https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Francisco_de_AlmeidaFrancisco de Almeida - Revision history2026-07-31T10:39:04ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Francisco_de_Almeida&diff=461359&oldid=prevProabin at 17:18, 19 October 20252025-10-19T17:18:23Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Portuguese nobleman and soldier}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| honorific-prefix = [[Senhor|His Lordship]]<br />
| name = D. Francisco de Almeida<br />
| image = Retrato de D. Francisco de Almeida (após 1545) - Autor desconhecido.png<br />
| order = 1st<br />
| office = Viceroy of Portuguese India<br />
| term_start = 12 September 1505<br />
| term_end = 4 November 1509<br />
| monarch = [[Manuel I of Portugal]]<br />
| predecessor = [[Tristão da Cunha]]<small> (designate; never took office)</small><br />
| successor = [[Afonso de Albuquerque]]<br />
| birth_name = Francisco de Almeida<br />
| birth_date = ca. 1450<br />
| birth_place = [[Lisbon]], [[Kingdom of Portugal]]<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1510|3|1|1450|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope<br />
| nationality = [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]<br />
| citizenship =<br />
| occupation = Soldier, explorer, [[List of colonial heads of Portuguese India|viceroy of Portuguese India]]<br />
| known_for = Establishment of Portuguese naval hegemony in the Indian Ocean.<br />
| signature = <br />
| children = [[Lourenço de Almeida]]<br />
}}<br />
''[[Dom (honorific)|Dom]]'' '''Francisco de Almeida''' ({{IPA|pt|fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku ðɨ alˈmɐjðɐ}}; c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a [[Portugal|Portuguese]] nobleman, soldier and [[exploration|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 [[Portuguese India|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 [[Battle of Salt River|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]].<br />
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== Exploits as soldier ==<br />
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 [[Crown of Castile|Castilians]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}<br />
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==Mission to the east==<br />
{{Main|7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)}}<br />
[[File:Portuguese India 16-17th centuries v05.jpg|thumb|Portuguese presence in India ,Gulf of Bengal and the Himalayas (maximum extent) between the 15th and 17th centuries]]<br />
[[File:SantaMaria.jpg|thumb|A [[carrack]], 14 of which Almeida employed in his voyage to the east]]<br />
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In 1505, King [[Manuel I of Portugal]] made Almeida, then in his mid-fifties, the first viceroy of [[Portuguese India]] (''Estado da Índia'').<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marjay |first1=Frederic Pedro |title=Portugal, Pioneer of New Horizons: Documentary Proof of Portuguese Priority in Discovering the Secrets of the Globe |last2=Habsburg |first2=Otto von |publisher=Livraria Bertrand |year=1965 |location=Lisboa |pages=34}}</ref> With an armada of 22 ships, including 14 [[carrack]]s and 6 [[caravel]]s, 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.<br />
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===African conquest===<br />
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 District|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.<br />
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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 [[Battle of Mombasa (1505)|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 [[Malindi|Melinde]]. The same month, a caravel of Almeida's fleet captained by John (''João'') Homere captured [[Zanzibar]] island and claimed it for Portugal.<br />
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===Viceroy in India===<br />
[[File:Forte de Anjediva.gif|thumb|[[Fort Anjediva]], [[Anjediva Island]]]]<br />
[[File:Kannur-Fort-22.jpg|thumb|[[St. Angelo Fort|Fort St. Angelo]], [[Cannanore]]]]<br />
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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]].<ref name="Logan" /> Francisco de Almeida left Portugal with a fleet of 22 vessels with 1,500 men.<ref name="Logan" /><br />
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On 13 September, Francisco de Almeida reached Anjediva Island, where he immediately started the construction of [[Fort Anjediva]].<ref name="Logan" /> 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.<ref name="Logan" /><br />
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Francisco de Almeida then reached Cochin on 31 October 1505, with only eight vessels left.<ref name="Logan">{{Cite book |last=Logan |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mR2QXrVEJIC&pg=RA1-PA312 |title=Malabar Manual |publisher=J. Jetley for Asian Educational Services |year=2000 |isbn=81-206-0446-6 |volume=1 |location=New Delhi |page=312 |orig-year=First published 1887}}</ref> There he learnt that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been killed. He decided to send his son [[Lourenço de Almeida|Lourenço]] with 6 ships, who wantonly destroyed 27 [[Calicut]] vessels in the harbour of Quilon.<ref name="Logan" /> Almeida took up residence in Cochin. He strengthened the Portuguese fortifications of [[Fort Kochi|Fort Manuel]] on Cochin.<br />
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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 (1507)|Siege of Cannanore]].<br />
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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.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}<br />
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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 [[Mamluk Sultanate|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sreedhara |first=A. Menon |title=A Survey of Kerala History |publisher=D.C. Books Kottayam |year=1967 |page=152}}</ref><br />
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[[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.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}<br />
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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 (1509)|Battle of Diu]] on 3 February 1509 commanding a fleet of 23 ships near the port of [[Diu, India|Diu]]. He inflicted a decisive defeat on a joint fleet from the [[Burji dynasty|Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt]], the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Zamorin of Calicut|Zamorin]] of [[Calicut]], and the [[Mahmud Begada|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guilmartin |first=John E. |title=The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe |publisher=Westview Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-8133-2053-4 |editor-last=Rogers |editor-first=Clifford J. |location=San Francisco |pages=299–333 |chapter=The Military Revolution: Origins and First Tests Abroad |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOaO-_WBcNMC&pg=PA299}}</ref><br />
