent out to patrol the coast south of Calicut, and seize whatever merchant ships they can (and take their spice cargoes), while Tristão da Silva, joined by five bateis (pinnace
s) are dispatched on patrol duty inside the lagoon.
Hearing of the armada's arrival, Duarte Pacheco (then in Quilon) sets sail back to Cochin, and meets Lopo Soares on September 14 (October 22 according to Castanheda).
. Reading this as a preparation for a renewed attack on Cochin after the 6th Armada leaves, Lopo Soares decides on a preemptive strike
. He orders a squadron of around ten fighting ships and numerous Cochinese bateis and paraus, to head up there. The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchor at Palliport
(Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin
island), while those ships, bateis and paraus that can continue on.
Converging on Cranganore, the Portuguese-Cochinese fleet quickly disperses the Zamorin's forces on the beach with cannonfire, and then lands an amphibian assault force - some 1,000 Portuguese and 1,000 Cochinese Nairs, who take on the rest of the Zamorin's forces in close combat. The Zamorin's forces are defeated and driven away from the city.
The assault troops capture Cranganore, and subject the ancient city, the once-great Chera
capital of Kerala, to a thorough and violent sacking and razing. Deliberate fires were already started by squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and factor Diogo Fernandes Correa, while the main fighting was still going on. They quickly consume most of the city, save for the Syrian Christian
quarters, which are carefully spared (Jewish
and Muslim
homes are not given the same consideration).
In the meantime, the Calicut fleet, some 5 ships and 80 paraus, that had been dispatched to save the city are intercepted by the idling Portuguese ships near Palliport
and defeated in a naval encounter.
Two days later, the Portuguese receive an urgent message from the ruler of Tanur (Tanore), whose kingdom lay to the north, on the road between Calicut and Cranganore. The raja of Tanur had come to loggerheads with his overlord, the Zamorin, and offered to place himself under Portuguese suzerainity instead, in return for military assistance. He reports that a Calicut column, led by the Zamorin himself, had been assembled in a hurry to try to save Cranganore, but that he managed to block its passage at Tanur. Lopo Soares immediately dispatches Pêro Rafael with a caravel and a sizeable Portuguese armed force to assist the Tanurese. The Zamorin's column is defeated and dispersed soon after its arrival.
The raid on Cranganore and the defection of Tanur are serious setbacks to the Zamorin, pushing the frontline north and effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Zamorin's reach. Any hopes the Zamorin had of quickly resuming his attempts to capture Cochin via the backwaters are effectively dashed.
No less importantly, the battles at Cranganore and Tanur, which involved significant numbers of Malabari captains and troops, clearly demonstrated that the Zamorin was no longer feared in the region. The Battle of Cochin had broken his authority. Cranganore and Tanur showed that Malabaris were no longer afraid of defying his authority and taking up arms against him. The Portuguese were no longer just a passing nuisance, a handful of terrifying pirates who came and went once a year. They were a permanent disturbance, turning the old order upside down. A new chapter was being opened on the Malabar coast.
, the hero of the battle of Cochin
, is slated to be relieved. (It is said the Trimumpara Raja
of Cochin was beside himself with grief and did everything he could to persuade Lopo Soares to let Duarte Pacheco stay on; but bowing to inevitability, the Trimumpara offered Duarte Pacheco a free cargo of pepper as personal reward for his services. Duarte Pacheco, knowing how the Trimumpara Raja had been personally impoverished by the war, refused to take it.)
Duarte Pacheco's replacement as capitão-mor of Fort Manuel of Cochin is nobleman Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos (or Manuel Telles Barreto, according to Barros). Lopo Soares leaves Manuel Telles with three (possibly four) ships: one nau, and two caravels, under the commands of Diogo Pires
and Pêro Rafael (and possibly Cristovão Jusarte (Lisuarte Pereira?)), all veterans of the battle of Cochin. Lopo Soares annexes what remains of the earlier fleets (e.g., Diogo Fernandes Pereira
, Antonio de Saldanha
, etc.) into the 6th Armada. Overall, Lopo Soares is bringing back to Lisbon two more ships than he left with.
