The siege of Bintan of 1526 was a military operation in which Portuguese forces successfully sieged, assaulted and destroyed the city of Bintan ( Bintão , in Portuguese), capital of the former Sultan of Malacca Mahmud Shah .
140-661: Portuguese control of Malacca – a city on the Malay Peninsula – spanned a 130 year period from 1511 to 1641 as a possession of the Portuguese East Indies . It was captured from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to gain control of trade in the region. Although multiple attempts to conquer it were repulsed, the city was eventually lost to an alliance of Dutch and regional forces , thus beginning
280-652: A dynastic Iberian Union . At Tomar, Philip promised to keep the empires legally distinct, leaving the administration of the Portuguese Empire to Portuguese nationals, with a Viceroy of Portugal in Lisbon seeing to his interests. Philip even had the capital moved to Lisbon for a two-year period (1581–83) due to it being the most important city in the Iberian peninsula . All the Portuguese colonies accepted
420-399: A Malay boy that the city could be most easily stormed via the bridge, and this information was confirmed by a Portuguese POW who had fled the city. Very early on the following day, Mascarenhas landed 100 Portuguese soldiers and 300 Malays on the island on which the city of Bintan stood, and under the protection of the ships artillery had a small stockade equipped with light artillery built on
560-509: A carrack and the two batels protected by pavises and heavy rope mats. The Sultan's forces responded with their own artillery which was lighter than those of the Portuguese. Unable to seriously damage their vessels, the Sultan's forces abandoned the islet an hour later and the Portuguese captured 20 light artillery pieces there. The following day, the Portuguese proceeded in similar manner against another stockade located on another islet protecting
700-712: A cautious trade began. In 1557 the Chinese authorities allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macau, creating a warehouse in the trade of goods between China, Japan, Goa and Europe. Portuguese operations in Asia did not go unnoticed, and in 1521 Magellan arrived in the region and claimed the Philippines for Spain. In 1525, Spain under Charles V sent an expedition to colonize the Moluccas islands , claiming they were in his zone of
840-455: A community of Chinese merchants, probably from Fujian and other places, who left China in defiance of Ming laws. They were probably not treated well by the sultan, as all or almost all supported the Portuguese and helped them establish relations with neighbouring countries. They had much to gain both from the protection and connections the Portuguese could offer. China was first contacted in 1513 by Jorge Álvares , who sailed from Malacca in
980-521: A few years after Cabral arrived from Brazil, competition came along from France. In 1503, an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho reported French raids on the Brazilian coasts, and explorer Binot Paulmier de Gonneville traded for brazilwood after making contact in southern Brazil a year later. Expeditions sponsored by Francis I along the North American coast directly violated of
1120-554: A fleet of five junks and set foot on an island in the Pearl River Delta , and erected a padrão . He was followed by Rafael Perestrello , who landed in continental China proper and traded profitably at Guangzhou . The protection which Albuquerque provided to the resident Chinese merchants ensured that they were well received. On 17 June 1517 a fleet of eight ships under the command of Fernão Peres de Andrade reached Guangzhou with an embassy from King Manuel I of Portugal ,
1260-560: A flight. The city was then stormed, the sailors having taken part in the assault, throwing clay bombs. By 10am the city had been taken. That day, the Portuguese were joined by their ally, the Sultan of Linga, accompanied by 20 oarvessels, who helped with mop-up operations. The Portuguese captured rich spoil, including 300 pieces of artillery. The city was then torched. The islands of Bintan were then restored to its former ruler, whom Sultan Mahmud had displaced and who agreed to become an ally of Portugal. The Portuguese managed to capture
1400-461: A force led by António Correia captured Bahrain , defeating the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil . In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of the southern Persian Gulf for the next hundred years. With the regular maritime route linking Lisbon to Goa since 1497, the island of Mozambique became a strategic port, and there was built Fort São Sebastião and a hospital. In
1540-439: A force of around 1,200 men and seventeen or eighteen ships. Albuquerque made a number of demands, one of which was for permission to build a fortress as a Portuguese trading post near the city where they could trade safely. The sultan refused, and after 40 days of fighting, Malacca fell to the Portuguese on 24 August with Sultan Mahmud Shah fleeing the city. A dispute between Sultan Mahmud and his son Sultan Ahmad also weighed down on
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#17327660663431680-455: A great number of the sultan's court, servants, harem and part of his royal treasure in the vicinity of the city, where they killed many who had not been able to flee in time. The harem was gifted to the Sultan of Linga, an ally of the Portuguese. Mascarenhas remained in Bintan for 15 days, capturing and dividing spoils, organizing the voyage back home, and hunting for those who had fled, but which
1820-523: A height of 40 fathoms. It was constructed at the foot of the fortress hill, next to the sea. A circular wall of mortar and stone with a well in the middle was constructed to its east. Over the years, constructions began to fully fortify the fortress hill. The pentagonal system began at the farthest point of the cape near south-east of the river mouth, towards the west of the Fortaleza. At this point two ramparts were built at right angles to each other lining
1960-440: A large Castilian fleet attempted to wrest control of this lucrative trade, but were decisively defeated in the 1478 Battle of Guinea , which firmly established an exclusive Portuguese control. In 1481, the recently crowned João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina in order to ensure the protection of this trade, which was held again as a royal monopoly. The equator was crossed by navigators sponsored by Fernão Gomes in 1473 and
2100-637: A new capital in the south, creating the Johor Sultanate . The Sultan of Johor made several attempts to end Portuguese rule in Malacca. A request sent to Java in 1550 resulted in Ratu Kalinyamat , queen regnant of Jepara , sending 4,000 soldiers aboard 40 ships to aid Johor in taking Malacca. The Jepara troops joined forces with the Malay alliance and managed to assemble around 200 warships for
2240-450: A new city and fleet there, and continuously harassed Portuguese Malacca and its shipping. The captain of Malacca, Dom Pedro Mascarenhas had dispatched a flotilla of oarships to Bintan to blockade it. Promoted by King John III to the position of Governor of India in 1526 but unable to sail to Goa due to the weather, Dom Pedro decided to take advantage of the unusually high number of soldiers then available at Malacca to put an end to
2380-444: A period of Dutch rule . According to the 16th-century Portuguese historian Emanuel Godinho de Erédia , the site of the old city of Malacca was named after the malacca tree ( Phyllanthus emblica ), fruit-bearing trees along the banks of a river called Airlele (Ayer Leleh). The Airlele river was said to originate from Buquet China (present-day Bukit Cina ). Eredia cited that the city was founded by Permicuri (i.e. Parameswara )
