The Battle of Diu 1509 - The Art of War: Revenge

[Music] on February 27th in the year 1505 the king of Portugal Manuel I called for a grand assembly there he wanted to announce his new plan for the conquest of the Indian Ocean the upper Ashana Society quickly congregated into the sovereign's presence to hear his audacious strategy which would be known as that Ed to from the crowd two men emerged and approached the king as they were commanded they were Father and Son the older man Francisco du aleda was in his mid-50s he was a formidable figure who had distinguished himself many times on the field

of battle the younger man Loreno du almea Francisco's only son was in his mid-20s he was dashing and handsome intelligent and resourceful most of all he was eager to prove himself to his King to his country but especially to his father the king then brought Francisco closer and there in front of this distinguished Entourage he proclaimed him the first Viceroy of India essentially the king's proxy Lorenzo who was standing a few feet behind watched with pride in absolute awe of his father as he was granted so high a title it was later after the Fanfare

had ended that the two men along with the rest of the high nobility were ushered into a private chamber where the king began to outline his plan in detail it was an absolutely bold strategy that barded on outright arrogance but it showed that the Portuguese insight into the world of the Indian Ocean was indeed impressive in less than one decade the Iberian Kingdom had obtained vast amounts of knowledge into the Commerce the vital ports and the politics of the East and now King Manuel the first was ready to exploit that knowledge Portugal was not out

to simply just trade anymore it was determined to establish an Empire the regimento would unfold in several stages Francisco du almea was first ordered to take the Swahili Coast in East Africa there he would establish a series of forts at critical port cities where the trade routes of Africa ended kilwa sofala Mombasa malindi the list went on then the vicroy was instructed to secure allies along the coast of India with another series of forts anad Diva chal canor colom coin again the list went on it was at this point that Gasper deama the godson of

Vasco deama who was at this point regarded as a veteran of Portuguese expansion a man who had considerable knowledge of the Indian Ocean not to mention the king's ear interjected he convinced King Manuel the first that he also needed to go for the heart of his Islamic trade therefore blockading the Red Sea where it bottlenecks at its southern end and thereby cutting off all trade to Cairo in Mecca became an extremely high priority in the regimento of course the holy war against Islam would also continue unabated King Manuel would say to Almeida all India should

be stripped of the illusion of being able to trade with anyone but ourselves expel the Muslims and if not wage total war and destruction on them by any means you can on land and sea so that everything possible is destroyed in later phases of the grand plan fleets of Portuguese ships would be sent in to patrol the waters and extract annual tribute almea was then ordered to seek out new life and new civilization by pushing the final frontiers of Portugal beyond the subcontinent of India Salon malaa Japan China yet again the list went on as

Roger Crowley would put it it was a mission of War disguised as peace King Manuel's ambition was enormous he was convinced it was simply his divine right that this would all be accomplished of course the man he picked for the job was the perfect choice Roger Crowley in his book The conquerors explains quote Almeida was to be the first member of high nobility to lead an India Expedition he was about 55 years old with wide military diplomatic and nautical experience but he also possessed the personal qualities that King Manuel hoped for Almeida was Incorruptible he

was unmoved by the lure of riches he was benevolent a widower without ties to home Pious and mature in his judgments for many the attraction of India was the prospect of personal gain Almeida on the other hand was untarnished by the appetites of lesser Men He valued titles above bales of spice and most importantly he knew how to fight end quote on March 25th 1505 the new vicroy of India walked down a triumphant procession with his son as they made their way the king and the aristocracy gave them their blessing both Father and Son were

impressively dressed for the occasion it was a clear message to everyone the almea family would be commanding this Voyage the Armada set out from Lisbon it was massive 21 ships with over 1,500 men it was so big that even a few women managed to sneak on board at the helm were experienced Sailors and captains some had already made the India run before among the crews was Gasper deama who had joined the voyage to add his experience but also included in the roster was one Ferdinand mellin who was there to gain experience this by the way

was the very same man who would one day get the credit for being the first to circumnavigate the world albeit he did it under a different flag and well for another country the Portuguese Armada passed the coast to northwest Africa before beginning its looping maneuver to the Southwest on the way to Brazil however a ship was lost to storms moving through the South Atlantic and braving the dangerous high pressure zones that were there the rest of the ships managed to round the Cape of Good Hope in late June the Armada then rounded the tip of

Africa and made its way North into the mosam beak channel on July 22nd 1505 it arrived at kilwa kilwa was a prize it was a beautiful city it was a major Hub where the trade routs of East Africa ended its busy Port also conducted Commerce with Arabia Persia and with the Gujarati cities in distant India gold cotton cloth incense silver gems and of course in its time the most precious substance in the universe spice were common place on its Wars now 3 years prior Vasco de Gama had come to the city at that time he

demanded that the sultan pay a hefty tribute and fly the Portuguese flag from its tallest tower however when Francisco arrived the tribute had not been paid for 2 years and there was no flag to be seen this made the vice Roy well unhappy and he demanded an immediate audience the sultan and response gave him a really weak excuse thus 2 days later on July 24th at dawn Francisco Almeda stepped down from his ship adorned in his finest suit of armor holding the Portuguese flag in one hand and a sword in the other at the head

of his troops he uttered the word attack and with that his men surged forward Francisco smiled and looked on with pride as he watched his son lenu lead a contingent of men Into the Heart of the City there they paged and destroyed as they went brushing aside all resistance when they arrived at the palace they found it empty the sultan had already fled the Portuguese then began to loot the city the king share of course was sent back to Lisbon over the next 2 weeks an impressive Fort was built in the City built of stone

ironically taken from the houses that they had just destroyed a Garrison was assigned a puppet ruler was put in place and with that the first objective of the regimento had been accomplished with kilwa secured Francisco Almeda deployed some of his ships South to take sofala there they would Rendevous with a fresh incoming Portuguese Fleet that City would eventually be taken and another Fort would be constructed with the acquisition of safala the Portuguese would have one more impressive Hub of the East African trade now for the vicroy and his Armada it was time to move [Music]

on King Manuel's plan now called for the vicroy to head directly to India however Francisco had decided that he wanted to secure one more foothold in Africa before he left Mombasa had always been a thorn in the side of the Portuguese and now it was outright hostile like kilwa and sofala it was a major Hub of trade which had grown rich and Powerful the sultan had encountered the Portuguese before he had wisely prepared for their return the defenses of the city were fortified cannons were brought in and installed and a large Garrison was put in

place as almea entered into the harbor which by the way was one of the finest in East Africa the Sultan of Mombasa opened fire with his cannons in that first shot he got really lucky the Salvo hit the lead ship and gouged a massive hole in the upper deck killing all the men inside however for the sultan it was going to be all downhill from there the Portuguese Armada came alive and returned fire one fortunate Cannonball somehow managed to p penetrate through the city walls and hit mombasa's Powder Magazine the catastrophic explosion that ensued rattled

the ground Like An Earthquake and silenced the city's artillery what happened next was truly a test of willpower the sultan had an army of over 4,000 men at his command and he was determined to hold his ground Francisco du Almeda on the other hand had the initiative and he was just as determined to take the city thus the Armada was ordered to move move in for the kill as it approached the city it began to unload its soldiers and then the great assault began fighting was intensely fierce in the narrow passageways and small corridors the

