Misplaced Pages

His LordshipD. Francisco de Almeida
1st Viceroy of Portuguese India
In office 12 September 1505 – 4 November 1509
Monarch	Manuel I of Portugal
Preceded by	Tristão da Cunha (designate; never took office)
Succeeded by	Afonso de Albuquerque
Personal details
Born	Francisco de Almeida ca. 1450 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	1 March 1510 (aged 59–60) Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope
Children	Lourenço de Almeida
Occupation	Soldier, explorer, viceroy of Portuguese India
Known for	Establishment of Portuguese naval hegemony in the Indian Ocean.

Dom Francisco de Almeida (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku ðɨ alˈmɐjðɐ]), also known as the Great Dom Francisco (c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), 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. In 1505 he was appointed as the first governor and viceroy of the Portuguese State of India (Estado da Índia). Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean with his victory at the naval Battle of Diu in 1509. Before Almeida returned to Portugal he lost his life in a conflict with indigenous people at the Cape of Good Hope in 1510. His only son Lourenço de Almeida had previously been killed in the Battle of Chaul.

Exploits as soldier

Almeida was born at Lisbon. As was customary for men in his social circle, he joined the military at an early age. In 1476 he took part in the Battle of Toro. Then he fought in conflicts in different parts of Morocco and in 1492 participated in the Christian conquest of Granada on the side of the Castilians.

Mission to the east

In 1505 King Manuel I of Portugal made Almeida, then in his mid-fifties, the first viceroy of Portuguese India (Estado da Índia). With an armada of 22 ships, including 14 carracks and 6 caravels, Almeida departed from Lisbon on 25 March 1505. The armada carried a crew of 1,500 soldiers. The flagship was the carrack São Rafael captained by Fernão Soares. The mission's primary aims were to bring the spice trade under Portuguese control, build forts along the east African and Indian coasts, further Portuguese spice trade through alliances with local chieftains, and construct trading posts.

African conquest

Almeida rounded the Cape of Good Hope and entered African coastal waters again at Sofala and the Island of Mozambique, whence they proceeded northwards to the coastal settlement of Kilwa. In July 1505 they employed 8 ships to attack and conquer the roughly 4,000-strong population of this harbour town. Because of the good harbour that the town provided, sufficient for anchoring ships of up to 500 tons, the Portuguese decided to build a fort here. For this purpose Pêro Ferreira and a crew of 80 soldiers remained in the town.

In 1505, Francisco d'Almeida arrived with eleven heavily armed ships that destroyed Kilwa, Barawa and Mombasa, a coastal port further north. The city with a population of about 10,000 was conquered in heavy combat against the troops of the local Arab sheikh. The city was plundered and torched. The Portuguese were assisted in this attack by an enemy of Mombasa, the Sultan of Melinde. The same month a caravel of Almeida's fleet captained by John (João) Homere captured Zanzibar island and claimed it for Portugal.

Viceroy in India

On 25 March 1505, Francisco de Almeida was appointed as Viceroy of India, on the condition that he would set up four forts on the southwestern Indian coast: at Anjediva Island, Cannanore, Cochin and Quilon. Francisco de Almeida left Portugal with a fleet of 22 vessels with 1,500 men.

On 13 September, Francisco de Almeida reached Anjediva Island, where he immediately started the construction of Fort Anjediva. On 23 October, he started, with the permission of the friendly ruler Kōlattiri, the building of St. Angelo Fort in Cannanore, leaving Lourenço de Brito in charge with 150 men and two ships.

Francisco de Almeida then reached Cochin on 31 October 1505, with only eight vessels left. There he learnt that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been killed. He decided to send his son Lourenço with 6 ships, who wantonly destroyed 27 Calicut vessels in the harbour of Quilon. Almeida took up residence in Cochin. He strengthened the Portuguese fortifications of Fort Manuel on Cochin.

The Zamorin of Calicut prepared a large fleet of 200 ships to oppose the Portuguese, but in March 1506 De Almeida's son Lourenço de Almeida intercepted Zamorin's fleet in a sea battle at the entrance to the harbour of Cannanore, the Battle of Cannanore, and inflicted heavy losses. Hereupon Lourenço de Almeida explored the coastal waters southwards to Colombo, in modern-day Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the Zamorin succeeded in convincing the Kōlattiri of Cannanore of the true imperialistic motives of Portuguese in Kerala. The Kōlattiri was already annoyed and angered with the Portuguese for their violation of the safe conduct guaranteed to the ships of Muslim merchants of Cannanore. The Kōlattiri joined the fight against the Portuguese, besieging Fort St. Angelo at the Siege of Cannanore.