2520-478: A regional power with a formidable naval force and regarded Portuguese Malacca as a potential threat. In 1629, Iskandar Muda of the Aceh Sultanate sent several hundred ships to attack Malacca , but the mission was a devastating failure. According to Portuguese sources, all his ships were destroyed and lost some 19,000 men in the process. The Dutch with their local allies assaulted and captured Malacca from
2660-665: A role in their alliance. The Adal Sultanate defeated the Ethiopians in the battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529, and Islam spread further in the region . Portugal responded by aiding king Gelawdewos with Portuguese soldiers and muskets. Though the Ottomans responded with support of soldiers and muskets to the Adal Sultanate, after the death of the Adali sultan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543,
2800-623: A sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama . The squadron of Vasco da Gama left Portugal in 1497, rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut , the capital of the kingdom ruled by Zamorins , also known as Kozhikode ) in south-western India in May 1498. The second voyage to India
2940-417: A squadron of junks against Portuguese caravels that succeeded in driving the Portuguese away and reclaiming Tamao. As a result, the Chinese posted an edict banning men with Caucasian features from entering Canton, killing multiple Portuguese there, and driving the Portuguese back to sea. After the Sultan of Bintan detained several Portuguese under Tomás Pires, the Chinese then executed 23 Portuguese and threw
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#17327660663433080-480: A substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth (1500–1800) when it accounted for about a fifth of Portugal's per-capita income. When King Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal) seized the Portuguese crown in 1580, there began a 60-year union between Spain and Portugal known to subsequent historiography as the Iberian Union , although the realms continued to have separate administrations. As
3220-417: A trading center at Tangasseri , Quilon ( Coulão , Kollam ) city in (1503) in 1502, which became the centre of trade in pepper, and after founding manufactories at Cochin ( Cochim , Kochi) and Cannanore ( Canonor , Kannur), built a factory at Quilon in 1503. In 1505 King Manuel I of Portugal appointed Francisco de Almeida first Viceroy of Portuguese India, establishing the Portuguese government in
3360-534: The Fortaleza de Malaca , controlling access to the sea lanes of the Strait of Malacca and the spice trade in the region, where it repulsed an attack from Aceh in 1568. The Dutch started by launching small incursions and skirmishes against the Portuguese. The first serious attempt was the siege of Malacca in 1606 by the third VOC fleet with eleven ships, commanded by Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge that led to
3500-628: The Azores and Madeira , both had overwhelmingly Portuguese populations, and Lisbon subsequently changed their constitutional status from " overseas provinces " to " autonomous regions ". The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) is the cultural successor of the Empire, analogous to the Commonwealth of Nations for countries formerly part of the British Empire . The origin of
3640-983: The Battle of Tunmen in Tamão or Tuen Mun . In 1521, the Portuguese lost 2 ships at the Battle of Sincouwaan in Lantau Island . The Portuguese also lost 2 ships at Shuangyu in 1548 where several Portuguese were captured and near the Dongshan Peninsula . In 1549 two Portuguese junks and Galeote Pereira were captured. During these battles the Ming Chinese captured weapons from the defeated Portuguese which they then reverse engineered and mass-produced in China such as matchlock musket arquebuses which they named bird guns and breech-loading swivel guns which they named as Folangji ( Frankish ) cannon because
3780-582: The Bijapur sultanate in 1510 was soon countered by the Bijapuris, but with the help of Hindu privateer Timoji , on November 25 of the same year it was recaptured. In Goa, Albuquerque began the first Portuguese mint in India in 1510. He encouraged Portuguese settlers to marry local women, built a church in honor of St. Catherine (as it was recaptured on her feast day), and attempted to build rapport with
3920-850: The Bruneian Empire from 1530 and described the capital of Brunei as surrounded by a stone wall. The Portuguese empire expanded into the Persian Gulf, contesting control of the spice trade with the Ajuran Empire and the Ottoman Empire . In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at the head of the Persian Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state. Aden , however, resisted Albuquerque's expedition in that same year and another attempt by Albuquerque's successor Lopo Soares de Albergaria in 1516. In 1521
4060-594: The Congo River by Diogo Cão in 1482. It was during this expedition that the Portuguese first encountered the Kingdom of Kongo , with which it soon developed a rapport. During his 1485–86 expedition, Cão continued to Cape Cross , in present-day Namibia , near the Tropic of Capricorn . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa and reached Great Fish River on the coast of Africa, proving false
4200-620: The Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista , the gradual reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors . After establishing itself as a separate kingdom in 1139, Portugal completed its reconquest of Moorish territory by reaching Algarve in 1249, but its independence continued to be threatened by neighbouring Castile until the signing of the Treaty of Ayllón in 1411. Free from threats to its existence and unchallenged by
4340-679: The Misericordia . With regards to native matters, the administrative structure of Malacca pre-conquest remained largely unchanged. Afonso de Albuquerque initially wanted the sultan to return and rule under the Portuguese eye. The posts of bendahara , temenggung and shahbandar were maintained and appointed from among the non-muslims of Malacca. In 1571, an attempt was made by King Sebastian to establish three separate entities of his Asian colonial holdings with Malacca being one sector under its own governor, though this effort did not come to fruition. According to Eredia in 1613, Malacca
Portuguese Malacca - Misplaced Pages Continue
4480-754: The Portuguese Overseas ( Ultramar Português ) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire ( Império Colonial Português ), was composed of the overseas colonies , factories , and later overseas territories , governed by the Kingdom of Portugal , and later the Republic of Portugal . It was one of the longest-lived colonial empires in European history, lasting 584 years from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 to
4620-563: The Red Sea and passing through Bassein to pay duties and allow the horse trade. After Mughal ruler Humayun had success against Bahadur, the latter signed another treaty with the Portuguese to confirm the provisions and allowed the fort to be built in Diu. Shortly afterward, Humayun turned his attention elsewhere, and the Gujarats allied with the Ottomans to regain control of Diu and lay siege to
4760-565: The Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century), Portuguese Timor , and enclaves in India ( Portuguese India ) and China ( Portuguese Macau ). The 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa . Under António Salazar (in office 1932–1968), the Estado Novo dictatorship made some ill-fated attempts to cling on to its last remaining colonies. Under