Sultan's men fought heroically Street to Street house to house almea seeing his men in his offensive begin to falter came up with a new tactic he had his men roll barrels of gunpowder down from the ships he then ordered the gunpowder to be placed into various buildings in the city up wind from his opponent when the powder was ignited fires broke out the wind then carried the Flames toward the sultan and his men and soon all of Mombasa was engulfed in a firestorm a chronicler of the time who witnessed the event would comment quote the

fire that ran throughout the city burned all that afternoon and into the night that followed it seemed as if the whole city was on fire there was enormous destruction the wooden houses burned to the ground and those of stone and mortar caught fire and crashed down as well and in them great riches and people were destroyed end quote despite this the sultan fought on at one point he even had his men release wild elephants to Stampede the men of Portugal but almea had already turned the tide for him it was always about victory at any

cost the very next day he deployed his men into a devastating four-pronged assault against the Defenders of the city his plan worked perfectly and the Sultan of Mombasa was forced to run a few days later when the dust had settled envoys were sent back and forth between the two men and a peace treaty was struck Mombasa was now firmly under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese its Vine Harbor was part of the Empire what's more the sultan would have to pay a massive tribute but even before the ink was dry on the treaty the plunder had

begun almea wisely divided the great City into areas one for each of his captains the subsequent pillaging was especially vicious but it was efficient when the Europeans were done there was almost nothing left in a letter that he wrote To the King of mlindi the Sultan of Mombasa would lament quote I will have you know that a great Lord passed here burning with fire he entered the city so forcefully and cruy that he spared the life of none man or woman young or old or children no matter how small not only were men killed and

burned but the birds of Heaven fell to the Earth in this city the stench of death is such that I dare not enter and none could give account or assess the infinite wealth that he took end quote on August 23rd 1505 almida left Africa sofala kilwa Mombasa were all taken malindi remained a faithful Ally the vicroy had left behind him a path of death and destruction but his Focus was what lay ahead and there before him was the path to [Music] India the Portuguese position in India at this time was precarious at best Portugal only

had a few settlements one in canor another in colum and a fort in coochin which by the way only escaped a narrow destruction through the genius of its defense by Dart peso Pereira the year before many cities remained hostile including theu dul chal and especially the great rival cakut Francisco du Almeda got right to work after arriving along the Malibar Coast in late August of 1505 he initially arrived at anad Diva Island which was a watering stop for ship's conducting trade along the coast and there he began construction of an another Fort 1 month later

as the fort was nearing completion Francisco decided to move South to the city of anavar but there a disagreement with its Raja over a shipload of horses spiraled out of control and broke out into a massive fight violence Spilled Out across the entire city the Viceroy at one point was hit in the foot with an arrow and so he looked to his son to finish the job Lorenzo was deployed with his men for him it was a chance to really prove himself but taking a page from his own father half the city was laid to

waste before the young almea emerged Victorious though he did come close to dying a few times along the way from the locals he gained the nickname the devil for how Fierce some would argue how Reckless his attacks were but that said the Shaka worked the Raja of annovar sued for peace an annual tribute was imposed the Raja just didn't want to see that level of aggression from Iberian men that he now thought were somewhat in say now during the assault several ships were damaged or destroyed in the harbor some of these belonged to a prominent

pirate named Timo this man had encountered Vasco de Gama before and knew how powerful the Portuguese could be but seeing firsthand the destruction at anavar the pirate decided it would be in his best interest to give his allegiance to Portugal from that time onwards he would serve as a major informant remember the name with things settled at anavar the Vice Roy made his way south to the port city of canor where he feared a merchant Uprising would undermine Portuguese Authority his very presence along with his Armada changed the mood quickly in a week-long stay he

met several times with the Kap Raja and began preparations for a fortress there along with a Garrison to Manet during his time in canor delegations and envoys from other cities would also meet up with Francisco where they'd enter into negotiations to open up even New Ports to the Europeans now in early November of 1505 almea found himself in coochin which was to be a Cornerstone of the Portuguese Empire there he met up with the new trumar Raja the prior one who had fought at the siege of kin had already retired the two men's first order

of business was to expand and upgrade the fort at the mouth of the harbor Roger Crowley would say rulers up and down the Malibar Coast were def find that once the Frank were in sconed behind solid ramparts with artillery mounted on Stout gun platforms they proved almost impossible to dislodge for the rest of 1505 Almeda and his son would turn their attention to ravaging Muslim shipping along the Malibar Coast the destruction they handed out was impressive in response the Arabian captains diverted their ships down to the Maldives their Hope was that they could get around

the Armada of course the Viceroy was not going to let that slide Loreno du aleda was sent by his father to cut off this route however the water currents in this area were unknown to the Portuguese and would carry his Fleet far to the east there lenu would be the first man of his country to make landfall in Salon that is modern day Sri Lanka like his father he went right to work he established a treaty with the local Raja began trade negotiations and L laid down an early settlement his diplomatic initiative was so good

that 12 years later a Portuguese Fortress would also be added in the final months of 1505 Francisco turned his attention to loading his ships with spice for the return Journey even the Aging kak the flor de Lamar was filled to capacity the hall that the vicroy sent back to Lisbon was one of the greatest King Manuel would ever see the yield in terms of cash was astronomical [Music] almea had accomplished many of the goals of the regimento only the full blockade of the Red Sea was lacking something by the way that would come back to

haunt him on several levels but despite his hard work his efforts would go largely unappreciated back in Lisbon the Intrigue of the Portuguese Court was turning against the Viceroy there were those in the nobility that were consumed with greed jealousy or simply malevolence several members of the high aristocracy had come forth to turn the king's favor away from Francisco du aleda in fact by February of 1506 King Manuel had already chosen a replacement and had begun to view almea with suspicion early that year Alonso du alberquerque who had gained the king's confidence was dispatched with

a powerful Fleet in his hand he carried a letter from the King which granted him the title of governor and effectively ended the viceroy's time in power meanwhile back in the Indian Ocean the beginning of 1506 saw Francisco D almea hit a high point yet he knew that trouble was brewing the zamorin of cakut also known as the samudri Raja who happened to be the biggest rival of the Portuguese had sent a fleet to canor to blockade the harbor in March of 1506 Lorenzo du almea sailed in there he annihilated the zaman's fleet but despite

this Victory confidence in Portuguese Supremacy was waning Arab shipping after all was still getting through the Navies of the Indian Ocean were using more cannons and new enemies were emerging in the north the Sultan of bapor who owned the city of dul was not happy with the Portuguese Fortress sadan Jad Diva which to be fair was intruding on the Commerce of his City in a well-timed and coordinated attack just before the monsoons came the sultan bombarded The Fortress shelled the people inside and destroyed three nearby ships his assault went unopposed for several days and the