, in order to pay his respects to his new ally, the raja of Tanur. While negotiating entry at the port (Ponnani doesn't actually belong to Tanur, which is further inland), Lopo Soares receives a message that a large Arab-Egyptian
fleet ('Moors from Cairo and Mecca') - some 17 Arab ships, 4000 men - had arrived at Pandarane (Pantalyini Kollam), a spacious port just north of Calicut.
They had not come on a military mission, but only to evacuate expatriate
Arab
merchants and their families from Calicut and bring them home to Egypt and Arabia.
Calculating that the ships are probably loaded with the evacuating rich families' valuable belongings and treasures, Lopo Soares cannot resist. The naus being too loaded with spices to maneouver properly, Lopo Soares decides to send them on to Cannanore
, and attack the Pandarane fleet with just two caravels and 15 Malabari bateis (pinnace
s), loaded with around 360 Portuguese soldiers. It is a bold venture, but Lopo Soares traps the Egyptian fleet in Pandarane harbor and in the subsequent ferocious battle, succeeds in capturing and plundering the Arab fleet, killing some 2,000 defenders in the process. Portuguese casualties are not light - at 23 dead, 170 wounded, that is about half the force, more than Duarte Pacheco lost in all his encounters at Cochin
a few months earlier.
, Lopo Soares and the 6th Armada set sail back across the Indian Ocean.
February 1, 1505 The 6th Armada arrives at Malindi
. Here they pick up some of the treasure António de Saldanha
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco had deposited from their predatory ventures around East Africa and Cape Guardafui
the previous year.
February 10, 1505 The 6th Armada arrives at Kilwa
, where Lopo Soares announces his intention to collect the yearly tribute from the city due to King Manuel I of Portugal (imposed by Vasco da Gama
back in 1502.) But the ruling Emir Ibrahim refuses. Lopo Soares, his ships too loaded to risk damage in a confrontation, decides to sail on.
Mid-February, 1505 - The 6th Armada makes a stop in Mozambique Island for recuperation and re-supply. Realizing it is going to be a two-week stay, Lopo Soares dispatches two ships - Pêro de Mendonça and Lopo de Abreu - ahead of him to Lisbon to announce the results. Pêro de Mendonça's ship will be lost somewhere after Cape Correntes
, capsized somewhere on the South African coast, and will never heard from again. Lopo de Abreu will arrive in Lisbon in mid-July.
July 22, 1505 - About nine days after Lopo de Abreu's arrival, Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives in Lisbon. Save for Pêro de Mendonça, the fleet is intact. The 6th Armada's cargo, noted as one of the best ones yet brought back from India, is well-received. But even more well-received is Duarte Pacheco Pereira
, whose exploits Lopo de Abreu had already related to the court. King Manuel I of Portugal
orders an elaborate reception and public celebrations to honor of the hero of Cochin.
- discovered by Diogo Fernandes Pereira
, but who was only now returning to report it - was also highly valued.
1504 was the year where the old order on the Malabar coast was finally broken - the Zamorin's authority was fragmenting, the Arab merchants were fleeing, Portuguese allies were no longer tentative and few, but confident and growing. The question for the Portuguese was no longer 'how can we break into the spice trade?', but 'we have broken it, now what?'. The Portuguese seemed to now have a chance to write the next chapter of the history of Kerala and the spice trade. And the next fleet, the 7th Armada
sent out in the Spring of 1505 under D. Francisco de Almeida
, very much intended to write it.
For the Zamorin, 1504 was a veritable nightmare. The humiliations at Cochin, the destruction of Cranganore, the defections of his vassals, permanently changed the landscape of Kerala, and his prospects for survival. His strategy of trying to force the Portuguese to peace on his terms, to behave like other foreign merchants, to respect the existing order, had backfired dramatically.
Lopo Soares's destruction of the Arab-Egyptian fleet at Pandarane must also have seemed like a blow to the Zamorin. He had urgently hoped to cajole the Arabs not to abandon him, to come to his aid and help him bring the misbehaving Portuguese to heel. After Pandarane, the Zamorin feared the Arabs might not wish to risk such losses again, and just leave Calicut out to dry.