4900-493: The Sultan of Pahang , then at war with the Portuguese. They retreated after a stiff but brief fight in which the Portuguese captured 18 vessels. After 24 days, all stakes had been removed and the Portuguese anchored their fleet close to the main bulwark that defended the city and the bridge. Very early the following day, the Sultan's forces attacked the Portuguese galley and caravel with their 20 oarships as they were closest to
5040-684: The Sultanate of Gujarat due to his suspicions of traders from the region possessing more power. The Mamlûk Sultanate sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri along with the Gujarati sultanate attacked Portuguese forces in the harbor of Chaul , resulting in the death of Almeida's son . In retaliation, the Portuguese fought and destroyed the Mamluks and Gujarati fleets in the sea Battle of Diu in 1509. Along with Almeida's initial attempts, Manuel I and his council in Lisbon had tried to distribute power in
5180-482: The Treaty of Tordesilhas . By 1531, the French had stationed a trading post off of an island on the Brazilian coast. The increase in brazilwood smuggling from the French led João III to press an effort to establish effective occupation of the territory. In 1531, a royal expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa and his brother Pero Lopes went to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create some of
5320-507: The Treaty of Tordesillas , since there was no set limit to the east. The expedition of García Jofre de Loaísa reached the Moluccas, docking at Tidore . With the Portuguese already established in nearby Ternate, conflict was inevitable, leading to nearly a decade of skirmishes. A resolution was reached with the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529, attributing the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain. The Portuguese traded regularly with
5460-512: The battle of Cape Rachado . Although the Dutch were routed, the Portuguese fleet of Martim Afonso de Castro , the Viceroy of Goa, suffered heavier casualties and the battle rallied the forces of the Sultanate of Johor into an alliance with the Dutch and later on with the Aceh Sultanate. The Dutch attacked Malacca again in 1616. Around that same time period, the Sultanate of Aceh had grown into
5600-455: The cartaz licensing system, granting merchant ships protection against pirates and rival states. Profiting from the rivalry between the ruler of Kochi and the Zamorin of Calicut , the Portuguese were well-received and seen as allies, as they obtained a permit to build the fort Immanuel ( Fort Kochi ) and a trading post that was the first European settlement in India. They established
5740-474: The transfer of sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999. The empire began in the 15th century, and from the early 16th century it stretched across the globe, with bases in Africa, North America, South America, and various regions of Asia and Oceania . The Portuguese Empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery , and the power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across
Portuguese Malacca - Misplaced Pages Continue
5880-574: The "Island of the Papua". In 1517, João da Silveira commanded a fleet to Chittagong , and by 1528, the Portuguese had established a settlement in Chittagong . The Portuguese eventually based their center of operations along the Hugli River , where they encountered Muslims, Hindus, and Portuguese deserters known as Chatins . Jorge Alvares was the first European to reach China by sea, while
6020-659: The "sweet salt" that was rare in Europe. Already cultivated in Algarve , the accessibility of Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders keen to bypass Venetian monopolies. Slaves were used, and the proportion of imported slaves in Madeira reached 10% of the total population by the 16th century. By 1480 Antwerp had some seventy ships engaged in the Madeira sugar trade, with the refining and distribution concentrated in Antwerp. By
6160-540: The 1490s Madeira had overtaken Cyprus as a producer of sugar. The success of sugar merchants such as Bartolomeo Marchionni would propel the investment in future travels. In 1469, after prince Henry's death and as a result of meagre returns of the African explorations, King Afonso V granted the monopoly of trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea to merchant Fernão Gomes . Gomes, who had to explore 100 miles (160 km) of
6300-616: The Atlantic African coast. A key supporter of this policy was Infante Dom Henry the Navigator , who had been involved in the capture of Ceuta , and who took the lead role in promoting and financing Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and whether it
6440-660: The Azores, the Islands Armada protected the ships en route to Lisbon. In 1534, Gujarat faced attack from the Mughals and the Rajput states of Chitor and Mandu . The Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese, establishing an alliance to regain the country, giving in exchange Daman , Diu , Mumbai and Bassein . It also regulated the trade of Gujarati ships departing to
6580-410: The European market highly valued gold, ivory, pepper, cotton, sugar, and slaves. The slave trade, for example, was conducted by a few dozen merchants in Lisbon. In the process of expanding the trade routes, Portuguese navigators mapped unknown parts of Africa, and began exploring the Indian Ocean. In 1487, an overland expedition by Pêro da Covilhã made its way to India, exploring trade opportunities with
6720-399: The French intrusion, Joao III appointed Mem de Sá as new Brazilian governor general, and Sá left for Brazil in 1557. By 1560, Sá and his forces had expelled the combined Huguenot , Scottish Calvinist , and slave forces from France Antarctique, but left survivors after burning their fortifications and villages. These survivors would settle Gloria Bay , Flamengo Beach , and Parapapuã with
6860-659: The Gate of Santo António linking to the suburb of Yler and the western gate at the Custom House Terrace, giving access to Tranqueira and its bazaar. After almost 300 years of existence, in 1806, the British, unwilling to maintain the fortress and wary of letting other European powers take control of it, ordered its slow destruction. The fort was almost totally demolished but for the timely intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles visiting Malacca in 1810. The only remnants of
7000-663: The Hindus by protecting their temples and reducing their tax requirements. The Portuguese maintained friendly relations with the south Indian Emperors of the Vijayanagara Empire . In April 1511, Albuquerque sailed to Malacca on the Malay Peninsula , the largest spice market of the period. Though the trade was largely dominated by the Gujarati, other groups such as the Turks, Persians, Armenians, Tamils and Abyssinians traded there. Albuquerque targeted Malacca to impede
7140-431: The Iberian Peninsula, but it proved costly to defend against the Muslim forces that soon besieged it. The Portuguese were unable to use it as a base for further expansion into the hinterland, and the trans-Saharan caravans merely shifted their routes to bypass Ceuta and/or used alternative Muslim ports. Although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along
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#17327660663437280-428: The Indian Ocean, creating three areas of jurisdiction: Albuquerque was sent to the Red Sea, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to South-east Asia, seeking an agreement with the Sultan of Malacca, and Jorge de Aguiar followed by Duarte de Lemos were sent to the area between the Cape of Good Hope and Gujarat. However, such posts were centralized by Afonso de Albuquerque after his succession and remained so in subsequent ruling. By