In 1507 Almeida's mission was strengthened by the arrival of Tristão da Cunha's squadron. Afonso de Albuquerque's squadron had, however, split from that of Cunha off east Africa and was independently conquering territories to the west.

In March 1508, at the request of the Arab merchants of Calicut, an Egyptian fleet under the command of Amir Husain Al-Kurdi (Mir Hussain) of the Mameluk Egyptian attacked and defeated the Portuguese squadron under command of Lourenço de Almeida at Chaul in the Battle of Chaul. Lourenço de Almeida was killed in this battle and this led to a temporary retreat by the Portuguese from Indian waters.

Afonso de Albuquerque arrived at Cannanore at the close of 1508 and immediately made known a hitherto secret commission he had received from the King empowering him as governor to replace Almeida at the end of his term as viceroy. Almeida, determined to avenge the death of his son and free the Portuguese prisoners taken at Chaul, refused to recognize Albuquerque's credentials immediately, and later arrested him.

In 1509, Almeida became the first Portuguese to arrive by ship in Bombay. He sought Meliqueaz, to whom he had written a menacing letter, and the Mameluk Mirocem, fiercely engaging them at the naval Battle of Diu on 3 February 1509 commanding a fleet of 23 ships near the port of Diu. He inflicted a decisive defeat on a joint fleet from the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Sultan of Gujarat, with technical naval support from the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), which feared for their eastern trade links.

His victory was decisive: the Ottomans and Egyptians left the Indian Ocean, enabling a Portuguese trade monopoly over Indian waters for over 100 years, into the 17th century when it was ended by the Dutch and English. Albuquerque was released after three months' confinement, on the arrival of the grand-marshal of Portugal with a large fleet, in November 1509.

Return and death

Almeida sailed for Portugal in December 1509 and reached Table Bay near the Cape of Good Hope, where the Garcia, Belém and Santa Cruz dropped anchor in late February 1510 to replenish water. There they encountered the local indigenous people, the ǃUriǁ'aikua (recorded as "Goringhaiqua", a Khoe-speaking clan). After friendly trade with the ǃUriǁ'aikua, some of the crew visited their nearby village, situated in modern-day Observatory where they tried to steal some of the locals' cattle. Almeida allowed his captains Pedro and Jorge Barreto to return to the village on the morning of 1 March 1510. The village's cattle herd was raided with the loss of one man, while Almeida awaited his men some distance from the beach. As the flagship's master Diogo d'Unhos had moved the landing boats to a watering point, the Portuguese were left without a means of retreat. The ǃUriǁ'aikua sensed the opportunity for an attack, during which Almeida and 64 of his men perished, including 11 of his captains. Almeida's body was recovered the same afternoon and buried on the shore front of the current Cape Town. An archivist, Nicolaas Vergunst, suggested in a 2011 book that De Almeida was the victim of a plot by his own men, who intentionally cut off his retreat after the planned provocation of the ǃUriǁ'aikua

Relatives and subjects

Almeida was the son of the 1st Count of Abrantes and one of a number of highly distinguished siblings including two bishops, an ambassador to the Holy See and the Portuguese head of the Order of Malta. His son, Lourenço, was killed in the battle of Chaul, but he was survived by a daughter, Leonor, who was married twice: with Dom Rodrigo de Melo, Count of Tentúgal, precursor of the Dukes of Cadaval, and with Francisco de Mendonça, of the House of the Alcaides de Mourão. He also had a bastard daughter, Susana, who married Diogo de Barbuda, Alcaide of Seia. Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães) accompanied Almeida to the east, but was promoted to captain and only returned in 1512 after losing that commission.

See also

• Lourenço de Almeida, his son
• 7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
• Chronology of European exploration of Asia
• Gujarati-Portuguese conflicts
• First Luso-Malabarese War

