Francisco De Almeida
Introduction
A Portuguese nobleman, soldier, and adventurer with the name of Francisco de Almeida. He gained notoriety as an advisor to King John II of Portugal, then during the Moorish wars and the 1492 conquest of Granada. In 1505, he was appointed the first viceroy and king of the Portuguese State of India.
Francisco De Almeida
• In order to protect Portuguese interests, King Ferdinand I of Portugal appointed a three-year governor in India and provided him with sufficient troops in 1505.
• By capturing Aden, Ormuz, and Malacca, the newly appointed governor, Francisco De Almeida, was given the job of strengthening the Portuguese position in India and obliterating Muslim trade.
• There were only 8 ships left when Francisco de Almeida arrived in Cochin on October 31, 1505.
• While he arrived there, he discovered that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been massacred. He sent his son Lourenço with six ships to attack Quilon's harbor, where they indiscriminately sank Calicut boats.
• Almeida made Cochin his home. He strengthened Fort Manuel's Portuguese defenses in Cochin.
• Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese dominion in the Indian Ocean with his victory in the 1509 naval Battle of Diu.
• The first Portuguese to reach Bombay by the Sea in 1509 was Almeida.
• In the naval Battle of Diu on February 3, 1509, he pursued Meliqueaz, to whom he had written a terrifying letter, and the Mamluk Mirocem, who was commanding a fleet of 23 ships close to the port of Diu.
• With technical naval assistance from the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), which was concerned for its eastern trade routes, he destroyed a joint fleet of the Mamluk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan of Gujarat, and the Zamorin of Calicut.
• Additionally, he received instructions to fortify Cochin and Anjadiva.
• On the other side, Kilwa and Cannanore Almeida had to contend with the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt as well as the Zamorin's resistance.
• The merchants of Venice, whose lucrative commerce was now in jeopardy due to Portuguese involvement, encouraged the formation of an Egyptian navy in the Red Sea to fight the Portuguese advance.
• Almeida's son was killed when the Portuguese squadron was defeated by the combined Egyptian and Gujarati navies off the coast of Diu in 1507.
• Almeida destroyed both ships the next year to exact revenge for his loss. Portuguese dominance over the Indian Ocean was Almeida's ultimate goal.
• His guiding principle was the Blue Water Policy (cartage system).
• Before heading back to Portugal, Almeida perished in a battle with natives at the Cape of Good Hope in 1510. His only son, Lourenço de Almeida, had earlier died in the Battle of Chaul.
Blue Water Strategy
• The "Blue Water" Policy is credited to Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese holdings in India.
• The main objective of this strategy is to establish Portugal as a maritime power.
• In order for Portuguese companies to establish themselves in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean must be fortified.
• The blue water strategy of Viceroy of Possession in India, Francisco de Almeida, aimed to maintain sea dominance in Indian waterways and restrict their operations to just commercial activities.
• According to this idea, the Portuguese should be the exclusive trading power in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
• It was advised that the Portuguese become a force to be reckoned with at sea rather than building fortifications on the Indian continent.
Conclusion
Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean with his victory in the 1509 naval Battle of Diu. Before travelling back to Portugal in 1510, Almeida was killed in a clash with locals close to the Cape of Good Hope. His only son, Lourenço de Almeida, had perished in the Battle of Chaul.