7420-466: The Indians and Arabs, and winding up finally in Ethiopia. His detailed report was eagerly read in Lisbon, which became the best-informed center for global geography and trade routes. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador , and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henry's captains, Gil Eanes . Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to probe further along
7560-417: The King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain: the Dutch Republic , England , and France . With its smaller population, Portugal found itself unable to effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts, and the empire began a long and gradual decline. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of
7700-613: The King", and they were Portuguese girl orphans sent to overseas colonies to marry Portuguese settlers. Portuguese Malacca was placed under the authority of Portuguese India , based in Goa with its governor/viceroy overseeing its rule. Malacca itself was administered by the captain-major whose office was located inside the Fortaleza . In 1552, Malacca was granted a charter to become a city equipped with its own city senate which normally consisted of fidalgos, procuradores dos mesteres (trade guild representatives) and citizens acting on behalf of marginalised groups. The city senate represented
7840-404: The Malacca River to provide access to the Malacca Fortress via the eastern Custome House Terrace. The centre of trade of the city was also located in Tranqueira near the beach on the mouth of the river called the Bazaar of the Jaos (Jowo/Jawa i.e. Javanese). In the present day, this part of the city is called Tengkera. The district of Yler ( Hilir ) roughly covered Buquet China ( Bukit Cina ) and
7980-439: The Malaccan side. Following the defeat of the Malacca Sultanate, Afonso de Albuquerque sought to erect a fort in anticipation of the counterattacks by Sultan Mahmud. A fortress was designed and constructed near a hill, south of the river mouth, on the former site of the mosque. Albuquerque remained in Malacca until November 1511 preparing its defences against any Malay counterattack. Portuguese Malacca faced severe hostility as it
8120-455: The Malay forces, but it was not until 1526 that the Portuguese finally razed Bintan to the ground . The sultan then retreated to Kampar in Riau , Sumatra where he died two years later. He left behind two sons named Muzaffar Shah and Alauddin Riayat Shah II . Muzaffar Shah was invited by the people in the north of the peninsula to become their ruler, establishing the Sultanate of Perak. Mahmud's other son, Alauddin succeeded his father and made
8260-402: The Muslim and Venetian influence in the spice trade and increase that of Lisbon. By July 1511, Albuquerque had captured Malacca and sent Antonio de Abreu and Francisco Serrão (along with Ferdinand Magellan) to explore the Indonesian archipelago. The Malacca peninsula became the strategic base for Portuguese trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia. A strong gate, called the A Famosa ,
8400-419: The Portuguese in January 1641. This combined Dutch–Johor–Aceh efforts effectively destroyed the last bastion of Portuguese power, reducing their influence in the archipelago. The Dutch settled in the city as Dutch Malacca , however the Dutch had no intention to make Malacca their main base, and concentrated on building Batavia (today Jakarta ) as their headquarters in the orient instead. The Portuguese ports in
8540-416: The Portuguese should appeal to him, which gave the Chinese a high opinion of the integrity of the Portuguese. Pires reached Beijing in January 1521 but an ambassador from Sultan Mahmud appealed to Emperor Zhengde for aid against the Portuguese. Zhengde died shortly afterwards and his successor Jiajing ruled that the Portuguese embassy would be held hostage at Guangzhou, until the Portuguese had restored
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#17327660663438680-404: The Portuguese to settle at Macau . The Sultanate of Johor also improved relations with the Portuguese and fought alongside them against the Aceh Sultanate . By the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company ( Dutch : Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC ) began contesting Portuguese power in the East. At that time, the Portuguese had transformed Malacca into an impregnable fortress,
8820-401: The Portuguese were known to the Chinese under the name of Franks at this time. The Portuguese later returned to China peacefully and presented themselves under the name Portuguese instead of Franks in the Luso-Chinese agreement (1554) and rented Macau as a trading post from China by paying annual lease of hundreds of silver taels to Ming China. Despite initial harmony and excitement between
8960-463: The Portuguese, and even had Portuguese ambassadors from Sao Tome support Ndongo against the Kingdom of Kongo. However, when the Jaga attacked and conquered regions of Kongo in 1568, Portuguese assisted Kongo in their defeat. In response, the Kongo allowed the colonization of Luanda Island; Luanda was established by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 and soon became a slave port. De Novais' subsequent alliance with Ndongo angered Luso-Africans who resented
9100-406: The Romans were the first overland via Asia Minor. He was also the first European to discover Hong Kong. In 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Estado da India, dispatched Rafael Perestrello to sail to China in order to pioneer European trade relations with the nation. In their first attempts at obtaining trading posts by force, the Portuguese were defeated by the Ming Chinese at
9240-413: The Spanish and the Portuguese. These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish along a north–south meridian 370 leagues , or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude , the exact boundary
9380-434: The Sultan of Demak, the combined Malay–Java efforts failed. The Portuguese retaliated and forced the sultan to flee to Pahang . Later, the sultan sailed to Bintan Island and established a new capital there. With a base established, the sultan rallied the disarrayed Malay forces and organized several attacks and blockades against the Portuguese's position. Frequent raids on Malacca caused the Portuguese severe hardship. In 1521
9520-405: The Sultanate of Demak began a second campaign to assist the Malay sultan to retake Malacca which failed and cost of the Sultan of Demak his life. He was later remembered as Pangeran Sabrang Lor or the Prince who crossed (the Java Sea ) to North ( Malay Peninsula ). The raids helped convince the Portuguese that the exiled sultan's forces must be silenced. A number of attempts were made to suppress
9660-405: The Tamoios and as spies for their resources. From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá and his forces eventually destroyed France Antarctique at Guanabara Bay. He and his nephew, Estácio de Sá , then established the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1567, after Mem de Sá proclaimed the area "São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro" in 1565. By 1575, the Tamoios had been subdued and essentially were extinct, and by 1580
9800-455: The ambassador Tomé Pires disembarked with pomp and circumstance and was well received by the Chinese authorities who came to see him with great ceremony. Pires and his companions received one of the best houses in the city and received frequent visits from distinguished residents. Andrade moved his ships to the Island of Tamão, where he obtained authorization from the Ming authorities to open a trade post and declared that anyone who had demands on
9940-447: The assistance of the Tamoio natives. The Tamoio had been allied with the French since the settlement of France Antarctique, and despite the French loss in 1560, the Tamoio were still a threat. They launched two attacks in 1561 and 1564 (the latter event was assisting the French), and were nearly successful with each. By this time period, Manuel de Nóbrega, along with fellow Jesuit José de Anchieta , took part as members of attacks on