But his fears of abandonment were mislaid, for at this very moment preparations were being launched in Cairo
to strike back at the Portuguese forcefully. The Mameluke sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
of Egypt had thus far taken a passive stance to the Portuguese havoc in his rear, e.g. evacuating his nationals from India, widening the port of Jeddah
to shelter Muslim ships chased by Portuguese pirates. But the repeated appeals of the Zamorin of Calicut, backed up by the rulers of Gujarat
and Aden
and Kilwa
, and the Venetian Republic
were growing deafening. His own ministers must have pointed out how badly this was hurting the Sultan's treasury, all the customs dues and taxes being lost from the Portuguese disruption of the Red Sea spice trade and the Mecca pilgrim traffic. In late 1504, the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt was finally persuaded that active measures must be taken - not merely to get the Portuguese to behave, but to drive them out of the Indian Ocean altogether.
Secondary:
Portuguese India Armadas
The Portuguese India armadas were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa...
was assembled in 1504 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
and placed under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque....
.
The Fleet
The 6th Armada was composed of 13 ships (approx. 9 large naus + 4 small navetas/caravels) and 1200 men. The exact composition of the fleet differs in the various accounts. The following list of ships should not be regarded as authoritative, but a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts.| Captain | Notes |
| 1. Lopo Soares de Albergaria Lopo Soares de Albergaria Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque.... /Alvarenga |
|
| 2. Pêro de Mendonça/Mascarenhas | lost on return |
| 3. D. Leonel Coutinho | |
| 4. Lopo de Abreu (da Ilha) | vice-admiral? |
| 5. Pedro Afonso de Aguiar | |
| 6. Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos/Martins | |
| 7. Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos/Barreto | |
| 8. Tristão da Silva | |
| 9. Filipe de Castro | |
| 10. Vasco da Silveira/Silva | |
| 11. Afonso Lopes da Costa (nta) | |
| 12. Vasco de Carvalho (nta) | |
| 13. Pedro Dias Pedro Dias Pedro Dias is a Google employee working for the Search Quality group.Together with Matt Cutts he is known in the SEO community for his efforts in external communications in Portuguese.-Further reading:-External links:... /Dinis de Setúbal (nta) |
omitted in some lists. See note below. |
[ No actual names of the ships are known. Only three small ships (naveta/caravel, denoted as 'nta' in the list) are clearly identified, uncertain who was actually commanding the fourth (if there was a fourth). The above list of captains is principally based on João de Barros
João de Barros
João de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
's Décadas (Dec. 1, Lib.7), Damião de Gois
Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
's Chronica, Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
's História and Quintella's Annaes da Marinha. The Relação das Naus da Índia introduces some of the name variations. As usual, Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
differs from the others: he omits Pedro Dias (or Dinis) de Setúbal, and introduces instead two small ships, one under Simão de Alcáçova, another under Cristóvão de Távora
Cristóvão de Távora
Cristóvão de Távora was a Portuguese colonial administrator. He was granted the captaincy of the Fortress of Sofala in Mozambique from 1508 until 1514.He was then Captain of Mozambique from 31 July 1515 to 1 July 1518....
, bringing the total to fourteen. To get thirteen again, Correia asserts the captain-major Lopo Soares Albergaria doesn't have his own ship, but is aboard the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça (at least on outbound journey)]
The admiral of the fleet (capitão-mor, captain-major) was Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque....
(sometimes called Lopo Soares de Alvarenga, or simply Lopo Soares). Albergaria was a middling noble, well-connected to the Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
family, and had served a successful term (1495–99) as captain-general of São Jorge da Mina
Elmina
Elmina, is a town in the Central Region, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast...
in the Portuguese Gold Coast
Portuguese Gold Coast
The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast on the Gulf of Guinea.-History:The Portuguese established the following settlements on the Gold Coast from January 21, 1482:...
(West Africa).
Lopo Soares de Albergaria sailed either on his own ship or on the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça. Lopo Abreu da Ilha may have been vice-admiral, although Leonel Coutinho may have been a higher noble. Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos was the nephew of influential Portuguese courtier and royal advisor Duarte Galvão.
Two of the captains are veterans of earlier expeditions. Pedro Afonso de Aguiar and Lopo Mendes de Vasconcellos had sailed in 4th Armada
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
of 1502.
There was private participation in the fleet. At least one of the ships was outfitted by Catarina Dias de Aguiar, a wealthy merchant woman from Lisbon.
