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83-396: [REDACTED] Dom Luís de Ataíde The War of the League of the Indies was a military conflict lasting from December 1570 to 1575, wherein a pan-Asian alliance attempted to overturn the Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean . The pan-Asian alliance was formed primarily by the Sultanate of Bijapur , the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar , the Kingdom of Calicut , and the Sultanate of Aceh . It

166-432: A fire wall or party wall . Parapets were originally used to defend buildings from military attack, but today they are primarily used as guard rails , to conceal rooftop equipment, reduce wind loads on the roof, and to prevent the spread of fires. Parapets may be plain, embattled , perforated or panelled, which are not mutually exclusive terms. The Mirror Wall at Sigiriya , Sri Lanka built between 477 and 495 AD

249-586: A clear sign of rapprochement to the royal court, he was appointed supervisor of the main Hospital in Lisbon. And, shortly after the new king Sebastian I effectively took over the government of Portugal, he was appointed 10th viceroy of India, in March 1568. He was granted enhanced powers in relation to his predecessors, including the right to decree death sentences and to provide entitlements in his own name instead of

332-571: A council to assess the situation. The Aceh fleet was causing severe shortages in Malacca, and it was decided that it was urgent to organize a force to repel it as soon as possible. Thus, a carrack, a galleon, and eight half-galleys were munitioned and set out on November 16 to the mouth of the River Formoso, where the enemy fleet had shifted to. With the river in sight, the Aceh fleet set out while

415-413: A fleet of a galleass , three galleys, and eight half-galleys to relieve Tristão Vaz as captain of Malacca, along with 500 soldiers in reinforcements. By the passion of Our Lord, fear not for your fortresses built in our fashion in these parts, with moats, towers and artillery, well supplied and garrisoned, though you might be told there that they are under siege; if there is no betrayal, God willing, there

498-421: A large part of Ceylon . Nearly before his death, Ataíde received as a gift from Fernão Teles de Meneses (who would succeed him in the government of Goa), the famous posthumous portrait of Luís de Camões , dated from Goa, year 1581. Marquis of Santarém was a title created by a secret decree, in 1580, by King Filipe I , to be granted to Dom Luís de Ataíde, on the assumption that he would accept proclaiming

581-643: A large tribute, hoping to gain Ottoman naval support against a strong Portuguese presence at sea. The Ottomans had gained access to the Red Sea following the annexation of Egypt in 1517, and Sultan Selim II agreed to join the effort against Portuguese possessions in India. In 1571, 25 galleys and three galleons set out from Suez but were held back by revolts in Jeddah and Yemen . Combined with Ottoman campaigns in

664-482: A major attack on Chaul on June 29, 1571, which was however successfully defended by Dom Francisco Mascarenhas - and this allowed for the signing of a truce the following month. And, in August 1571, after suffering heavy losses (8 thousand men, 4 thousand horses, 300 elephants and 150 artillery pieces), Ali Adil Shah I lifted the siege of Goa. In the final balance, with only 2,500 men-at-arms, Ataíde successfully faced

747-670: A new fort on Tidore, to which those still in Ternate relocated. Lu%C3%ADs de Ata%C3%ADde, 3rd Count of Atouguia D. Luís de Ataíde, 1st Marquess of Santarém and 3rd Count of Atouguia (c. 1516 – March 10, 1581), was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander and statesman of the 16th century, who stood out for his military feats in the Portuguese State of India . He served as Viceroy of India for two non-subsequent terms (1568–1571 and 1578–1581). In his first term in India, Dom Luís de Ataíde led military campaigns in

830-576: A parapet is known as hāra . It is optionally added while constructing a temple. The hāra can be decorated with various miniature pavilions, according to the Kāmikāgama. In the Bible the Hebrews are obligated to build a parapet on the roof of their houses to prevent people falling (Deuteronomy 22:8). Many firewalls are required to have a parapet, a portion of the wall extending above the roof. The parapet

913-634: A procession through the streets of Lisbon ", where he was positioned on the right side of the king, a place normally strictly reserved for members of the royal family or the house of Braganza . The reception given by the Portuguese monarch to Dom Luís de Ataíde was truly "triumphal", as never before had a viceroy of India been received with such honors, on his return to the kingdom. After this royal reception, Ataíde would never fail to take advantage of his presence in Portugal in order to recall, whenever

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996-591: A siege by the marshlands and trenches, the infantry would have to bear the brunt of the Portuguese assault. In February, a small fleet of 5 half-galleys and 25 smaller crafts carrying 2,000 men from Calicut , commanded by Catiproca Marcá , arrived in Chaul to meet up with the forces of the Nizam, under cover of night. The Portuguese had five galleys and eleven foists in the harbour, but the Malabares avoided clashing with