10080-410: The beach. Believing the Portuguese would assault the city from there, the Sultan's forces concentrated most of their forces on the city facing that side. As midnight approached however, Mascarenhas personally led 300 Portuguese soldiers, 100 combat slaves and Malay auxiliaries ashore on the crescent shaped island, through the muddy mangrove swamp that at times covered the Portuguese to their waists, in
10220-430: The channel, which was likewise abandoned. The Portuguese then set about painstakingly removing the hundreds of wooden stakes blocking the entrance of the heavy ships, and made of a wood the Portuguese dubbed pau-ferro , literally, "iron-wood", all while under fire of the Sultan's artillery. After ten days, the Portuguese were attacked by a flotilla of 30 lancharas and 2,000 men dispatched by an ally of Sultan Mahmud,
10360-524: The city began to decline as a trading port. Rather than achieving their ambition of dominating it, the Portuguese had fundamentally disrupted the organisation of the Asian trade network. Rather than being a centralised port of regional exchange, and having been made an authority to police the Strait of Malacca that ensured safety for commercial traffic, trade was instead scattered over a number of ports that experienced warfare among each other. Malacca harboured
10500-479: The city to Sultan Mahmud. Most or all of the members of the embassy were robbed of their belongings and imprisoned, many dying in captivity or being executed. Portuguese presence in China banned, though many Portuguese continued to sail from Malacca to engage in trade or smuggling. Relations with China gradually improved and aid was given against the Wokou pirates along China's shores, by 1557 Ming China agreed to allow
10640-408: The city via a narrow canal, which was blocked by vertical wooden stakes driven into the seabed. On a small hill in the middle of the city, surrounded by another stockade furnished with artillery stood the fortified dwellings of Sultan Mahmud. However, the sultan's fleet had been reduced to 20 oarships that had survived a recent battle with the Portuguese at Linga. Although Mascarenhas could assault
10780-401: The city with only his light oarvessels, he decided instead for a safer drawn-out siege, where he would blockade the island and slowly remove all the stakes from the canal, allowing the larger ships to bombard the city with their heavy artillery when it was assaulted. The Portuguese began by bombarding a stockade Mahmud Shah had built on an islet by the entrance to the canal, with the galleon,
10920-412: The city. Both vessels were grappled and boarded, but the Sultan's forces were unable to overcome their defenders before being forced to retreat by the two Portuguese longboats equipped with heavy-caliber artillery, led by Pedro de Mascarenhas, who had boarded a boat with twenty soldiers. 13 oarships were captured, and the Sultan's admiral was found among the dead. That night, the Portuguese learned from
11060-571: The coast each year for five years, discovered the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe , and found a thriving alluvial gold trade among the natives and visiting Arab and Berber traders at the port then named Mina (the mine), where he established a trading post. Trade between Elmina and Portugal grew throughout a decade. During the War of the Castilian Succession ,
11200-532: The coast to the Tordesillas limit, were decreed by João III on 28 September 1532. The plot of the lands formed as a hereditary captaincies (Capitanias Hereditárias) to grantees rich enough to support settlement, as had been done successfully in Madeira and Cape Verde islands. Each captain-major was to build settlements, grant allotments and administer justice, being responsible for developing and taking
11340-469: The coast. In 1443, Infante Dom Pedro , Henry's brother and by then regent of the Kingdom, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war and trade in the lands south of Cape Bojador. Later this monopoly would be enforced by the papal bulls Dum Diversas (1452) and Romanus Pontifex (1455), granting Portugal the trade monopoly for the newly discovered lands. A major advance that accelerated this project
11480-453: The colonization of Brazil, including São Vicente, and São Paulo , the latter which Nóbrega co-founded. Along with the Jesuit missions later came disease among the natives, among them plague and smallpox . Subsequently, the French would resettle in Portuguese territory at Guanabara Bay , which would be called France Antarctique . While a Portuguese ambassador was sent to Paris to report
11620-444: The command of Tuão Mafamede. The city of Bintan was located on a small island, connected by a fortified bridge to a larger crescent-shaped island that surrounded it. The Portuguese found its main defenses to be the mangrove swamps that made landings perilous, complemented by a moat surrounding the city, poisoned timber stakes, and a tall stockade furnished with artillery. Heavy ships like the galleons and carracks could only approach
11760-401: The costs of colonization, although not being the owner: he could transmit it to offspring, but not sell it. Twelve recipients came from Portuguese gentry who become prominent in Africa and India and senior officials of the court, such as João de Barros . Of the fifteen original captaincies, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. Both were dedicated to the crop of sugar cane , and
11900-476: The crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral reached what would be Brazil . Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. This commercial network and the colonial trade had
12040-529: The earliest Portuguese fortress in Southeast Asia is the Porta de Santiago, now known as the A Famosa . Malacca was the most thoroughly described city in south-east Asia during the 16th and 17th century as a result of it being under Portuguese control. Outside of the fortified town centre were the three suburbs of Malacca. The suburb of Upe (Upih), generally known as Tranqueira (modern day Tengkera ) from
12180-612: The east. That year the Portuguese also conquered Kannur , where they founded St. Angelo Fort , and Lourenço de Almeida arrived in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), where he discovered the source of cinnamon . Although Cankili I of Jaffna initially resisted contact with them, the Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials soon after for their resistance to missionary activities as well as logistical reasons due to its proximity with Trincomalee harbour among other reasons. In
12320-636: The end of 1509, Albuquerque became viceroy of the East Indies with the capital at Velha Goa , after the Cape route was discovered by Vasco da Gama. In contrast to Almeida, Albuquerque was more concerned with strengthening the navy, as well as being more compliant with the interests of the kingdom. His first objective was to conquer Goa, due to its strategic location as a defensive fort positioned between Kerala and Gujarat, as well as its prominence for Arabian horse imports. The initial capture of Goa from
12460-805: The entrance of the Red Sea in 1506 and Muscat in 1507. Having failed to conquer Ormuz , they instead followed a strategy intended to close off commerce to and from the Indian Ocean. Madagascar was partly explored by Cunha, and Mauritius was discovered by Cunha whilst possibly being accompanied by Albuquerque. After the capture of Socotra, Cunha and Albuquerque operated separately. While Cunha traveled India and Portugal for trading purposes, Albuquerque went to India to take over as governor after Almeida's three-year term ended. Almeida refused to turn over power and soon placed Albuquerque under house arrest, where he remained until 1509. Although requested by Manuel I to further explore interests in Malacca and Sri Lanka, Almeida instead focused on western India, in particular