The three or four small ships (navetas or caravels) were designated to remain in India, to bolster the coastal patrol.
The Mission
The 2nd India Armada2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
(1500) under Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
had opened hostilities between the Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
and the Zamorin of Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode), the dominant maritime power on the Malabar Coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
of India.
The large and well-armed 4th Armada
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
of 1502 led by Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
had hoped, by means of strong show of force, persuade the Zamorin to sue for terms. But in spite of terror, bombardment and blockade, the Zamorin had refused to yield. The Zamorin's defiance convinced Vasco da Gama that this was going to be a longer fight than he had anticipated, one that required more men and firepower than he had at hand. Gama's 4th Armada left India, intent on requesting a stronger fleet from Lisbon, with enough men and arms, if not to reduce Calicut, to at least defend the Portuguese-allied cities of Cochin (Cochim, Kochi) and Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
(Canonor, Kannur).
Gama delivered his report to Lisbon in 1503, too late to affect the outfitting of the 5th Armada
5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503)
The Fifth India Armada was assembled in 1503 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. It was Albuquerque's first trip to India. It was not a particularly successful armada - navigational mistakes scattered the fleet on the outward journey...
, which had left under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
a few months earlier. Although unequipped to challenge Calicut itself, the 5th Armada did enough to save Cochin from falling into the hands of the Zamorin's army and helped bolster its defenses by erecting a timber fort in the city.
Basing themselves only on Vasco da Gama's report, the 6th Armada that set out in early 1504 was equipped more purposefully, bringing more soldiers and ships to protect the Portuguese factories in Cochin and Cannanore. As noted explicitly in his regimento, Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque....
was under strict orders to accept no peace with the Zamorin of Calicut, and do what he could to harass Calicut.
Outward Voyage
April 22, 1504 - The 13 ships of the 6th Armada leave the TagusTagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
estuary.
May 2 - Ships arrive at the first collection point, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
. Lopo Soares announces that since they left Lisbon so late, there is no room for error. He lays down a set of strict sailing instructions, and warns pilots and masters he will dock their pay for every mistake.
June - Proceeding in good order, the 6th Armada reaches the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
.
June 25 - The 6th armada reaches Mozambique Island. There, Lopo Soares finds the testimonial letter left behind by Pêro de Ataíde
Pêro de Ataíde
Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde , nicknamed O Inferno , was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s...
, the former captain of the India patrol, who had died there a few months later. It is here that Lopo Soares learns of the debacle of the coastal patrol of Vicente Sodré
Vicente Sodré
Vicente Sodré , was a 16th C. Portuguese knight of Order of Christ and the captain of the first Portuguese naval patrol in the Indian Ocean. He was an uncle of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.- Background :...
and Calicut's attack on Cochin the previous Spring.
August 1 - Lopo Soares leaves Mozambique. Although instructed by his regimento to make a stop in Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
, it is possible he sails for India directly from Mozambique. But Damião de Góis
Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
reports the 6th Armada did stop at Malindi, and was (as usual) well-received by the Sultan of Malindi. The Sultan of Malindi not only resupplied the ships, but provided him a Muslim pilot named 'Debucar' and handed over to Lopo Soares 16 Portuguese shipwrecked sailors, survivors of Ataíde's capsized ship, whom had been collected by Malindi boats earlier that year. The 6th Armada remains in Malindi only two days, before setting off on their Indian Ocean crossing.
Lopo Soares in India
Ataide's letter gave Lopo Soares the news of India up until February, 1504. What Lopo Soares did not know (but probably could guess) was that at this very moment there was a desperate battle going on in CochinBattle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
. In March, the Zamorin of Calicut had launched a massive attack on Cochin, intending to capture the city and seize the Portuguese timber fortress. He brought some 57,000 troops, equipped with many Turkish firearms and Venetian guns. The tiny Portuguese garrison at Cochin, some 150 men under the command of Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
, by clever positioning, individual heroics and quite some luck, managed to fend off attack after attack by the Zamorin's army and fleet in the ensuing months. The last assault was launched in early July, after which the humiliated Zamorin called off the invasion.
August, 1504 - Crossing the Indian Ocean, the 6th Armada of Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives at Anjediva island. There they find two Portuguese ships repairing - those of António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.- Background :...