Garrison was at his Mercy Roger crelly explained what happened next quote Loreno was dispatched and forced a withdrawal of the Sultan's ships but it was clear that the fort was unsustainable too close to hostile beaur too short of Natural Resources at the end of the year ala took the decision without reference to Manuel to abandon and dismantle the structure it was a repost to the wisdom of the grand plan and it did not go down well at the same time it gave hope to Muslim merchants that the Portuguese could indeed be dislodged end quote the

story of anjad Diva empowered Portugal's enemies who were all just waiting for the chance to strike that strike would come sooner than Francisco anticipated it was towards the end of 1506 when lenu was leading a fleet of ships towards the city AAL they had stopped along the way to dismantle the anad Diva Fort suddenly they were approached by Merchants from coochin and canor their allies the merchants stated that their ships Laden down with spice had been blockaded into the harbor of the city of dull by the ships of Arabia and Calicut they demanded that the

Portuguese live up to their reputation sail in and help them immediately Lorenzo wanted to rush in but he was under orders to have a meeting with his captains to vote on the course of action after a very heated debate the final tally was 6 to4 not to attack it was argued that the harbor of debbull was not well known and this could all simply be a trap the young almea was forced to agree with the decision but he made all the captains sign their vote thus their names were [Music] recorded the book conquerors describes the

aftermath of this fateful decision quote the inevitable happened the friendly Merchant men were sacked their Crews killed and their valuable cargo confiscated the ships of Calicut fired mocking shots as they sailed away for the first time the Portuguese had flunk to fight the refusal to protect their ships was taken badly in Friendly Malibar ports not to mention Francisco du aleda was appalled by the news end quote all along the Malibar Coast the Portuguese position was now in Jeopardy allies went cold envoys ceased coming and there were demands by the locals to go back to trading

only with the ships of Mecca which if nothing else had been reliable in the past indeed even a major Revolt broke out in canor in 1507 with anti- Portuguese sentiment which by the way needed a considerable amount of resources to put down now when news of this got back to Lisbon the vice Roy's opponents in the Royal Court had a field day and saying that the King was displeased was an understatement Francisco du aleda rounded up all the men who had voted not to attack at debul this included his son all of these men were

Court marshaled some were sent back to Europe in utter disgrace labeled as cowards others were imprisoned when it came to Lorenzo the vicroy just couldn't get himself to signed the order to have him banished perhaps it was simply nepotism or perhaps he just couldn't bear the the thought of seeing his only son go instead Loreno was stripped of command and demoted as the young man walked past his father he just couldn't get himself to meet his gaze the sense of failure and regret of letting down the one man whose opinion mattered most was just too

much for him to Bear the young almida was placed in charge of a small fella and given Convoy Duty you resigned himself to his fate but every fiber of his being longed for Redemption the thought consumed him for one full year Lorenzo did his duty but he kept looking for a chance to redeem himself in his father's eyes in March of 1508 Loren du aleda found himself in the port city of chal which was not exactly a friendly Port now little did he or for that matter his father know but approximately 200 miles to the

Northwest in the city of duu was a massive Muslim Armada it had been built in the shipyards of the maml sultanate traveled down the Red Sea and had managed to evade all Portuguese ships the mamlock Armada had been in the Indian Ocean for months and no one in the Portuguese High command knew anything about it when spies reported that the vice Roy's son was in Chaw and only had a handful of ships it was way too tempting a Target the Muslim Armada immediately set sail for cha Loreno du almea would get his chance for Redemption

and he would pay for it with his own blood [Music] [Music] it was nearing the end of the sailing season in March of 1508 by now temperatures had risen dramatically and the humidity had become intense it wouldn't be long before the monsoons would come and shut down all seagoing Commerce it was in the harbor of the city of CHA that the ships of Co chin were being loaded with cargo their Hope was to beat the weather and get in one last trading run R Lorenzo de almea the son of the Viceroy was there to provide

protection for the cargo ships the man had been demoted and assigned to basic Convoy Duty for over a year by his own father this was punishment for his prior failure in 1506 to protect Portuguese allies at the city of dul Lorenzo was now in command of three small carxs three Caravel and two galys crewed by approximately 500 men which at this point was well a relatively small Portuguese Fleet now prior to his arrival at Chaw the young almea and his men in the spirit of holy war had raided enemy ships along the coast plundering as

they went the vice Roy's son had waged a Savage campaign to prove to his father that he was truly worthy of his name but more than title or riches Lorenzo wanted Redemption now what has to be said that the Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean had been disruptive to say the least make no mistake there would be consequences to those actions many cities remained hostile and there were even rumors of a vast Muslim Fleet that had arrived but no one in the Portuguese High command could confirm this indeed even Francisco de almea the vice Roy

himself had disregarded the reports of this Fleet as nothing more than a story as a result Lorenzo and his Crews were essentially idle and B many were simply spending their money on wine and other indulgences that the city of CHA could provide they had nothing to do but wait for their merchantmen to fill their ships with spice and then escort them back to the city of coochin the mood was calm and thus Lorenzo's ships were positioned lazily in the middle of the kelica river however that said it was about midday towards the end of March

when a series of ships appeared on the horizon even to the Casual Observer one could tell that were moving in fast Under full sale but the ships were not Arabian or Indian in design rather they appeared to be European thus any sense of alarm was put aside some of the sailors even began to yell out in Joy they figured this was yet another Fleet from Portugal I mean after all aonso de Albuquerque and his ships were actually scheduled around that time to meet them but still something seemed off why were they moving in so quickly

one judicious pilot using a telescope noted that the rigging on these ships was very different than what they were used to and then the dawning realization hit them this inbound Fleet didn't have red crosses on their sails they had Crescent far from being a Portuguese Fleet this was the Vanguard of the fabled disregarded Muslim Armada panic and Terror spread through Lorenzo's ships like wildfire as men sounded alarms raced ready cannons and adorned themselves with armor then suddenly behind the Vanguard even more ships appeared too many to easily count as the two fleets closed in and

prepared for battle it became clear to al-a and his men that the Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean was now going to be seriously contested jahad had [Music] arrived now Halfway Around The World the Republic of Venice was in a state of Crisis the lifeblood of its Monopoly on spice was being drained away Vasco de Gama's discovery of the sea Passage to India had opened up a brand new way to bring in the extremely lucrative commodity at first the venetians bet on the idea that the long route to India would prove either too dangerous or

too impractical but Portuguese determination proved them wrong year after year the spice fleets came back again and again and again the money that this brought in was beyond insane and in record time l became the new Venice to their credit for the first couple of years the Republic of Venice tried diplomacy you know let's make a deal perhaps we could uh split the money yeah that would miserably fail so they decided to recall their Ambassador and send in the spies one agent in particular would give both a concerning report and a subtle hint to his

