Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque (born 1453, Alhandra, near Lisbon, Portugal—died December 15, 1515, at sea, off Goa, India) was a Portuguese soldier, conqueror of Goa (1510) in India and of Melaka (1511) on the Malay Peninsula. His program to gain control of all the main maritime trade routes of the East and to build permanent fortresses with settled populations laid the foundations of Portuguese hegemony in the Orient.

Albuquerque was the second son of the senhor of Vila Verde. His paternal great-grandfather and grandfather had been confidential secretaries to Kings John I and Edward (Duarte), and his maternal grandfather had been admiral of Portugal. Albuquerque served 10 years in North Africa, where he gained early military experience crusading against Muslims. He was present at Afonso V’s conquest of Asilah and Tangier in 1471. King John II (ruled 1481–95) made him master of the horse, a post Albuquerque held throughout the reign. In 1489 he again served in North Africa at the defense of Graciosa. Under John’s successor, Manuel I, Albuquerque was less prominent at court but again served in Morocco.

Although Albuquerque made his mark under the stern John II and gained his experience in Africa, his reputation rests on his service in the East. When Vasco da Gama returned to Portugal in 1499 from his pioneering voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to India, King Manuel straightway sent a second fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral to open relations and trade with the Indian rulers. The Muslim traders who had monopolized the distribution of spices turned the zamorin (Hindu prince) of Calicut (now Kozhikode) against the Portuguese. His dependency, however, Cochin (now Kochi), on the southwestern Indian coast, welcomed them. In 1503 Albuquerque arrived with his cousin Francisco to protect the ruler of Cochin, where he built the first Portuguese fortress in Asia and placed a garrison. After setting up a trading post at Quilon (now Kollam), he returned to Lisbon in July 1504, where he was well received by Manuel and participated in the formulation of policy. In 1505 Manuel appointed Dom Francisco de Almeida first governor in India, with the rank of viceroy. Almeida’s object was to develop trade and aid the allies of the Portuguese.

Albuquerque left Lisbon with Tristão da Cunha in April 1506 to explore the east coast of Africa and build a fortress on the island of Socotra to block the mouth of the Red Sea and cut off Arab trade with India. This done (August 1507), Albuquerque captured Hormuz (Ormuz), an island in the channel between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, to open Persian trade with Europe. His project of building a fortress at Hormuz had to be abandoned because of differences with his captains, who departed for India. Albuquerque, though left with only two ships, continued to raid the Persian and Arabian coasts.

King Manuel appointed Albuquerque to succeed Almeida at the end of his term, though without the rank of viceroy. When Albuquerque reached India in December 1508, Almeida had crushed the improvised sea force of Calicut, but a navy from Egypt had defeated and killed his son. Insisting on retaining power until he had avenged his son’s death, Almeida, to avoid interference, had Albuquerque imprisoned. Almeida defeated the Muslims off Diu in February 1509, and it was only in the following November, with the arrival of a fleet from Portugal, that he finally turned his office over to Albuquerque.

Albuquerque’s plan was to assume active control over all the main maritime trade routes of the East and to establish permanent fortresses with settled populations. His attempt to seize Cochin in January 1510 was unsuccessful. By February Albuquerque had realized that it was better to try to supplant the Muslims; assisted by a powerful corsair named Timoja, he took 23 ships to attack Goa, long ruled by Muslim princes. He occupied it in March 1510, was forced out of the citadel by a Muslim army in May, and was finally able to carry it by assault in November. The Muslim defenders were put to the sword.

After this victory over the Muslims, the Hindu rulers accepted the Portuguese presence in India. Albuquerque planned to use Goa as a naval base against the Muslims, to divert the spice trade to it, and to use it to supply Persian horses to the Hindu princes. By marrying his men to local women, he would give Goa its own population, and its supplies would be assured by the village communities under a special regime. After providing for the government of Goa, Albuquerque embarked on the conquest of Malacca (now Melaka), on the Malay Peninsula, the immediate point of distribution for the Spice Islands and points east. He took that port in July 1511, garrisoned it, and sent ships in search of spices.

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In the meantime Goa was again under heavy attack. He left in January 1512 and relieved Goa. Having established himself there and having gained control over the movement of goods by a licensing system, Albuquerque again turned to the Red Sea, taking a force of Portuguese and Indians. Because Socotra was inadequate as a base, he attempted to take Aden, but his forces proved insufficient. He thereupon explored the Arabian and Abyssinian coasts. Returning to India, he finally subdued Calicut, hitherto the main seat of opposition to the Portuguese.

In February 1515 he again left Goa with 26 ships for Hormuz, gaining control of part of the island. He was taken ill in September and turned back to Goa. On the way he learned that he had been superseded by his personal enemy, Lope Soares, and he died embittered on shipboard before reaching his destination.

Albuquerque’s plans derived from the crusading spirit of John II and others. He did not allow himself to be diverted from his schemes by considerations of mercantile gain. His boldest concepts, such as turning the Persians against the Turks or ruining Egypt by diverting the course of the Nile, were perhaps superhuman, but so perhaps was his achievement.