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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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pelúcia |first=Alexandra |title=Afonso de Albuquerque : corte, cruzada e império |publisher=Temas e Debates - Círculo dos Leitores |year=2016 |isbn=978-989-644-337-5 |edition=1a edição |location=Lisboa |pages=193–195 |language=pt |oclc=958470506}}</ref><br />
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===Return and death===<br />
{{See also|Battle of Salt River}}<br />
[[File:ManuelI-P.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Almeida's patron, [[Manuel I of Portugal]]]]<br />
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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 [[Khoekhoe language|Khoe-speaking]] clan).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khoisan |first=Zenzile |date=27 February 2016 |title=Invaders Received a Lesson in Warfare |url=https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/lifestyle/invaders-received-a-lesson-in-warfare-1990598 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025924/https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/lifestyle/invaders-received-a-lesson-in-warfare-1990598 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |access-date=8 March 2019 |website=IOL}}</ref> After friendly trade with the ǃUriǁ'aikua, some of the crew visited their nearby village, situated in modern-day [[Observatory, Cape Town|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2elBgAAQBAJ&dq=1510+table+bay+portuguese&pg=PA10 |title=Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7486-4308-0 |location=Edinburgh |page=11}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 February 2012 |title=An Attempt to Falsify African History |work=The Herald |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/an-attempt-to-falsify-african-history/ |access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=City of Cape Town |title=Stories of the South Peninsula: Historical Research, Stories and Heritage Tourism Opportunities in the South Peninsula |date=June 2014 |url=https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_10_2014-06.pdf |mode=cs1 }}</ref> Almeida's body was recovered the same afternoon and buried on the shore front of the current [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vergunst |first=Nicolaas |date=25 March 2012 |title=Knot of Stone: The Day that Changed South Africa's History |url=http://www.knotofstone.com/2012/03/murder-memory-and-bones |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=Knot of Stone}}</ref> 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<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vergunst |first=Nicolaas |date=29 April 2012 |title=5. First Encounters, Lasting Legacies—Part Two |url=http://www.knotofstone.com/2012/04/first-encounters-early-conflicts-and-forgotten-beaches-part-2/ |access-date=8 March 2019 |website= Knot of Stone}}</ref><br />
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==Relatives and subjects==<br />
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]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mendonça |first1=Manuel Lamas |url=https://www.academia.edu/1034356 |title=Furtado (Os) de Mendonça Portugueses |last2=Soveral |first2=Manuel Abranches de |publisher=Ed. dos autores |year=2004 |isbn=972-97430-7-X |pages=81 |language=pt}}</ref> He also had a bastard daughter, Susana, who married Diogo de Barbuda, Alcaide of [[Seia]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soveral |first=Manuel Abranches de |title=Mello e Souza |url=https://www.soveral.info/mas/MelloeSouza.htm#27 |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Manuel Abranches de Soveral - História e genealogia |page=III |language=pt}}</ref> <br />
[[Ferdinand Magellan]] (''Fernão de Magalhães'') accompanied Almeida to the east, but was promoted to captain and only returned in 1512 after losing that commission.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Lourenço de Almeida]], his son<br />
*[[7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)]]<br />
*[[Chronology of European exploration of Asia]]<br />
*[[Gujarati-Portuguese conflicts]]<br />
*[[First Luso-Malabarese War]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
* [[Fernão Lopes de Castanheda]]'s account of Almeida's mission<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{EB1911 poster|Almeida, Dom Francisco de}}<br />
* {{DNB portal|119167166|TYP=}}<br />
*[https://www.boringworld.org/2020/10/blue-water-policy.html Blue Water Policy]<br />
* [http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=colvin&book=south&story=almeida ''The Story of Almeida'', by Ian D. Colvin, The Baldwin Project]<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110821054627/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/the.coming.of.the.portuguese.htm Paul Lunde, ''The coming of the Portuguese'', 2006, Saudi Aramco World]<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120324230907/http://www.knotofstone.com/book/ ''Knot of Stone: the day that changed South Africa's History'', 2011, by Nicolaas Vergunst, Arena Books, UK]<br />
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{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-bef|before=Post Established}}<br />
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of colonial heads of Portuguese India|Viceroy of Portuguese India]]|years=1505–1509}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=[[Afonso de Albuquerque]]}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
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{{Portuguese Governors and Viceroys of India|state=collapsed}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Francisco De}}<br />
[[Category:Explorers of Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Explorers of South Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Viceroys of Portuguese India]]<br />
[[Category:1450s births]]<br />
[[Category:1510 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Portuguese military personnel killed in action]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Nobility from Lisbon]]<br />
[[Category:Military personnel from Lisbon]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:16th-century Portuguese explorers]]<br />
[[Category:16th-century Portuguese nobility]]<br />
[[Category:16th-century Portuguese military personnel]]</div>Proabin