12600-528: The farmlands deeper into the hinterland. In later periods of Dutch, British and modern-day Malacca, the name of Sabba was made obsolete. However, its area encompassed parts of what is now Banda Kaba, Bunga Raya and Kampung Jawa within the modern city centre of Malacca. Portuguese residents were separated into five major subgroups: The Portuguese also shipped over many Órfãs do Rei to Portuguese colonies overseas in Africa and India, and also to Portuguese Malacca. Órfãs do Rei literally translates to "Orphans of
12740-586: The final overthrow of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. The Carnation Revolution of April 1974 in Lisbon led to the hasty decolonization of Portuguese Africa and to the 1975 annexation of Portuguese Timor by Indonesia. Decolonization prompted the exodus of nearly all the Portuguese colonial settlers and of many mixed-race people from the colonies. Portugal returned Macau to China in 1999. The only overseas possessions to remain under Portuguese rule,
12880-522: The first King of Malacca in 1411. Malacca's wealth attracted the attention of the King of Portugal, Manuel I , who sent captain-major Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to make contact with Malacca and sign a trade agreement with its ruler. The first European to reach Southeast Asia , Sequeira arrived in Malacca in 1509. Although he was initially well received by Sultan Mahmud Shah , trouble quickly ensued. The general feeling of rivalry between Islam and Christianity
13020-542: The first colonial towns – among them São Vicente , in 1532. Sousa returned to Lisbon a year later to become governor of India and never returned to Brazil. The French attacks did cease to an extent after retaliation led to the Portuguese paying the French to stop attacking Portuguese ships throughout the Atlantic, but the attacks would continue to be a problem well into the 1560s. Upon de Sousa's arrival and success, fifteen latitudinal tracts, theoretically to span from
13160-578: The fort. The two failed sieges of 1538 and 1546 put an end to Ottoman ambitions, confirming the Portuguese hegemony in the region, as well as gaining superiority over the Mughals. However, the Ottomans fought off attacks from the Portuguese in the Red Sea and in the Sinai Peninsula in 1541, and in the northern region of the Persian Gulf in 1546 and 1552. Each entity ultimately had to respect
13300-485: The fortress. Tranqueira was divided into a further two parishes, São Tomé and São Estêvão. The parish of S.Tomé was called Campon Chelim ( Malay : Kampung Keling ). It was described that this area was populated by the Chelis of Choromandel. The other suburb of São Estêvão was also called Campon China ( Kampung Cina ). Erédia described the houses as made of timber but roofed by tiles. A stone bridge with sentry crossed
13440-550: The gateway of São Domingos, an earth rampart ran south-east for 100 fathoms ending at the bastion of the Madre de Deus. From here, beginning at the gate of Santo António, past the bastion of the Virgins, the rampart ended at the gateway of Santiago. Overall, the city enclosure was 655 fathoms and 10 palms (short) of a fathom. Four gateways were built for the city: Of these four gateways only two were in common use and open to traffic:
13580-538: The globe. In the wake of the Reconquista , Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418–1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography, and maritime technology such as the caravel , with the aim of finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope , and in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by
13720-556: The government became more of an ouvidor general rather than the ouvidores . In 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal after a crisis of succession brought about by King Sebastian of Portugal 's death during a disastrous Portuguese attack on Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578. At the Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Philip was crowned Philip I of Portugal, uniting the two crowns and overseas empires under Spanish Habsburg rule in
13860-712: The government of the colony in order to "give help and assistance" to grantees. In 1548 he created the first General Government, sending in Tomé de Sousa as first governor and selecting a capital at the Bay of All Saints , making it at the Captaincy of Bahia . Tomé de Sousa built the capital of Brazil, Salvador , at the Bay of All Saints in 1549. Among de Sousa's 1000 man expedition were soldiers, workers, and six Jesuits led by Manuel da Nóbrega . The Jesuits would have an essential role in
14000-570: The ideology of pluricontinentalism , the regime renamed its colonies " overseas provinces " while retaining the system of forced labour , from which only a small indigenous élite was normally exempt. In August 1961, the Dahomey annexed the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá , and in December that year India annexed Goa, Daman, and Diu . The Portuguese Colonial War in Africa lasted from 1961 until
14140-606: The influence from the Crown. In 1579, Ndongo ruler Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndamdi massacred Portuguese and Kongolese residents in the Ndongo capital Kabasa under the influence of Portuguese renegades. Both the Portuguese and Kongo fought against Ndongo, and off-and-on warfare between the Ndongo and Portugal would persist for decades. In east-Africa, the main agents acting on behalf of the Portuguese Crown, exploring and settling
14280-590: The interests of the casados who would use it to communicate with the Portuguese Crown. The other major organisation present in the city was the Misericordia or the House of Mercy which was a fraternity dedicated to providing aid, medicine and rudimentary education to the Christians of Malacca regardless of background. The body of administration was called the mesa and headed by a provedor . They also acted as financial executors for those who willed their assets to
14420-542: The joint Adal-Ottoman force retreated. The Portuguese also made direct contact with the Kongolose vassal state Ndongo and its ruler Ngola Kiljuane in 1520, after the latter requested missionaries. Kongolese king Afonso I interfered with the process with denunciations, and later sent a Kongo mission to Ndongo after the latter had arrested the Portuguese mission that came. The growing official and unofficial slave trading with Ndongo strained relations between Kongo and
14560-468: The land be settled, and two follow up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was found to be abundant in pau-brasil , or brazilwood, from which it later inherited its name, but the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the time being Portuguese efforts were concentrated on India. In 1502, to enforce its trade monopoly over a wide area of the Indian Ocean , the Portuguese Empire created
14700-513: The locals were impressed by firearms , that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale. By 1570 the Portuguese bought part of a Japanese port where they founded a small part of the city of Nagasaki , and it became the major trading port in Japan in the triangular trade with China and Europe. Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only
14840-412: The middle of pitch-black darkness in absolute silence. As day broke, the Portuguese fleet opened fire and its crewmen landed as they sounded their trumpets, which drew the attention of the Sultan's forces away from the bridge. Mascarenhas ordered the assault on the stockade that defended the entrance to the bridge, the Portuguese throwing clay bombs filled with gunpowder, sending its few defenders into