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco. They had been part of the third squadron of last year's 5th Armada
5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503)
The Fifth India Armada was assembled in 1503 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. It was Albuquerque's first trip to India. It was not a particularly successful armada - navigational mistakes scattered the fleet on the outward journey...
. They relate their sorry tale - how they got lost and separated in Africa, how they spent the winter season harassing East African ports and Red Sea shipping, and howw they were only able to undertake their Indian Ocean crossing this summer. They have no idea of the whereabouts of the third ship of their squadron, that of Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
, having lost track of it nearly a year ago.
[As it happens, Diogo Fernandes Pereira had wintered in Socotra
Socotra
Socotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...
by himself and undertook a solo crossing to India earlier in May; he arrived in Cochin just in time to help Duarte Pacheco fend off the last few assaults of the Zamorin.]
Late August/Early September, 1504 - Saldanha and Lourenço accompany Lopo Soares' 6th Armada down the coast to Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
. Arriving there, they finally hear fuller reports from factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa of the battle of Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
. Lopo Soares sets sail at once.
September 7, 1504 - The 6th Armada appears before Calicut. Lopo Soares dispatches a message demanding they hand over any and all Portuguese prisoners to him; moreover, he demands that they also deliver the two Venetian engineers who had been helping the Zamorin build European cannon. The Zamorin is absent from the city at the moment, but his ministers are willing to release the Portuguese prisoners. The Italians, however, they cannot. Restless, Lopo Soares has the 6th Armada subject Calicut to forty-eight hours of continuous shore bombardment, causing great damage.
Satisfied, the 6th Armada proceeds south to Cochin. They are met before Fort Manuel by the Trimumpara Raja and the tired Portuguese garrison. But Duarte Pacheco
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
himself is not there at the moment - he had recently left on a jaunt to Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
, to check on the Portuguese factory there. Greetings and gifts are exhanged - including a sizeable chunk of money sent by Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
to bolster the Trimumphara Raja's treasury.
With the Cochin spice markets starved by the recent siege, Lopo Soares sets about collecting spices from elsewhere. Four or five ships (Lopes da Costa, Aguiar, Coutinho, Abreu and perhaps another) are sent down to Quilon
Quilon
Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...
to load up. Two ships (Pêro de Mendonça and Vasco Carvalho) are sent out to patrol the coast south of Calicut, and seize whatever merchant ships they can (and take their spice cargoes), while Tristão da Silva, joined by five bateis (pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s) are dispatched on patrol duty inside the lagoon.
Hearing of the armada's arrival, Duarte Pacheco (then in Quilon) sets sail back to Cochin, and meets Lopo Soares on September 14 (October 22 according to Castanheda).
Raid on Cranganore
October, 1504 While in Cochin, Lopo Soares receives reports that the Zamorin of Calicut has dispatched a force to fortify Cranganore, the port city at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon, and the usual entry point for the Zamorin's army and fleet into the Kerala backwatersKerala Backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state...
. Reading this as a preparation for a renewed attack on Cochin after the 6th Armada leaves, Lopo Soares decides on a preemptive strike
Preemptive strike
A preemptive strike refers to a surprise attack launched with the stated intention of countering an anticipated enemy offensive. Preemptive strike may also refer to:...
. He orders a squadron of around ten fighting ships and numerous Cochinese bateis and paraus, to head up there. The heavier ships, unable to make their way into the shallow channels, anchor at Palliport
Pallippuram, Ernakulam
Pallippuram is a village on Vypeen island, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. The village is located approximately 25 k.m. from Ernakulam and 20 k.m. from Cochin International Airport. The east border is Veeranpuzha, the north extension of Vembanad Lake and the Indian Ocean in the west...
(Pallipuram, on the outer edge of Vypin
Vypin
Vypin or Vypeen is one among a group of islands, that form part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. The island is about 27 km long...
island), while those ships, bateis and paraus that can continue on.
Converging on Cranganore, the Portuguese-Cochinese fleet quickly disperses the Zamorin's forces on the beach with cannonfire, and then lands an amphibian assault force - some 1,000 Portuguese and 1,000 Cochinese Nairs, who take on the rest of the Zamorin's forces in close combat. The Zamorin's forces are defeated and driven away from the city.