Masters back in Venice on what to do quote I see that this inter prise in India cannot be destroyed by the inability to sail there it goes on as a regular and stable business and without doubt the king of Portugal will dominate The Sea completely because it's patiently obvious that the Indians cannot protect their Maritime trade nor resist the shipping or artillery of this most Serene King there is no doubt that the ships of India are weak for no other reason than the lack of cannons end quote by 1505 the situation for the venetians had

gone from bad to horrific Portugal was not just cornering the market on spice but doubling down on its Indian empire in response the Republic tried to lower its prices and thus beat the Iberian Kingdom in a trade war that didn't work either they couldn't lower their prices enough they then turned to the mamlock in Egypt they tried to convince them to lower their import taxes but the Egyptian sultanate basically subsist almost parasitically on its tariffs yep another fail now there was even an instance in order to facilitate trade that the leader of Venice the Doge

Leonardo Lordan proposed to the sultan to build a canal to connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea at a narrow Point perhaps at the Port of Suz the sultan however found the idea not to his liking the cost would be enormous the Manpower needed ridiculous and besides why what on Earth would you even call such a Waterway the canal as Suez absolutely Preposterous completely exasperated the Republic of Venice decided it was now time to play dirty the Portuguese had committed numerous atrocities on the Muslims of the Indian Ocean After All Ships had been raided towns

had been burned to the ground and holy war had been conducted but all of this paled in comparison to the absolute brutality that was seen with the destruction of the Muslim Pilgrim ship the Miri whose barbaric and violent end still shocked all that heard the tale and gave rise to the very legitimate concern that Mecca itself was in danger as Can Be Imagined there was a lot of resentment and the venetians well they were going to Simply capitalize on this the Doge and his High Council now pushed diplomatically to get the Egyptian sulate to act

they pointed out that the mamlock who had jurisdiction over Mecca and Medina were truly Defenders of the Faith with the Portuguese expanding over the Indian Ocean like a plague the pilgrimage the ha itself was at stake something had to be done but the mamlock were not a maritime power but that was not going to be a problem because Venice was determined to make them one advisors and Engineers Laden down with European ship schematics were deployed to the port of Suz which was built into an impressive Shipyard Sailors were trained to man the ships and more

importantly to fire Venetian style cannons which did have the capacity to bring down other European ships even raw materials would be taken care of Roger Crowley in the book The conquerors gives the tale quote it became obvious that materials for both ship and Canon construction were being assembled for a concerted campaign King Manuel received warning of this via the island of RADS where one of the knights to St John a Portuguese by the name of Andre du Amaral fed information on the mamlock back to Lisbon the Portuguese would later claim that the ships in the

dockyards of Suez were being built with Timber that was cut dressed and supplied by the venetians to make matters worse their construction was overseen by Venetian officials however when the Portuguese Ambassador at the English Court of Henry VII put such charges against this Venetian opposite in the summer of 1517 these accusations were flatly denied end quote by the winter of 1505 six European carxs and six galleys had been built and keep in mind all of them were carrying some of the finest cannons that could be produced then 1,00 of the Sultan's men boarded the ships

and with several more support vessels the mamlock Armada began its Voyage down the Red [Music] Sea now meanwhile on the other end of the Mediterranean King Manuel had lost faith in his Viceroy his advisers and members of the high nobility had convinced him that Francisco de almea was no longer a man to be trusted the King's opinion of Almeida had thus shifted from mistrust to outright contempt it was only a few months after the mamlock Armada had departed from the port of Suz that the Portuguese King had appointed almeida's replacement Alonso the Albuquerque was given

the title governor and was instructed to take over in India a fleet had been prepared consisting of 15 ships which departed from Portugal on April 5th 156 however the governor had to share it with his co-commander Trista deuna who was technically supposed to be in charge the two men hated one another right from the start aonso who was convinced of the supremacy of his own abilities disdained the idea of having to report to anyone their Mutual contempt only intensified as they made their way first through the Atlantic then around the Cape of Good Hope and

eventually along the east African Coast the fleet took its time it looted and raided as it went what's more kuna took it upon himself to explore Madagascar thus it took them 16 months to arrive at their first objective the island of cotra at the entrance of the Red Sea here in late August of 1507 the Muslim Garrison was stormed and the island was taken after a brutal campaign of extermination cotra was to be the location of the next Portuguese base with the intent to blockade Arabian Commerce coming in from the Red Sea however it would

turn out to be a disaster as the island could not support its Portuguese Garrison and four years later it had to be abandoned regardless at this point Albuquerque and kuna had had enough of each other taking the best ships and Equipment trow decided to sail off to India Albuquerque meanwhile decided to disregard his orders to block off the Red Sea instead he took the remaining six ships and sailed along the southern coast of Arabia towards the Persian Gulf his plan was to destroy all resistance Roger Crowley gives us the account of how this campaign went

down quote it was here in a few short weeks on the Southeast coast of Arabia that Albuquerque founded a reputation that was exceptional within the ranks of the Portuguese conquistadors and that would be cemented in its history as he gained the singular title the terrible one after another his Fleet of tattered ships sailed into the trading ports of Oman some of the ports along the Omani Coast decided to submit meekly others resisted and were sacked albuquer would use Terror as a weapon of War intended to soften up resistance in this fashion a string of small

ports went up in Flames the destruction of MCAT which was a major trading Hub along the coast was especially Savage Albuquerque was intent on transmitting Terror ahead of him he ordered the ears and noses of the captured Muslims to be cut off and then sent them to ormuz as a testament to their disgrace end quote in this way cities from muscot to cor fakan were either sacked or taken but the real prize was the city of ormuz ormuz was a major trading Hub of spice and also happened to control the entrance to the Persian Gulf

it was a fabulously well wealthy City that had even been visited by the famous Chinese treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty aonso arrived with his ragged Fleet on September 25th 1507 he made a poor first impression that said 2 days later he crushed a large contention of Muslim ships in the harbor the vzer of the city sued for peace and agreed to pay tribute Alonso was not satisfied he insisted on the construction of a fortress but by now his men's anger at his harsh methods had reached a boiling point four of his captains mutinied and

departed with their ships when the Portuguese Governor heard of this he flew into a rage he ordered all the wells to be poisoned the city bombarded and every man woman and child to be executed but these orders were too barbaric for even his own men to follow facing a full-on mutiny and a major native Uprising in ormuz Alonso de alberquerque was forced to retreat in January of 1508 but make no mistake he'd be back for his prize however as he was gaining the title of the terrible in the Persian Gulf the Red Sea was left

wide [Music] open Amir Hussein aleri was the admiral of the mamlock Armada after departing the port of Suez at the end of 1505 he made his way slowly through the Red Sea the man did have many objectives his first destination was Jetta which controlled the sea approaches to Mecca here Amir Hussein took his time to reinforce the city improve its defenses and assemble a Garrison jeda was to be a fortress if the Portuguese were to arrive the Admiral was determined that they would face a challenge but Mecca was still not secure Arabia was in turmoil