14980-516: The new state of affairs except for the Azores , which held out for António , a Portuguese rival claimant to the throne who had garnered the support of Catherine de Medici of France in exchange for the promise to cede Brazil. Spanish forces eventually captured the islands in 1583. Siege of Bintan In 1511, the second Governor of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque captured the Malay city of Malacca . Sultan Mahmud Shah fled with his forces to Bintan , where he usurped its ruler. He built
15120-568: The north Atlantic coast of Canada, which accounts for the appearance of "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period. Subsequently, in 1500–1501 and 1502, the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real explored what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador , and Greenland, claiming these lands for Portugal. In 1506, King Manuel I created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. Around 1521, João Álvares Fagundes
15260-460: The original Muslim Malay inhabitants of Malacca lived in the swamps of nypeiras tree, where they were known to make nypa ( nipah ) wine for trade. This suburb was considered the most rural, being a transition to the Malacca hinterland, where timber and charcoal traffic passed through into the city. Several Christian parishes also lay outside the city along the river; São Lázaro, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Hope. While Muslim Malays inhabited
15400-509: The politics of the Kingdom of Mutapa , to the point of installing client kings upon its throne. In 1542, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal , in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature . At the same time Francisco Zeimoto, António Mota , and other traders arrived in Japan for the first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto , who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at Tanegashima , where
15540-528: The rampart of the fortress. The other two suburb were Yler ( Hilir ) or Tanjonpacer ( Tanjung Pasir ) and the suburb of Sabba. The suburb was rectangular in shape, with a northern border wall, the Strait of Malacca to the south and the Malacca River and the fortaleza's wall to the east. It was the main residential quarters of the city. However, in war, the residents of the quarters would be evacuated to
15680-410: The rest into prison where they resided in squalid, sometimes fatal conditions. The Chinese then massacred Portuguese who resided at Ningbo and Fujian trading posts in 1545 and 1549, due to extensive and damaging raids by the Portuguese along the coast, which irritated the Chinese. Portuguese pirating was second to Japanese pirating by this period. However, they soon began to shield Chinese junks and
15820-573: The same year, Manuel I ordered Almeida to fortify the Portuguese fortresses in Kerala and within eastern Africa, as well as probe into the prospects of building forts in Sri Lanka and Malacca in response to growing hostilities with Muslims within those regions and threats from the Mamluk sultan. A Portuguese fleet under the command of Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Socotra at
15960-480: The second era of empire (1663–1825), until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century, it broke away in 1822. The third era of empire covers the final stage of Portuguese colonialism after the independence of Brazil in the 1820s. By then, the colonial possessions had been reduced to forts and plantations along the African coastline (expanded inland during
16100-461: The settlers managed to maintain alliances with Native Americans . The rise of the sugar industry came about because the Crown took the easiest sources of profit (brazilwood, spices, etc.), leaving settlers to come up with new revenue sources. The establishment of the sugar cane industry demanded intensive labor that would be met with Native American and, later, African slaves. Deeming the capitanias system ineffective, João III decided to centralize
16240-712: The shore of Malacca where they were attacked by the Portuguese. Fewer than half of the Jepara soldiers managed to leave Malacca. In 1568, Prince Husain Ali I Riayat Syah from the Sultanate of Aceh launched a naval attack to oust the Portuguese from Malacca, but was met with failure. In 1574 a combined attack from the Aceh Sultanate and the Javanese Jepara tried again to capture Malacca from the Portuguese, but ended in failure due to poor coordination. Competition from other ports such as Johor saw Asian traders bypass Malacca and
16380-425: The shores. The one running northward toward the river mouth was 130 fathoms in length to the bastion of São Pedro while the other one ran for 75 fathoms to the east, curving inshore, ending at the gate and bastion of Santiago . From the bastion of São Pedro the rampart turned north east 150 fathoms past the Custom House Terrace gateway ending at the northernmost point of the fortress, the bastion of São Domingos. From
16520-477: The slave and gold trades. Portugal enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the African seaborne slave trade for over a century, importing around 800 slaves annually. Most were brought to the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where it is estimated black Africans came to constitute 10 percent of the population. Christopher Columbus 's 1492 discovery for Spain of the New World , which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between
16660-660: The south-eastern coastal area. The Well of Buquet China was one of the most important water sources for the community. Notable landmarks included the Church of the Madre De Deus and the Convent of the Capuchins of São Francisco. Other notable landmarks included Buquetpiatto ( Bukit Piatu ). The boundaries of this unwalled suburb were said to extend as far as Buquetpipi and Tanjonpacer. Tanjonpacer ( Malay : Tanjung Pasir )
16800-477: The sphere of influence of the other, albeit unofficially. After a series of prolonged contacts with Ethiopia, the Portuguese embassy made contact with the Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Kingdom led by Rodrigo de Lima in 1520. This coincided with the Portuguese search for Prester John, as they soon associated the kingdom as his land. The fear of Turkish advances within the Portuguese and Ethiopian sectors also played
16940-478: The spice-producing Maluku Islands also fell to the Dutch in the following years. With these conquests, the last Portuguese colonies in Asia remained confined to Goa , Daman and Diu in Portuguese India , Portuguese Timor and Macau until the 20th century. The early core of the fortress system was a quadrilateral tower called Fortaleza de Malaca. Measurements were given as 10 fathoms per side with
17080-494: The spoils of war; and finally, it was also a chance to expand Portuguese trade and to address Portugal's economic decline. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta , a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the terminal ports of the trans-Saharan gold and slave trades. The conquest was a military success, and marked one of the first steps in Portuguese expansion beyond
17220-491: The territory of what would become Mozambique were the prazeiros , to whom vast estates around the Zambezi River were leased by the King as a reward for their services. Commanding vast armies of chikunda warrior-slaves, these men acted as feudal-like lords, either levying tax from local chieftains, defending them and their estates from marauding tribes, participating in the ivory or slave trade, and becoming involved in