The assault troops capture Cranganore, and subject the ancient city, the once-great Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
capital of Kerala, to a thorough and violent sacking and razing. Deliberate fires were already started by squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and factor Diogo Fernandes Correa, while the main fighting was still going on. They quickly consume most of the city, save for the Syrian Christian
Saint Thomas Christians
The Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St...
quarters, which are carefully spared (Jewish
Cochin Jews
Cochin Jews, also called Malabar Jews , are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots claimed to date to the time of King Solomon, though historically attested migration dates from the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Historically, they lived in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now part of the...
and Muslim
Mappila
Mappila or Moplah refers to a Muslim community of Kerala, primarily in the northern region called Malabar, which arose in Malabar as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts. Significant numbers of the community are also present in the southern districts of Karnataka and western parts of...
homes are not given the same consideration).
In the meantime, the Calicut fleet, some 5 ships and 80 paraus, that had been dispatched to save the city are intercepted by the idling Portuguese ships near Palliport
Pallippuram, Ernakulam
Pallippuram is a village on Vypeen island, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, south India. The village is located approximately 25 k.m. from Ernakulam and 20 k.m. from Cochin International Airport. The east border is Veeranpuzha, the north extension of Vembanad Lake and the Indian Ocean in the west...
and defeated in a naval encounter.
Two days later, the Portuguese receive an urgent message from the ruler of Tanur (Tanore), whose kingdom lay to the north, on the road between Calicut and Cranganore. The raja of Tanur had come to loggerheads with his overlord, the Zamorin, and offered to place himself under Portuguese suzerainity instead, in return for military assistance. He reports that a Calicut column, led by the Zamorin himself, had been assembled in a hurry to try to save Cranganore, but that he managed to block its passage at Tanur. Lopo Soares immediately dispatches Pêro Rafael with a caravel and a sizeable Portuguese armed force to assist the Tanurese. The Zamorin's column is defeated and dispersed soon after its arrival.
The raid on Cranganore and the defection of Tanur are serious setbacks to the Zamorin, pushing the frontline north and effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Zamorin's reach. Any hopes the Zamorin had of quickly resuming his attempts to capture Cochin via the backwaters are effectively dashed.
No less importantly, the battles at Cranganore and Tanur, which involved significant numbers of Malabari captains and troops, clearly demonstrated that the Zamorin was no longer feared in the region. The Battle of Cochin had broken his authority. Cranganore and Tanur showed that Malabaris were no longer afraid of defying his authority and taking up arms against him. The Portuguese were no longer just a passing nuisance, a handful of terrifying pirates who came and went once a year. They were a permanent disturbance, turning the old order upside down. A new chapter was being opened on the Malabar coast.
Departure from Cochin
Late December, 1504 His naus loaded with spices from Cochin, Quilon and stolen merchant ships, Lopo Soares prepares his departure from Cochin. Duarte Pacheco PereiraDuarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
, the hero of the battle of Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
, is slated to be relieved. (It is said the Trimumpara Raja
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
of Cochin was beside himself with grief and did everything he could to persuade Lopo Soares to let Duarte Pacheco stay on; but bowing to inevitability, the Trimumpara offered Duarte Pacheco a free cargo of pepper as personal reward for his services. Duarte Pacheco, knowing how the Trimumpara Raja had been personally impoverished by the war, refused to take it.)
Duarte Pacheco's replacement as capitão-mor of Fort Manuel of Cochin is nobleman Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos (or Manuel Telles Barreto, according to Barros). Lopo Soares leaves Manuel Telles with three (possibly four) ships: one nau, and two caravels, under the commands of Diogo Pires
Diogo Pires
José Diego Pires is Brazilian football player, who plays for ŠK Slovan Bratislava.He has a gifted left foot, one of the main free kick takers.-External links:* at transfermarkt.de...
and Pêro Rafael (and possibly Cristovão Jusarte (Lisuarte Pereira?)), all veterans of the battle of Cochin. Lopo Soares annexes what remains of the earlier fleets (e.g., Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
, Antonio de Saldanha
António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.- Background :...
, etc.) into the 6th Armada. Overall, Lopo Soares is bringing back to Lisbon two more ships than he left with.
