Afonso de Albuquerque (1453, Alhandra – Goa, December 16 1515) some treated him with a don, although his birth did not qualify him for such treatment. He was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, general of the navy.
Afonso de Albuquerque – what is he known for?
With his military and administrative activities, conquered and founded the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean. He was the second ruler of India to lay the foundations of the Portuguese Empire in the East. It was created by the first Duke of Goa, King of Portugal Manuel I shortly before his death, becoming the first non-royal Portuguese duke, and the first Portuguese title to land overseas.
In the company of his cousin Francisco, he toured the Cape of Good Hope in India and was able to firmly establish King Cochin on his throne, receiving in exchange for this service permission to build a Portuguese fort in Cochin and thus throws the foundation of his country’s empire to the East.
After helping to develop Portugal’s strategy in the east, King Manuel commissioned him to command a squadron of five ships from sixteen fleets that sailed to India in early 1506 under the command of Tristao da Cunha. After Afonso De Albuquerque witnessed the creation of a strategy for the Portuguese efforts in the east, King Manuel commissioned him to command a squadron of five ships from sixteen fleets that sailed for India in early 1506, led by Tristao of Cunya.
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Strategies implemented for protection from Arabs
They built a fort on Socotra to prevent Arab traders from crossing the mouth of the Red Sea and to secure the Portuguese trade monopoly with India. In August 1507, Tristao da Cunha allowed Albuquerque to host six ships and 400 men. After capturing the city and installing a licensing system to control the movement of goods, Afonso De Albuquerque went to the Red Sea with a detachment of Portuguese and Indian soldiers.
Returning to India, he finally subdued Calicut, which provoked strong resistance from the Portuguese. Albuquerque had several enemies at the Portuguese court who never missed an opportunity to inflame King Manuel’s jealousy against him, and his reckless and arbitrary behavior on several occasions only exacerbated the situation. Almeida defeated the Muslims at Diu in February 1509, and it was not until the following November, with the arrival of a fleet from Portugal, that he finally surrendered his office in Afonso De Albuquerque.
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Almeida and Afonso de Albuquerque
In February 1509, Almeida defeated the Muslims in Diu, and in November, with the arrival of Marshal Fernando Coutinho from Portugal, he finally left his office in Albuquerque. He organized a new Portuguese fleet in Asia and ordered Albuquerque (if still in India) to be appointed commander-in-chief against the Sultanate of Cairo. He organized a new Portuguese fleet in Asia and ordered Afonso (if he was still in India) to be appointed commander-in-chief against the Sultanate of Cairo. On November 4, 1509, Afonso became the second governor of Portuguese India and held this post until his death.
After returning to India, he finally subdued Calicut, who was once the main opposition position of the Portuguese. In February 1515, he left Goa again with 26 ships for Hormuz and took control of part of the island.
In September of the same year, he arrived in Goa, where he quickly suppressed the large-scale uprising led by Hidalcan, and took measures to ensure the safety and peace of the city, making it the most prosperous Portuguese settlement in India. Returning to Goa in 1512, Afonso de Albuquerque strengthened Portuguese management there and other coastal cities, and prepared a fleet to advance to the Persian and Arabian coasts.
Therefore, he besieged Aden in 1513, but was repelled. The European fleet sailed to the Red Sea for the first time in history, and it did not bring significant results. In 1515, he wrote a long letter to assure the king of his loyalty, and died at sea in 1515.
At least from the beginning of November 1515, Albuquerque knew that he was replaced in the government of India by one of her enemies, Lopo Soares de Albergaria. He learned that after the retreat of the Portuguese in 1507, the young king ruled under the influence of the powerful Persian vizier Reis Hamed, whom the king was very afraid of. King Manuel I of Portugal belatedly became convinced of Afonso’s loyalty and tried to atone for his distrust of Afonso by saluting his son Bras de Albuquerque (1500-1580) [70], whom he renamed Afonso in memory of himself. father.
After the conclusion of peace in 1514, Afonso dedicated himself to the government of Goa and received embassies from Indian governors, strengthening the city and encouraging the marriage of Portuguese men and local women. Goa later became the center of Portuguese influence in India, and among the new successes of the governors was the creation of a hospital and a mint. To make it stable, he offered land and subsidies to Portuguese men who married indigenous women.
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