17360-635: The threat posed by Mahmud Shah. Pedro Mascarenhas first put a rumour into circulation that his expedition was to carry out the construction of a fort at the Sunda Strait . He departed Malacca on October 23, 1526, with a galleon , a carrack , two small carracks, two caravels , one galley , one half-galley, five light-galleys and two armed batels equipped with heavy caliber camelos and pavises , bearing about 600 Portuguese soldiers. They were further supported by an unrecorded number of escravos de peleja ("combat slaves") and 400 auxiliary Malays, under
17500-614: The trade between Asia and Europe, but also much of the trade between different regions of Asia and Africa, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit missionaries, followed the Portuguese to spread Catholicism to Asia and Africa with mixed success. Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas , the Portuguese Crown, under the kings Manuel I, John III and Sebastian, also claimed territorial rights in North America (reached by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498). To that end, in 1499 and 1500, João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and
17640-473: The two cultures, difficulties began to arise shortly afterwards, including misunderstanding, bigotry, and even hostility. The Portuguese explorer Simão de Andrade incited poor relations with China due to his pirate activities, raiding Chinese shipping, attacking a Chinese official, and kidnappings of Chinese. He based himself at Tamao island in a fort. The Chinese claimed that Simão kidnapped Chinese boys and girls to be molested and cannibalized. The Chinese sent
17780-464: The upcoming assault. The combined forces attacked from the north and captured most of Malacca, but the Portuguese managed to retaliate and force back the invading forces. The Malay alliance troops were pushed back to the sea, while the Jepara troops remained on shore, withdrawing only after their leaders were killed. The battle continued on the beach and in the sea resulting in more than 2,000 Jepara soldiers being killed. A storm stranded two Jepara ships on
17920-546: The view that had existed since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land-locked . Simultaneously Pêro da Covilhã , traveling secretly overland, had reached Ethiopia , suggesting that a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming. As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they left behind a series of padrões , stone crosses engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims, and built forts and trading posts. From these bases, they engaged profitably in
18060-529: The wars fought by other European states, Portuguese attention turned overseas and towards a military expedition to the Muslim lands of North Africa. There were several probable motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate (in present-day Morocco). It offered the opportunity to continue the Christian crusade against Islam; to the military class, it promised glory on the battlefield and
18200-663: Was administered by a governor (a captain-major), who was appointed for a term of three-years, as well as a bishop and church dignitaries representing the episcopal see, municipal officers, royal officials for finance and justice and a local native bendahara to administer the native Muslims and foreigners under the Portuguese jurisdiction. John III Sebastian I Henry I Phillip II John IV 15th century 16th century 15th century 16th century Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( Portuguese : Império Português , European Portuguese: [ĩˈpɛ.ɾju puɾ.tuˈɣeʃ] ), also known as
18340-536: Was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral . While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese secretly knew of Brazil's existence and that it lay on their side of the Tordesillas line. Cabral recommended to the Portuguese King that
18480-436: Was disputed by the two countries until 1777. The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the Portuguese to follow up on Dias's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it has also been speculated that other voyages were in fact taking place in secret during this time. Whether or not this was the case, the long-standing Portuguese goal of finding
18620-462: Was erected to defend the city and remains. Learning of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand), where he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations and trade between both kingdoms. The Portuguese empire pushed further south and proceeded to discover Timor in 1512. Jorge de Meneses discovered New Guinea in 1526, naming it
18760-506: Was established in 1445 on the island of Arguin , off the coast of Mauritania, to attract Muslim traders and monopolize the business in the routes travelled in North Africa. In 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone , and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s. The Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1456 and settled in 1462. Expansion of sugarcane in Madeira started in 1455, using advisers from Sicily and (largely) Genoese capital to produce
18900-408: Was granted donatary rights to the inner islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and also created a settlement on Cape Breton Island to serve as a base for cod fishing. Pressure from natives and competing European fisheries prevented a permanent establishment and it was abandoned five years later. Several attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland over the next half-century also failed. Within
19040-522: Was invoked by a group of Muslims in the sultan's court. The international Muslim trading community convinced Mahmud that the Portuguese were a threat. Mahmud subsequently turned on the Portuguese and attacked the four ships in the harbour, killing some and capturing several of them, who were then imprisoned in Malacca and tortured. As the Portuguese had found in India, conquest would be the only way they could establish themselves in Malacca. In April 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque set sail from Goa to Malacca with
19180-414: Was later renamed Ujong Pasir. A community descended from Portuguese settlers is still located there in present-day Malacca. However, this suburb of Yler is now known as Banda Hilir. Modern land reclamations (for the purpose of building the commercial district of Melaka Raya) have, removed Banda Hilir's sea access that it formerly had. The houses of this suburb were built along the edges of the river. Some of
19320-431: Was possible to reach Asia by sea, both to reach the source of the lucrative spice trade and perhaps to join forces with the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John that was rumoured to exist somewhere in the "Indies". Under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) were reached and started to be settled, producing wheat for export to Portugal. Soon its ships were bringing into
19460-489: Was the first European Christian trading settlement in Southeast Asia, being surrounded by numerous emerging Muslim states. They endured years of conflicts with Malay sultans who wanted to get rid of the Portuguese and reclaim the port town. The sultan made several attempts to retake the capital. He rallied the support from his ally the Sultanate of Demak in Java who, in 1511, agreed to send naval forces to assist. Led by Pati Unus,
19600-415: Was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a ship that could be sailed closer to the wind than any other in operation in Europe at the time. Using this new maritime technology, Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes , advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445. The first feitoria trade post overseas
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