References

1. Marjay, Frederic Pedro; Habsburg, Otto von (1965). Portugal, Pioneer of New Horizons: Documentary Proof of Portuguese Priority in Discovering the Secrets of the Globe. Lisboa: Livraria Bertrand. p. 34.
2. ^ Logan, William (2000) . Malabar Manual. Vol. 1. New Delhi: J. Jetley for Asian Educational Services. p. 312. ISBN 81-206-0446-6.
3. Sreedhara, A. Menon (1967). A Survey of Kerala History. D.C. Books Kottayam. p. 152.
4. Guilmartin, John E. (1995). "The Military Revolution: Origins and First Tests Abroad". In Rogers, Clifford J. (ed.). The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe. San Francisco: Westview Press. pp. 299–333. ISBN 0-8133-2053-4.
5. Pelúcia, Alexandra (2016). Afonso de Albuquerque : corte, cruzada e império (in Portuguese) (1a edição ed.). Lisboa: Temas e Debates - Círculo dos Leitores. pp. 193–195. ISBN 978-989-644-337-5. OCLC 958470506.
6. Khoisan, Zenzile (27 February 2016). "Invaders Received a Lesson in Warfare". IOL. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
7. Johnson, David (2012). Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7486-4308-0.
8. "An Attempt to Falsify African History". The Herald. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
9. City of Cape Town (June 2014). Stories of the South Peninsula: Historical Research, Stories and Heritage Tourism Opportunities in the South Peninsula (PDF).
10. Vergunst, Nicolaas (25 March 2012). "Knot of Stone: The Day that Changed South Africa's History". Knot of Stone. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
11. Vergunst, Nicolaas (29 April 2012). "5. First Encounters, Lasting Legacies—Part Two". Knot of Stone. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
12. Mendonça, Manuel Lamas; Soveral, Manuel Abranches de (2004). Furtado (Os) de Mendonça Portugueses (in Portuguese). Ed. dos autores. p. 81. ISBN 972-97430-7-X.
13. Soveral, Manuel Abranches de. "Mello e Souza". Manuel Abranches de Soveral - História e genealogia (in Portuguese). p. III. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

• Fernão Lopes de Castanheda's account of Almeida's mission

External links

• Francisco de Almeida in the German National Library catalogue
• Blue Water Policy
• The Story of Almeida, by Ian D. Colvin, The Baldwin Project
• Paul Lunde, The coming of the Portuguese, 2006, Saudi Aramco World
• Knot of Stone: the day that changed South Africa's History, 2011, by Nicolaas Vergunst, Arena Books, UK