many of the ban tribes at this point had risen up in Revolt Hussein marched his forces into the unforgiving Sands of the Arabian Peninsula systematically crushing this revolt which took nearly a year the betwin after all were a fierce adversary they would exact a high toll in terms of casualties undaunted the Admiral pushed on and arrived at the city of Aiden in August of 1507 just about the same time that Albuquerque was sacking the Omani Coast now during his time in the Red Sea he consistently got reports of Portuguese atrocities in the Indian Ocean he

knew it was now time to bring the fight to them departing Aiden hir Hussein made his way to the city of du he found it rather strange that the vaunted Portuguese Navy was nowhere to be seen it was in September of 1507 when he arrived in India at du he would Harbor his ships where they would undergo refit and repair here Amir awaited for the opportunity to strike and 6 months later he got word that the viceroy's son was at Chaw with the Meer Force the mamlock ships were readed for battle Amir Hussein even convinced

the governor of the City ad Malik aaz to join him with the city's Navy thus the combined Fleet consisting of both the mamlock Armada and the ships of du made their way to confront the son of the Viceroy the mamlock fleet had managed to enter the harbor of CHA Amir Hussein had placed his European style ships at the front of his formation to gain the element of surprise it had worked his Vanguard had closed the distance to bring their cannons to Bear meanwhile the Portuguese were still scrambling to make their ships worthy of battle Hussein

sailed past the helpless Merchant ships of coochin as his Target came into sight his plan was to tactically decapitate his opponent by destroying Lorenzo's Flagship the sa Miguel which was dangerously anchored Midstream with only the Sao Antonio nearby for support the lead Muslim ships opened up on the two vessels several of the cannonballs missed their Mark but two smashed into the Hall of the S Miguel blasting a hole right through the rest of the maml ships moved in to close rank Turkish archers came to the main deck and began firing their arrows that a chronicler

would later recall seemed to fall like rain on board Lorenzo's Flagship 30 men out of a crew of approximately 100 were hit blood began to bathe the the Portuguese decks but by then Lorenzo and his men were ready to fight back crossbowmen ran to take cover and Unleashed a salvo of bolts they were quickly reinforced by Sailors armed with guns then suddenly the air was shattered by explosions Crowley gives the account quote the Portuguese Gunners now had sufficient time to Prime their cannons and loose off their own counter blast in the shattering Roar of the

guns both Portuguese ships vanished in the gunm smoke and reappeared eight shots from the S Miguel hit the lead Muslim ship which was crowded with 400 fighting men the cannonballs ripped through the closely packed ranks shattering armor dismembering bodies splinters of wooden shrapnel only increased the Carnage the deck was a scene of chaos and it was at this point that Hussein changed his mind about attempting to board his opponent end quote Amir Hussein altered his course to move beyond the S Miguel as he scanned the scene he saw the rest of the Portuguese Ships coming

in to assist the two fleets then formed into battle lines and for the next several hours they fired back and forth into one another eventually both sides were exhausted but it was only when the sun set that the fighting ground to a halt the mamlock who had taken horrendous losses and were now low on gunpowder retreated to One Bank of the river the Portuguese who had also been bloodied retreated to the other bank the two opponents were now separated by a mere 1500 ft of water the ships of theu however had not entered the fight

the governor Malik aaz kept his Fleet back at the mouth of the river Malik was a shrewd man some would argue a bit underhanded he wanted to see how things played out before deciding which side to back up and for him this first day was a draw the next day as the center Rose Lorenz who s that the mamlock had positioned their vessels side by side with the front of their ships pointing into the river what's more they had been chained together and gang planks had been put down so that men and Equipment could be

moved back and forth between the ships seeing this Loreno de ala could not believe how foolish his opponent was it was obvious that the Muslims now had European ships but it was also obvious that they had no idea how to properly use them by adopting this formation Amir Hussein had negated his ability to move to maneuver or even to bring his broadsides to Bear he had thus lost the initiative and made himself the perfect Target Lorenzo immediately convened with his men there were really two options that they could use the first option was to bombard

the mamlock from a distance something that the Portuguese were really good at and the fact that their opponent wasn't really moving well they could probably do this blindfolded option two was to move in and take the enemy ships by direct assault that is to board and capture them by far the much riskier Venture Lorenzo gave it considerable thought but he was a man who was still haunted by his failure at the city of dull if he was able to capture those ships and bring him back his trophies it would bring him not only Glory but

perhaps the Redemption he so eagerly desired in the end Lorenzo wanted nothing more than to prove to his father that he was indeed courageous and worthy of of his family name option two it would be Lorenzo the almea decided to strike at Amir Hussein's Flagship the plan was for them to pull up alongside grapple the enemy ship and board it the rest of the Portuguese ships would come in to provide support and suppress the remainder of the Muslim Fleet it wasn't until the early afternoon that the winds were favorable but on the incoming Breeze Lorenzo

and his men launched themselves into the attack the mamlock fleet had taller ships so using that Advantage they immediately opened up with a deadly attack of arrows and cannon fire despite taking damage the Portuguese kept their gun silent as they moved in to seize Hussein's Fleet but then as they came within 30 ft the wind died and Lorenzo and his men were at the mercy of the river current when Amir Hussein saw what his opponent was up to he masterfully ordered his men to give Flack to the Ford anchor lines and Titan the aft anchor

lines this effectively drew his ships back toward the riverbank and out of range for the Portuguese to Grapple them the sa Miguel and her sister's ship began to drift past their objective they both dropped their anchors to maintain their position but this made them easy stationary targets for the mamlock Loreno and his men knew that they had failed in their attack they suggested to their Commander to open up with their cannons and obliterate the Muslims at Point Blank Range once again Lorenzo who wanted a prize to present to his father and he refused to do

a broadside to show his commitment he came to the bridge of his ship to command his men directly Hussein meanwhile took advantage of the situation he ordered more archers to come to the top deck and intensified the hail of arrows one Arrow would graze Lorenzo while another hit him directly in the lower face blood gushed from his wounds as he fell to his knees in pain the young almea ordered the anchor line to be cut the sa Miguel and the sa an Tony thus drifted away Downstream now on the other side of the line the