Battle of Pandarane
December 31, 1504 - Setting out from Cochin, the 6th Armada first heads north, intending to dock briefly at the port of PonnaniPonnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
, in order to pay his respects to his new ally, the raja of Tanur. While negotiating entry at the port (Ponnani doesn't actually belong to Tanur, which is further inland), Lopo Soares receives a message that a large Arab-Egyptian
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
fleet ('Moors from Cairo and Mecca') - some 17 Arab ships, 4000 men - had arrived at Pandarane (Pantalyini Kollam), a spacious port just north of Calicut.
They had not come on a military mission, but only to evacuate expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
merchants and their families from Calicut and bring them home to Egypt and Arabia.
Calculating that the ships are probably loaded with the evacuating rich families' valuable belongings and treasures, Lopo Soares cannot resist. The naus being too loaded with spices to maneouver properly, Lopo Soares decides to send them on to Cannanore
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
, and attack the Pandarane fleet with just two caravels and 15 Malabari bateis (pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s), loaded with around 360 Portuguese soldiers. It is a bold venture, but Lopo Soares traps the Egyptian fleet in Pandarane harbor and in the subsequent ferocious battle, succeeds in capturing and plundering the Arab fleet, killing some 2,000 defenders in the process. Portuguese casualties are not light - at 23 dead, 170 wounded, that is about half the force, more than Duarte Pacheco lost in all his encounters at Cochin
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
a few months earlier.
Return Voyage
Early January, 1505 After a brief stop in CannanoreKannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
, Lopo Soares and the 6th Armada set sail back across the Indian Ocean.
February 1, 1505 The 6th Armada arrives at Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
. Here they pick up some of the treasure António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha
António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.- Background :...
and Rui Lourenço Ravasco had deposited from their predatory ventures around East Africa and Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui , also known as Ras Asir and historically as Aromata promontorium, is a headland in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Located in the autonomous Puntland region, it forms the geographical apex of the region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.-Location:Cape Guardafui...
the previous year.
February 10, 1505 The 6th Armada arrives at Kilwa
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate was a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa , whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi...
, where Lopo Soares announces his intention to collect the yearly tribute from the city due to King Manuel I of Portugal (imposed by Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
back in 1502.) But the ruling Emir Ibrahim refuses. Lopo Soares, his ships too loaded to risk damage in a confrontation, decides to sail on.
Mid-February, 1505 - The 6th Armada makes a stop in Mozambique Island for recuperation and re-supply. Realizing it is going to be a two-week stay, Lopo Soares dispatches two ships - Pêro de Mendonça and Lopo de Abreu - ahead of him to Lisbon to announce the results. Pêro de Mendonça's ship will be lost somewhere after Cape Correntes
Cape Correntes
Cape Correntes is a cape or headland in the Inhambane Province in Mozambique. It sits at the southern entry of the Mozambique Channel.•...
, capsized somewhere on the South African coast, and will never heard from again. Lopo de Abreu will arrive in Lisbon in mid-July.
July 22, 1505 - About nine days after Lopo de Abreu's arrival, Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives in Lisbon. Save for Pêro de Mendonça, the fleet is intact. The 6th Armada's cargo, noted as one of the best ones yet brought back from India, is well-received. But even more well-received is Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, called the Great, was a 15th century Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde islands, along the coast of West Africa and to India...
, whose exploits Lopo de Abreu had already related to the court. King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
orders an elaborate reception and public celebrations to honor of the hero of Cochin.
Aftermath
Overall, the 6th Armada was a success. Notwithstanding the casualties at Pandarane and the loss of Pêro de Mendonça's ship, it was a comparatively successful run. The cargo was particularly splendid, the military achievements - Cochin, Cranganore, Tanur - strategically important. The particular news about SocotraSocotra
Socotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...
- discovered by Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
, but who was only now returning to report it - was also highly valued.
1504 was the year where the old order on the Malabar coast was finally broken - the Zamorin's authority was fragmenting, the Arab merchants were fleeing, Portuguese allies were no longer tentative and few, but confident and growing. The question for the Portuguese was no longer 'how can we break into the spice trade?', but 'we have broken it, now what?'. The Portuguese seemed to now have a chance to write the next chapter of the history of Kerala and the spice trade. And the next fleet, the 7th Armada
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
sent out in the Spring of 1505 under D. Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
, very much intended to write it.