v t e Governors and Viceroys of the Portuguese State of India (1505–1961)
Kingdom	Dom Francisco de Almeida 1505–1509 Afonso de Albuquerque 1510–15 Lopo Soares de Albergaria 1515–18 Diogo Lopes de Sequeira 1518–22 Dom Duarte de Menezes 1522–24 Dom Vasco da Gama 1524 Dom Henrique de Menezes 1525–26 Lopo Vaz de Sampaio 1526–29 Nuno da Cunha 1529–38 Dom Garcia de Noronha 1538–40 Dom Estêvão da Gama 1540–42 Martim Afonso de Sousa 1542–45 Dom João de Castro 1545–48 Garcia de Sá 1548–49 Jorge Cabral 1549–50 Dom Afonso de Noronha 1550–54 Pedro Mascarenhas 1554–55 Francisco Barreto 1555–58 Dom Constantino de Bragança 1558–61 Dom Francisco Coutinho 1561–64 João de Mendonça 1564 Dom António de Noronha 1564–68 Dom Luís de Ataíde 1568–71 Dom António de Noronha "Catarraz" 1571–73 António Moniz Barreto 1573–76 Dom Diogo de Menezes 1576–78 Fernão Teles de Menezes 1581 Francisco de Mascarenhas 1581–84 Dom Duarte de Menezes 1584–88 Dom Manuel de Sousa Coutinho 1588–91 Matias de Albuquerque 1591–97 Dom Francisco da Gama 1597–1600 Aires de Saldanha 1600–05 Martim Afonso de Castro 1605–07 Aleixo de Meneses 1607–09 André Furtado de Mendonça 1609–10 Rui Lourenço de Távora 1610–12 Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo 1612–17 Dom João Coutinho 1617–19 Fernão de Albuquerque 1619–22 D. Francisco da Gama (second time) 1622–28 Luís de Brito e Meneses 1629–29 Miguel de Noronha 1629–35 Pero da Silva 1635–39 António Teles de Meneses 1639–40 João da Silva Telo e Meneses 1640–44 Filipe Mascarenhas 1644–51 João da Silva Telo e Meneses 1651 Vasco Mascarenhas 1652–55 Brás de Castro 1655 Rodrigo Lobo da Silveira 1655–56 Manuel Mascarenhas Homem 1656 António de Melo e Castro 1662–66 João Nunes da Cunha 1666–68 Luís de Mendonça Furtado e Albuquerque 1671–76 Dom Pedro de Almeida 1676–78 António Brandão 1678–81 Francisco de Távora 1681–86 Rodrigo da Costa 1686–90 Dom Miguel de Almeida 1690–91 Pedro António de Meneses Noronha de Albuquerque 1692–97 António Luís Gonçalves da Câmara Coutinho 1697–1701 Caetano de Melo e Castro 1702–1707 Dom Rodrigo da Costa 1707–12 Vasco Fernandes César de Meneses 1712–17 Sebastião de Andrade Pessanha 1717 Luís Carlos Inácio Xavier de Meneses 1717–20 Francisco José de Sampaio e Castro 1720–23 Cristóvão de Melo 1723 João de Saldanha da Gama 1725–32 Pedro de Mascarenhas 1732–40 Luís Carlos Inácio Xavier de Meneses 1740–42 Pedro Miguel de Almeida Portugal e Vasconcelos 1745–50 Francisco de Assis de Távora 1750–54 Luís Mascarenhas 1754–56 Manuel de Saldanha e Albuquerque 1758–65 João José de Melo 1768–74 Filipe de Valadares Sotomaior 1774 Dom José Pedro da Câmara 1774–79 Dom Frederico Guilherme de Sousa Holstein 1779–86 Francisco da Cunha e Meneses 1786–94 Francisco António da Veiga Cabral da Câmara 1794–1806 Dom Bernardo José Maria da Silveira e Lorena 1806–16 Dom Diogo de Sousa 1816–21 Dom Manuel da Câmara 1823–25 Dom Manuel Francisco Zacarias de Portugal e Castro 1826–35 Bernardo Peres da Silva 1835 Dom Manuel Francisco Zacarias de Portugal e Castro 1835 Joaquim Manuel Correia da Silva e Gama 1835 Bernardo Peres da Silva 1836–37 Simão Infante de Lacerda de Sousa Tavares 1837–39 José António Vieira da Fonseca 1839 Manuel José Mendes 1839–40 José Joaquim Lopes Lima 1840–42 Francisco Xavier da Silva Pereira 1842–43 Joaquim Mourão Garcez Palha 1843–44 José Ferreira Pestana 1844–51 José Joaquim Januário Lapa 1851–55 António César de Vasconcelos Correia 1855–64 José Ferreira Pestana 1864–70 Januário Correia de Almeida 1870–71 Joaquim José Macedo e Couto 1871–75 João Tavares de Almeida 1875–77 António Sérgio de Sousa 1877–78 Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque 1878–82 Carlos Eugénio Correia da Silva 1882–86 Francisco Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral 1886 Augusto César Cardoso de Carvalho 1886–89 Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque 1889 Vasco Guedes de Carvalho e Meneses 1889–91 Francisco Maria da Cunha 1891 João Manuel Correia Taborda 1891–92 Francisco Teixeira da Silva 1892–93 Rafael Jácome de Andrade 1893–94 João Manuel Correia Taborda 1894 Elesbão José de Bettencourt Lapa 1894–95 Rafael Jácome de Andrade 1895–96 Prince Afonso Henriques de Bragança 1896 João António de Brissac das Neves Ferreira 1896–97 João Manuel Correia Taborda 1897 Joaquim José Machado 1897–1900 Eduardo Augusto Rodrigues Galhardo 1900–05 Arnaldo de Novais Guedes Rebelo 1905–07 José Maria de Sousa Horta e Costa 1907–10
Republic	Francisco Manuel Couceiro da Costa 1910–17 Francisco Maria Peixoto Vieira 1917 José de Freitas Ribeiro 1917–19 Augusto de Paiva Bobela da Mota 1919–20 Jaime Alberto de Castro Morais 1920–25 Francisco Maria Peixoto Vieira 1925 Mariano Martins 1925–26 Tito Augusto de Morais 1926 Acúrcio Mendes da Rocha Dinis 1926–27 Pedro Francisco Massano de Amorim 1927–29 Acúrcio Mendes da Rocha Dinis 1929 Alfredo Pedro de Almeida 1929–30 João Carlos Craveiro Lopes 1930–36 Francisco Craveiro Lopes 1936–38 José Ricardo Pereira Cabral 1938–45 Paulo Bénard Guedes 1945–46 José Ferreira Bossa 1946–47 José Alves Ferreira 1947–48 Fernando de Quintanilha e Mendonça Dias 1948–52 Paulo Bénard Guedes 1952–58 Manuel António Vassalo e Silva 1958–61
Note: The head of Portuguese India could have either the title of "Governor" or the more prestigious "Viceroy" though their responsibilities were the same

• Explorers of Asia
• Explorers of India
• Viceroys of Portuguese India
• 1450s births
• 1510 deaths
• Portuguese military personnel killed in action
• Portuguese soldiers
• Maritime history of Portugal
• Portuguese in Kerala
• Nobility from Lisbon
• Military personnel from Lisbon
• 1500s in Portuguese India
• 16th-century Portuguese explorers
• 16th-century Portuguese nobility
• 16th-century Portuguese military personnel