Portuguese fleet was doing considerably better two gys and a small Caravel rammed into the mamlock ships their Crews protected by chain mail armor and steel breastplates rushed over and boarded the anchored ships the onslaught was fierce they brought down the Muslim Defenders with ease and the ores men who were chained to their posts were rapidly cut down like grass men that attempted to run away were gunned down and men that attempted to dive overboard were harpooned the Portuguese then used the gang planks to proceed from one ship to the next at this point it wasn't

so much a battle but a massacre during the onslaught anchor lines were cut and four of the mamlock ships were towed away the sa Miguel and the sa Antonio meanwhile provided fire support as best they could as the enemy galys were seized lenu then wanted his men to come in for a second attack again he rejected the idea of bombardment however his men were exhausted and now the situation had taken a turn for the worse Malik aaz had finally decided to join the fight on the side of the mamlock his ships entered the river and

took up position on the Southern Bank the Portuguese were now nearly surrounded and opted to abandon any further attack their tactical situation had now become [Music] critical it was that that night that Lorenzo still recovering from his wounds decided along with his men to depart the city of chal he did after all have his prizes of War and the protection of the coach and Merchant ships was their first priority at midnight the ships of coochin silently cut their anchor lines and began to leave at which point the Portuguese started to follow them Lorenzo insisted that

he and his ship the sa Miguel would be the last to go but by now Amir Hussein and Mal Le aaz had figured out that their adversary was fleeing their fleets sprung into action the Portuguese ships knowing that they had been discovered opened up with their cannons they managed to keep the mamlock at a distance with their gunfire however the sa Miguel which was Towing another ship began to drag behind Lorenzo who had brought up the rear was soon isolated Malik aaz moved in quickly with his ships when he was in firing range he ordered

them to Target the sa Miguel his cannons were smaller but one lucky shot hit the sa Miguel gouging a hole near the waterline the bottom deck of lenzo's ship thus began flooding men attempted frantically to pump out the water but the sa Miguel was carrying rice in its hold which absorbed the incoming water like a sponge the added weight slowed down the ship and eventually brought her to a standstill in time the S Miguel even began to list to one side now while the mamlock and the forces of du were closing in for the kill

Lorenzo's men were preparing a Longboat for him to escape but he would decline it as water continued to seep in the sa Miguel was boarded in the book The conquerors the scene is told quote it was Mayhem aboard the sa Miguel cannonballs were smacking into the immobilized vessel clouds of arrows buzzed and wh through the air Thick gunm Smoke obscured the increasingly defenseless ship The Defenders beat off the first and second attempt aboard they fought like men who wanted Revenge before they died but the ship was being destroyed around them the deck was a shambles

littered with dead and dying men dismembered heads and legs blood running down the planks and everywhere there was shouting and screaming end quote despite the chaos that surrounded him Lorenzo continued to command his men but then suddenly a cannonball hit him directly in the thigh cutting his leg completely off his men raced to his side and lowered him into a chair there he would begin to bleed profusely onto the deck his suffering however would not be for long another Cannonball hit him in the chest and this one would kill him [Music] instantly fighting aboard the

S Miguel would continue for hours the men of Portugal fought tenaciously in a third fourth and fifth wave were beaten off indeed a man from Porto who climbed into the Crow's Nest held his position there for 2 days till he was granted amnesty to leave when the Bloodshed had ended some of the Portuguese men were taken as prisoners others were executed however before the end Lorenzo's men took his body and fearing that it would become a trophy for the enemy pushed it from an opening where the weight of his armor sank it to the bottom

of the kelica river his remains would never be recovered Amir Hussein and his allies had won the Battle of CHA but his victory was perck as it came at a staggering cost in terms of men and ships he had lost nearly 800 men from a crew of 1400 and he was so weakened that he could not push on to attack the Portuguese stronghold at coochin news of the Portuguese defeat and the death of Lorenzo was celebrated as far as Cairo but Amir Hussein and Malik aiz had no idea what they had just Unleashed when Francisco

de almea received word of the death of his only son he went into a state of profound grieving as the Spanish would say AA profunda for three whole days he saw no one Francisco was a man who had given everything for his country and now that included his only son he was a man that was consumed by a sense of Duty but when he emerged from his time in mourning the only thing he had left in his soul was a profound sense of [Music] Vengeance my name is Francisco de almea you killed killed my only

son prepare to die it had been 9 months since the Battle of CHA 9 months since the Portuguese were forced to flee 9 months since Francisco de almeida's only son Lorenzo had perished CH had been a disaster for the Portuguese it was now clear to all that the Europeans could be beaten per perhaps they could be destroyed altogether however the mam Armada had only won a pic Victory it had taken horrendous losses and along with its allies they were forced to limp their way back to the city of du ala knew that if cha was

not Avenged and quickly his enemies would only grow stronger and Bolder the Portuguese Empire in India with its vast wealth and spice would be severely threatened and there was even potential that it could fall entirely but the mamlock had made a grave mistake they had only killed the son of the Viceroy as Francisco would later say he who eats the chicken must also eat the rooster or pay the price it wasn't long after the battle of Chaw in early 1508 that the monsoons had come storms ravaged the Malibar Coast any Naval Expedition would simply have

to wait the vicroy of India wasted no time he began to assemble a grand Fleet bringing in every ship he could find Francisco spent that year personally training his Crews to the peak of performance he was determined to make his men into killing machines by December of 1508 he had 18 ships and 1200 men they all seem to share a sense of Vengeance with their commander who had promised them Knighthood plunder amnesty and even pardon for those on the Bottom Rung make no mistake for almea this wasn't just about fighting for his King and for

his country this coming fight was deeply personal however Francisco knew that he was running out of time the king of Portugal Manuel the first had obviously lost favor in him every month an Envoy would arrive from Portugal with an unending list of Royal grievances it was absolutely clear that almeida's rivals in the Royal Court of Lisbon had been busy turning the king against them King Manuel now wanted almea not just replaced but sent home in utter disgrace regardless Francisco continued his preparations he dutifully sent the spice ships back to Portugal and by early December of

1508 his War fleet was nearly ready to sail as the date of his departure came near he composed a letter to the King which outlined his plan in the words he wrote it was obvious that this for him was both a a personal and a holy war indeed his letter read almost like a final will and testament quote I have a great desire to write to your highness as I have determined to leave a memory whatever happens to me my son is dead as God W and my sins deserved the venetians and The Sultans Muslims

killed him it seems to me that this year we cannot avoid a trial of strength with them which is the thing I most desire because it seems to me that with God's help we have to remove move them totally from the sea so that they do not return to this land and if our Lord is served by my ending my days in this way I will have obtained the rest I seek to see my son in glory end quote almea finished his letter on December 5th 1508 on board the florid de Lamar he knew that

this coming battle would forever shape the fortunes of Portugal and India the man resigned himself to the fight ahead in his mind he was prepared to Die the next day December 6th 1508 the vicroy of India walked sternly up to the bridge of his ship the floor Delmar or in Portuguese the frol deamar the massive 400 T carak was a legend in the Portuguese Navy she had made the India run more times than any other ship she had been under the command of Vasco de Gama when he bombarded Ed Calicut participated in the capture of

the island of cotra and her journey was far from Over the Florida Lamar was now a massive gun platform in the flagship of almeida's armada but as fate would have it she was soon to be a command deared ship as Francisco de almea was soon to be a fugitive it was on this very day that Alonso de Albuquerque who was coming in from his defeat at the city of ormuz in the Persian Gulf arrived in India Albuquerque first pulled into port at canor but eventually made his way down to coochin in his hand was a

letter from King Manuel appointing him the next Governor ela's time was up the meeting between the two commanders was going to be awkward at best Alonso despite his Fierce personality tried to be polite in taking over command Francisco however held Alonso in complete contempt as he had abandoned his position in the red SE SE thereby allowing the mamlock fleet to enter the Indian Ocean this basically implied that he felt Alfonso de Albuquerque was in part responsible for his son's death as expected Francisco de almea refused to step down stating that his position as vicroy didn't

