Second Battle of Tamao (1522)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Tamao was a naval battle when the Ming Dynasty
Imperial Navy defeated a Portuguese navy led by Martim Afonso in 1522.
Tamao was the Portuguese name for Tunmen, also known as Tou-men.
at August to conduct negotiations with the Chinese, due to relations being strained between China and Portugal. Portuguese like Simão de Andrade had been kidnapping Chinese children to sell in Malacca
, and ignored Chinese sovereign authority at Tamao, building a fort. Among the rumors spread was that Simao and other Portuguese were cannibalizing Chinese children for food. The Chinese responded by blockading the Portuguese.
The Portuguese wanted China to allow them to use Tunmen as a base, and place a fort at its location.
The Portuguese had also conquered the Muslim Malay Malacca Sultanate
at the Capture of Malacca (1511)
. The Malacca Sultanate was an ally of China, and China demanded that the Portuguese withdraw from Malacca and restore the Malay sultan to the throne. The Chinese were notified of the Portuguese conquest of Malacca by the Sultan, and they were displeased about it.
The Chinese held an entire Portuguese diplomatic mission hostage, with Pires as its leader, trying to force the Portuguese to return Malacca to the Sultan in exchange for Pires to be released. This occurred in 1521.
The Portuguese came up with a false explanation that they conquered Melaka due to "the local ruler's tyrannies against the Chinese", which made the Chinese even more suspicious of the Portuguese.
Simao's activities, which were piratical in nature, angered the Chinese people and the Chinese government, which led to the Chinese officials to order the eviction of the Tunmen Portuguese.
The Chinese destroyed one vessel by blowing up its gunpowder magazine, and captured another Portuguese ship. Martim Afonso was forced to escape back to Malacca
, which he reached by October.
During the battle, Chinese artillery destroyed the ship of the Portuguese Captain Diogo De Mello, killing him.
Yang San and Tai Ming , assisted the Chinese commander Wang Hong in constructing artillery and firearms which were used to defeat the Portuguese. They had experience interacting with Portuguese before.
This battle was noted for the Chinese usage of cannon to destroy the Portuguese forces.
The Chinese gained war booty in the form of Portuguese cannons and displayed them at the Imperial Court. The Chinese then reverse engineered the Portuguese cannons, building their own copies and using them. The cannon were named "Feringis" by the Chinese. (Ferengis is Falanxi in Chinese, which means "Frankish", a word used by many asian peoples to refer to western Europeans. The Persians and Turks called the Europeans "Farangi".)
He Ru, who had recruited Yang San and Dai Ming to successfully covertly obtain artillery making secrets from the Portuguese, was elevated to higher rank after the battle, and was place in charge of manufacturing breech loading artillery reverse engineered from captured Portuguese cannon, whih replaced existing Chinese cannon.
Only three Portuguese ships returned from the battle.
Another battle occurred in 1523 at Hsi-ts'ao wan, when the Chinese again defeated the Portuguese. Hsi-ts'ao an alternate spelling for Xicao.
Hengqin island is located to the south of Tunmen, Xicao Bay is located to the south of Zhuhai city's Sanzao island.
The Chinese used Portuguese prisoners to compose letters demanding that Portugal cease its occupation of Malacca to hand it back to the Malay Sultan. The Malay Ambassador to China was fearful for his life, so he refused to deliver the message to the Portuguese lest he be killed by them. The Chinese did not even know if the Malay Sultan was alive, so they sent a junk to track him down. It found him, and the Malay Sultan sent a message requesting assistance from the Chinese since the Malays were under Portuguese attack. In 1524 the Chinese sent the Malay ambassadors Tuan Mohammed and Cojacao to send the mesage to the Portuguese. They got lost at sea.
The Portuguese Jorge de Albuquerque requested immediate assitance from the King of Portugal on January 1, 1524, for him to send the Captain-major, because he feared that the Chinese would come to retake Malacca and punish the Portuguese for destroying the Sultanate.
The Chinese built several new massive naval fleets of war junks to prepare for new Portuguese invasions, however, the attacks did not happen, and the fleet was left to decay, the entire fleet disappearing by 1528.
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Imperial Navy defeated a Portuguese navy led by Martim Afonso in 1522.
Tamao was the Portuguese name for Tunmen, also known as Tou-men.
Causes
Martim Afonso de Mello started with six vessels from Malacca on 10 the July 1522 and arrived at TamaoTamao
Tamao may refer to:* 31061 Tamao, an asteroid discovered on October 10, 1996* Tuen Mun, by its Portuguese name* Japanese female give name-Persons with the given name Tamao:* Tamao Hayashi, a Japanese seiyu...
at August to conduct negotiations with the Chinese, due to relations being strained between China and Portugal. Portuguese like Simão de Andrade had been kidnapping Chinese children to sell in Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, and ignored Chinese sovereign authority at Tamao, building a fort. Among the rumors spread was that Simao and other Portuguese were cannibalizing Chinese children for food. The Chinese responded by blockading the Portuguese.