For the Zamorin, 1504 was a veritable nightmare. The humiliations at Cochin, the destruction of Cranganore, the defections of his vassals, permanently changed the landscape of Kerala, and his prospects for survival. His strategy of trying to force the Portuguese to peace on his terms, to behave like other foreign merchants, to respect the existing order, had backfired dramatically.
Lopo Soares's destruction of the Arab-Egyptian fleet at Pandarane must also have seemed like a blow to the Zamorin. He had urgently hoped to cajole the Arabs not to abandon him, to come to his aid and help him bring the misbehaving Portuguese to heel. After Pandarane, the Zamorin feared the Arabs might not wish to risk such losses again, and just leave Calicut out to dry.
But his fears of abandonment were mislaid, for at this very moment preparations were being launched in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
to strike back at the Portuguese forcefully. The Mameluke sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was the second last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last of the Burji dynasty, he reigned from 1501 to 1516.On the disappearance of Sultan Al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tuman bay I, it was not till after some days that the choice of the Emirs and Mamluks fell upon Al-Ashraf...
of Egypt had thus far taken a passive stance to the Portuguese havoc in his rear, e.g. evacuating his nationals from India, widening the port of Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
to shelter Muslim ships chased by Portuguese pirates. But the repeated appeals of the Zamorin of Calicut, backed up by the rulers of Gujarat
Gujarat Sultanate
The Gujarat Sultanate was an independent kingdom established in the early 15th century in Gujarat. The founder of the ruling Muzaffarid dynasty, Zafar Khan was appointed as governor of Gujarat by Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad bin Tughluq IV in 1391, the ruler of the principal state in north India at the...
and Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
and Kilwa
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate was a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa , whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi...
, and the Venetian Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
were growing deafening. His own ministers must have pointed out how badly this was hurting the Sultan's treasury, all the customs dues and taxes being lost from the Portuguese disruption of the Red Sea spice trade and the Mecca pilgrim traffic. In late 1504, the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt was finally persuaded that active measures must be taken - not merely to get the Portuguese to behave, but to drive them out of the Indian Ocean altogether.
Sources
- João de BarrosJoão de BarrosJoão de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
(1552–59) Décadas da Ásia: Dos feitos, que os Portuguezes fizeram no descubrimento, e conquista, dos mares, e terras do Oriente.. Dec. I, Lib 7.
- Fernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
(1551–1560) História do descobrimento & conquista da Índia pelos portugueses [1833 edition]
- Gaspar CorreiaGaspar CorreiaGaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
(c.1550s) Lendas da Índia, first pub. 1858-64, in Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias.
- Damião de GóisDamião de GóisDamiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
(1566–67) Crónica do Felicíssimo Rei D. Manuel
- Jerónimo Osório (1586) De rebus Emmanuelis [trans. 1752 by J. Gibbs as The History of the Portuguese during the Reign of Emmanuel London: Millar]
Secondary:
- Bouchon, G. (1976) "La premier voyage to Lopo Soares de Albergaria, 1504-05", Mare Luso-Indicum, Vol. 3, p. 57-84.
- Dames, M.L. (1918) "Introduction" in An Account Of The Countries Bordering On The Indian Ocean And Their Inhabitants, Vol. 1 (Engl. transl. of Livro de Duarte de Barbosa), 2005 reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services.
- Danvers, F.C. (1894) The Portuguese in India, being a history of the rise and decline of their eastern empire. 2 vols, London: Allen.
- Ferguson, D. (1907) "The Discovery of Ceylon by the Portuguese in 1506", Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 19, No. 59 p. 284-400 offprint
- Logan, W. (1887) Malabar Manual, 2004 reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services.
- Mathew, K.S. (1997) "Indian Naval Encounters with the Portuguese: Strengths and weaknesses", in Kurup, editor, India's Naval Traditions. New Delhi: Northern Book Centre.
- Pedroso, S. J. (1881) Resumo historico ácerca da antiga India Portugueza Lisbon: Castro Irmão
- Quintella, Ignaco da Costa (1839–40) Annaes da Marinha Portugueza, 2 vols, Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias.
- Subrahmanyam, S. (1997) The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Whiteway, R. S. (1899) The Rise of Portuguese Power in India, 1497-1550. Westminster: Constable.