end until January furthermore he argued he was about to engage the enemy Alonso on the other hand wasn't going to back down either and insisted that he be the one to take command of the fleet and hunt down the mamlock Armada himself a massive confrontation that would drag the Portuguese in the Civil War was about to happen but then suddenly on December 9th Alonso de Albuquerque awoke in coach chin to find both the vicroy and is Armada gone Roger Crowley in the book The conquerors explains quote Almeida had sailed up the west coast of India

impelled by powerful forces both personal and strategic however however in refusing to seed the governorship of India to Albuquerque he was now openly disobeying the king he was convinced that a showdown with the Egyptian fleet was necessary for the security of the Portuguese Enterprise at the same time he sought Revenge but whatever the consequences for himself if he ever made it back to Lisbon he had decided to take the law into his own hands end quote the Portuguese Armada that sailed from coin under the command of Francisco de alamea in late 1508 was the best

trained and equipped Fleet that Portugal had yet brought to bear as it made its way up the Malibar Coast it raided and looted and destroyed any enemy it encountered its passage was to be a demonstration of Power by late December Francisco de almea had arrived at the city of dul the place where his son had failed to attack in 1506 it was a very wealthy City that had sided with his enemies in the past and as such almea was determined that it would serve as an example to those who would dare to defy the Portuguese

as the city of dull came into view Francisco told his captains that they would not only have to capture the city but as he himself would say they needed to instill Terror in the enemy so that they remained completely traumatized in the vice Roy's mind they had helped to kill his son he wanted them to be more than just defeated he wanted them to be broken what's more he wanted that Terror to be transmitted to all of his adversaries who were still laying in wait he wanted his qualities known amongst his enemies before he ever

met them Roger Crowley gives the account of the massacre that ensued quote ala's captains obeyed his instructions to the letter on December 31st at dawn his ship's launched a heavy bombardment alongside simultaneous amphibious Landings The Wooden walls of the city soon fell and as the Garrison fled in disarray the Portuguese pursued them what followed was a black day in the history of European Conquest that would leave the Portuguese cursed on Indian soil taken by surprise the people of the city fled in all directions the slaughter was indiscriminate women and men young and old all went

down before the sword little children were ripped from the arms of their terrified mothers dangled by their feet and dashed against walls in places resistance was Valiant but futile end quote the city was systematically eluded and then burned to the ground people that had taken shelter and basement and mosques were incinerated alive the massacre of deul would live forever in the memories of the few people who survived it would rankle on onside Vasco de Gama's destruction of the pilgrim ship the Meri with his work done almea departed dull on January 5th 1509 the fleet made

its way North and soon arrived at the city of chal where his son had died a large tribute was demanded from the city and it was amassed without question a pile of gold was waiting for the vice Roy when he arrived but when his forces disembarked to collect it they found the entire city was empty everyone had fled almeida's shock and awe was clearly having the effect he wanted by late January of 1509 Francisco had moved on to the island of Mumbai to repair and refit his ships before the final push on du all 18

of his ships and 12200 of his men had survived thus far it was here that he got a letter from Malik aaz the governor of du who had participated at the Battle of cha keep in mind it was Malik's men who most likely had killed Francisco's son now that said the Loyalty of Malik aaz was still up for grabs and he was ready to cut a deal with the Portuguese he offered friendship money tribute and the return of the prisoners he had taken a Chaw Malik even revealed the composition of the mamlock fleet hoping to

persuade the vicroy Francisco de almeida's response however was not quite what Malik was respecting quote I the Viceroy address you the most honorable Malik aaz to let you know that I am on my way to your city to seek out the men Sheltering there after fighting with mine at Chaw and killing a man known to be my son I am coming with the hope of God on high to wreck Vengeance on them and to those who help them and if I don't find them your city will not Escape me it will repay me for everything

and so will you who gave them such great help at Shaw I am informing you of this so that you are fully aware of it when I arrive know that I am on my way end [Music] quote the city of du was blessed with a magnificent Harbor there was space for hundreds of ships inside were impressive Dry Dock facilities at the entrance there was a chain that spanned the water and there was even multiple Shore batteries that provided protection the mamlock Admiral Amir Hussein aleri had six mamlock galys and six European style carxs his ally

the aforementioned governor of the city Malik Gaz had 30 light gys and four Gujarati carxs their strength had also been bolstered by reinforcements the zamorin the king of the city of Calicut who really wanted to see the Portuguese go down had sent in an additional 100 smaller ships altogether there were over 140 vessels that held 5,000 fighting men along with 450 Elite mamlock Warriors however despite their superiority in numbers their leadership was heavily divided by mistrust and indecisiveness with tactical planning Amir Hussein who had struggled to keep his ship seaworthy and to keep his men

from deserting wanted to sail out and engage the Portuguese on the ocean before they could organize and do a battle formation Malik as and the Zaman ships which were less seaworthy wanted to fight in the harbor where it'd be more effective and be safeguarded by the shore batteries Malik also wanted to protect his City and felt that the mamlock would most likely Cut and Run if they were to leave the Waterfront eventually after a lot of infighting the commanders decided that they would fight within the confines of the city on February 2nd 1509 the Portuguese

came into sight they were exhausted from their long voyage and so they kept their distance to rest and consolidate their tactical formation Malik aaz ordered his men to sail out and harass their enemy but they never ventured past the range of their Shore batteries which basically gave the Portuguese time to organize the next day February 3rd the wind shifted into favor at approximately 11:00 a.m. everyone in the Portuguese Fleet knew exactly what that meant Francisco de almea ordered the Royal Standard raised and a single Cannon to be fired on the floor de Lamar this was

his signal to attack the mamlock had adopted a similar tactical formation as they had at the Battle of CHA along the shoreline near the entrance to the harbor they had anchored their ships side by side closely together in a static position here they would not only be protected by the guns of the city in the fora du but they would also be able to provide close support for one another yet by adopting this formation they had completely surrendered the initiative to the Portuguese Viceroy Malik Gaz and the ships of Calicut meanwhile remained further back in

the harbor Malik had wagered that almea like his son would immediately attack the mamlock ships engaging them at Point Blank Range with grappling hooks and boarding parties and avoiding long-range bombardment his plan was to come in on the flank and the rear of the Portuguese once they were heavily engaged with the mamlock now oddly enough Malik had intentionally not raised the heavy chain that protected the harbor which would have effectively banned the Portuguese from entering some historians argue that Malik did this as he was still trying to gain almeida's favor looking on from his Bridge

the Portuguese vicroy astutely took in the Tactical and strategic scenario he knew this would be a pivotal battle as he was later remembered saying to his men be certain that in conquering this Fleet We Will Conquer All of India as he and his men uttered the cry Santiago the Portuguese Fleet moved in seeing their adversary approach the shore batteries were primed and began to open fire the lead ship the Santo espiro took several direct hits the men on its forward deck were killed instantly as the rest of the ships came into range they too came