The Portuguese wanted China to allow them to use Tunmen as a base, and place a fort at its location.
The Portuguese had also conquered the Muslim Malay Malacca Sultanate
Malacca Sultanate
Established by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
at the Capture of Malacca (1511)
Capture of Malacca (1511)
The Capture of Malacca in 1511 occurred when the Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque subdued the city of Malacca in 1511.The port city of Malacca controlled the narrow strategic strait of Malacca, through which all sea-going trade between China and India was concentrated...
. The Malacca Sultanate was an ally of China, and China demanded that the Portuguese withdraw from Malacca and restore the Malay sultan to the throne. The Chinese were notified of the Portuguese conquest of Malacca by the Sultan, and they were displeased about it.
The Chinese held an entire Portuguese diplomatic mission hostage, with Pires as its leader, trying to force the Portuguese to return Malacca to the Sultan in exchange for Pires to be released. This occurred in 1521.
The Portuguese came up with a false explanation that they conquered Melaka due to "the local ruler's tyrannies against the Chinese", which made the Chinese even more suspicious of the Portuguese.
Simao's activities, which were piratical in nature, angered the Chinese people and the Chinese government, which led to the Chinese officials to order the eviction of the Tunmen Portuguese.
The Battle
The Chinese had expelled Simão de Andrade and his Portuguese troops from Tamao the year before. The Chinese went on the offensive against Martim, assuming he was there for the same purpose as Simão. The Malay Sultan of Malacca also sent an ambasador to the Chinese, warning that the Portuguese had evil intentions. Muslim traders already present in Canton in China were hostile towards the Portuguese, wanting to keep their monopoly of trade with the Chinese.The Chinese destroyed one vessel by blowing up its gunpowder magazine, and captured another Portuguese ship. Martim Afonso was forced to escape back to Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, which he reached by October.
During the battle, Chinese artillery destroyed the ship of the Portuguese Captain Diogo De Mello, killing him.
Yang San and Tai Ming , assisted the Chinese commander Wang Hong in constructing artillery and firearms which were used to defeat the Portuguese. They had experience interacting with Portuguese before.
This battle was noted for the Chinese usage of cannon to destroy the Portuguese forces.
Aftermath
All sides suffered serious casualties. The Portuguese lost 42 men, who were taken into custody by the Chinese along with 2 ships after the violent battle. In Guangzhou (Canton), Chinese officials condemned the prisoners to death, and the remaining Portuguese were put to death on September 23, 1523.The Chinese gained war booty in the form of Portuguese cannons and displayed them at the Imperial Court. The Chinese then reverse engineered the Portuguese cannons, building their own copies and using them. The cannon were named "Feringis" by the Chinese. (Ferengis is Falanxi in Chinese, which means "Frankish", a word used by many asian peoples to refer to western Europeans. The Persians and Turks called the Europeans "Farangi".)
He Ru, who had recruited Yang San and Dai Ming to successfully covertly obtain artillery making secrets from the Portuguese, was elevated to higher rank after the battle, and was place in charge of manufacturing breech loading artillery reverse engineered from captured Portuguese cannon, whih replaced existing Chinese cannon.
Only three Portuguese ships returned from the battle.
Another battle occurred in 1523 at Hsi-ts'ao wan, when the Chinese again defeated the Portuguese. Hsi-ts'ao an alternate spelling for Xicao.
Hengqin island is located to the south of Tunmen, Xicao Bay is located to the south of Zhuhai city's Sanzao island.
The Chinese used Portuguese prisoners to compose letters demanding that Portugal cease its occupation of Malacca to hand it back to the Malay Sultan. The Malay Ambassador to China was fearful for his life, so he refused to deliver the message to the Portuguese lest he be killed by them. The Chinese did not even know if the Malay Sultan was alive, so they sent a junk to track him down. It found him, and the Malay Sultan sent a message requesting assistance from the Chinese since the Malays were under Portuguese attack. In 1524 the Chinese sent the Malay ambassadors Tuan Mohammed and Cojacao to send the mesage to the Portuguese. They got lost at sea.
The Portuguese Jorge de Albuquerque requested immediate assitance from the King of Portugal on January 1, 1524, for him to send the Captain-major, because he feared that the Chinese would come to retake Malacca and punish the Portuguese for destroying the Sultanate.
The Chinese built several new massive naval fleets of war junks to prepare for new Portuguese invasions, however, the attacks did not happen, and the fleet was left to decay, the entire fleet disappearing by 1528.