under intense cannon fire but despite taking casualties and being shot at from several sides they pushed on and made their way into the main Harbor Almeida knew he was outnumbered so he divided his Fleet into several attack groups each having instructed in exactly what to do the first group was instructed to bombard the enemy at a distance they trained their cannons to shoot directly into the water the cannonballs thus bounced over the waves like skipping stones and slammed into the mamlock ships just above the waterline the second group was commanded to move in grapple and

then board the Muslim ships this contingent was led by the Santo espiro which pulled up alongside inside the ship next to Amir Hussein's Flagship the Santo espiro Unleashed a devastating broadside at Point Blank Range cannonballs tore through her Target the mamlock ship receiving the fire shuttered from the blast keeled over and immediately began to sink drowning everyone on board the rest of the second group of ships closed in and repeated this maneuver blasting their assigned targets at close range but then a deafening Roar came from both sides as Hussein's men began to return fire smoke

built blow out from all the ships blotting out the sun casualties began to mount on both sides but the mamlock despite having skilled Gunners were limited by their formation and being able to unleash their full broadsides it was at this point that the Portuguese had moved into position to begin grappling and boarding their opponents the Santo espiro attempted to board Hussein's Flagship but just as Portuguese soldiers started to go across an Egyptian carak using its anchor lines moved in and sandwiched the Portuguese ship which now had to take a defensive position and came near to

being captured however the nearby Ray Grande seeing this unfold changed course and ramed Hussein's ship on the other side Amir Hussein's men raced to confront the new threat and the battle shifted once again into Portugal's favor all along the line broadsides were being Unleashed men were fighting hand to hand and arrows and small gunfire filled the air Malik Gaz meanwhile watched on From a Distance on the shore even from his vantage point he could tell that the Portuguese tactics and maneuver ability were slowly winning the day almeida's men may have been outnumbered but their cannons

not to mention their plate and chain armor had made them near Invincible one mamlock ship after another was being overwhelmed with the ferocity of the Portuguese attack it was at this point that Malik finally gave the order for his ships along with his Calicut allies to sail in on the Portuguese rear perhaps there was still a chance he could turn the tide Francisco de almea however had anticipated this he had created one last battle Group which consisted of two ships the Flor Delamar and the sa Antonio he had kept his Flagship back at a distance

in the middle of the harbor where he could better take in the entire fight and give commands to his men the S Antonio was deployed Midway as a communication ship that conveyed his orders directly to his men but the FL Delamar was directly positioned in this way to intercept the ships of du and Calicut it was essentially one ship against many but as this Fleet moved in the Flor Delamar opened up on them the initial broadsides were so violent that they shook alida's Flagship to its core wooden beams growned and the mighty ship began to

come apart Francisco immediately deployed his men for damage control he knew he had to repair his ship if the Flor Delamar sink the battle would have been lost miraculously the ship held together and continu to unleash one volley after another as luck would have it the wind shifted and the current began to slow down this brought Malik's ships to a near standstill a perfect Target for experienced Portuguese Gunners to take them down throughout the day the flor de Lamar continued to fire its broadsides it was said that the flagship unloaded over 600 rounds at one

point almida had inflicted so much damage that the floating remains of his opponent's ships became an obstacle the in coming Gujarati carxs were heavily damaged some were reduced to skeleton Crews as their casualties skyrocketed the ships at Calicut meanwhile only stood up to a volley or two before turning back and then retreating from the harbor altogether the Flor Delamar had effectively stopped this incoming Fleet in some places literally dead in their tracks the fate of the mamlock ships was now sealed fighting would continue down the line for the rest of the day Amir Hussein's men

did fight back ferociously inde a third of almeida's men would be wounded but the tide of battle had definitively shifted the Portuguese were handing out death wholesale a chronicler of the time would lament the sea was red with the blood of the Dead eventually even Amir Hussein's Flagship was taken by a Combined Assault The mamlock Admiral at the last moment decided to abandon ship and escaped in a Longboat now only one mamlock ship was left the largest carak of the fleet the Portuguese swarmed it their goal was no longer to capture it this final fight

was about Annihilation every gun was aimed at the lone ship and then almeida's Fleet hit it with everything they had it took several volleys but finally The Last Ship was reduced to burning splinters the Battle of du was over almeida's victory was [Music] absolute as the sun set on February 3rd 1509 the Portuguese counted 32 dead and over 400 wounded many of their ships were heavily damaged their adversaries on the other hand had it much worse every mamlock ship was captured or destroyed for Gujarat the CarX were captured and nearly 400 mamlock Warriors and 1,400

adu's men were killed Francisco the almea however was not done Crowley's account describes what is nothing less than bloodlust quote almea did not want du he considered it to be impossible to defend with his existing forces instead he demanded substantial compensation and terrible Revenge which he got Malik gayaz had to surrender all the mamlock he was Sheltering in the city to a variety of ghastly Fates some had their hands and feet chopped off others were burned alive in a great P some were tied to the mouth of cannons and blasted to pieces or put Shackled

into captured ships that were sunk by gunfire the city Gates were then decorated with bloody rosaries a dismembered body parts if the outcome of du was perhaps inevitable its consequences were profound it destroyed once and for all the credibility of The mamlock Sultans and Muslim hopes that the Portuguese could be swept from the sea the Franks were to be in the Indian Ocean to stay end quote the True Legacy and importance of the battle of du is still debated but it's hard to argue that it didn't have at least a few lasting ramifications some historians

strongly feel that it set the stage for Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean which in turn would lead to one of the greatest trade empires in history they'd go on to say that the trade routes that were established and the knowledge that was obtained set a new normal that would lead the way to globalization what more every European power either impressed or envious of Portugal success would be also Keen to cash in on a similar experience but perhaps it's best that we go back to 1509 Amir Hussein the mamik Admiral would return to Egypt ironically

on Horseback he'd eventually be given another command but would be killed by his own first officer the mamlock would never again seriously threaten Portuguese interests in time they themselves would be conquered by the Ottomans and in 1517 Malik aaz would live on as Governor a du he'd always be looking for a way any way to preserve his City he would die there in 1522 surrounded by wealth and opulence the Zoran of Calicut retreated his forces after the battle at theu his City would continue to be defiant against European expansion with the days of Calicut being

an independent power were numbered Francisco de Almeida returned to co chin an empty man he had nothing left his wife had died years before his son was dead and his revenge was complete he relinquished his position as Viceroy and in December of 1509 when the winds were favorable he departed India and was destined never to return as he made his return Journey he knew that his status in the eyes of King Manuel were tarnished if he made it back to Lisbon he figured that at best he'd be facing political Exile and at worst arrest imprisonment

and even execution but he was faded never to return to his homeland in March of 1510 just beyond the Cape of Good Hope he was killed by a native African tribe in a minor Skirmish over cattle his men managed to recover his body and he was interred in a small humble grave in Cape Town however it is said that a tombstone was made for him back in Portugal his Epitaph would read ear lies is D Francisco de almea Vice Roy of India who never lied and who never fled [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music]