1079-459: A sortie. Thereafter they began attacking the fortress with incendiary projectiles, causing several fires but a sudden storm put out the fires and scattered the fleet, and the assault was called off. The Aceh commander then decided to establish a naval base by the Muar River and force the city to surrender through a naval blockade instead, capturing any passing tradeships that carried supplies to

1162-436: A sub-category of "vehicle restraint systems" or "pedestrian restraint systems". A parapet fortification (known as a breastwork when temporary) is a wall of stone, wood or earth on the outer edge of a defensive wall or trench , which shelters the defenders. In medieval castles , they were often crenellated . In later artillery forts , parapets tend to be higher and thicker. They could be provided with embrasures for

1245-468: A wall at the edge of a roof , terrace , balcony , walkway or other structure . The word comes ultimately from the Italian parapetto ( parare 'to cover/defend' and petto 'chest/breast'). Where extending above a roof, a parapet may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the edge line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as

1328-429: Is no reason to fear that the moors may contest your fortresses and anything you ought to lay hands upon; it should come as no surprise that kings and lords would besiege those you take from them, once and twice and ten times; but they won't take any fortress from the Portuguese wearing their helmets among the battlements. Besides proving the difficulty of coordinating an attack on such scale, the combined assault of some of

1411-533: Is one of the few surviving protective parapet walls from antiquity. Built onto the side of Sigiriya Rock it ran for a distance of approximately 250 meters (270 yards) and provided protection from inclement weather. Only about 100 meters (110 yards) of this wall exists today, but brick debris and grooves on the rock face along the western side of the rock clearly show where the rest of this wall once stood. Parapets surrounding roofs are common in London . This dates from

1494-703: Is referred to by the Portuguese historian António Pinto Pereira as "the League of Kings of India", "the Confederated Kings", or simply "the League". The alliance undertook a combined assault against some of the primary possessions of the Portuguese State of India : Malacca , Chaul , the Chale fort, and the capital of the maritime empire in Asia, Goa . The Portuguese successfully overcame nearly all of

1577-579: Is required to be as fire resistant as the lower wall, and extend a distance prescribed by building code. Parapets on bridges and other highway structures (such as retaining walls ) prevent users from falling off where there is a drop. They may also be meant to restrict views, to prevent rubbish passing below, and to act as noise barriers . Bridge parapets may be made from any material, but structural steel , aluminium , timber and reinforced concrete are common. They may be of solid or framed construction. In European standards , parapets are defined as

1660-467: The Building Act 1707 which banned projecting wooden eaves in the cities of Westminster and London as a fire risk. Instead an 18-inch brick parapet was required, with the roof set behind. This was continued in many Georgian houses, as it gave the appearance of a flat roof which accorded with the desire for classical proportions. In Shilpa Shastras , the ancient Indian science of sculpture,

1743-638: The Habsburg monarch as sovereign, in the Estado da Índia. The decree was carried by the newly appointed viceroy, Dom Francisco Mascarenhas , but it ultimately didn't produce legal effects - because Mascarenhas, who left Lisbon on April 8, only arrived in India in September 1581, six months after the death of Dom Luís de Ataíde, in Goa. The concession of this title was very meaningful, for it would place Ataíde in

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1826-529: The war of the League of the Indies that would probably be described today as a total war (a concept created in the 18th century, in opposition to the notion of limited war ); for the Portuguese Empire had to use all of its available resources - military, economic, political and diplomatic - and also include operations involving or affecting civilians, in order to be able to resist a joint assault by

1909-494: The 5 sieges imposed on the Portuguese fortresses in India, in the period from 1570 to 1571. He had thus managed to overcome the last major political and military challenge faced by the Estado da Índia , before the arrival of new European opponents in the region, at the end of the 16th century. Ataíde delayed the signing of a formal peace with Ali Adil Shah I, in an attempt to impose tougher conditions on him. He left to his successor

1992-645: The Acehnese artillery was not overly effective. Once their flagship, a very large galley with over 200 fighting men, was boarded and its flag taken down by the Portuguese, the remainder of the Aceh fleet scattered, having lost four galleys and five half-galleys, with several more sunk or beached due to the bad weather. The Portuguese suffered ten dead. Despite the Aceh defeat, the Queen of Kalinyamat organized an armada with which to attack Malacca, composed of over 70 to 80 junks and over 200 craft carrying 15,000 men under

2075-827: The Eastern Mediterranean, such as the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War , this ensured that the Ottoman Empire would not play a significant role in the conflict. Reports and rumors of the preparations of the Adil Shah and the Nizam began reaching Goa through Portuguese merchants and collaborators by 1569. The Portuguese Viceroy, Dom Luís de Ataíde , eventually dispatched a fleet of five galleons , one galley , and seven half-galleys carrying 800 men, commanded by Dom Luís de Melo da Silva, to Malacca on August 24, 1570 in an attempt to reinforce

2158-701: The Holy Empire. He left Portugal on March 5 and arrived at the emperor's camp, located on the banks of the Elbe River in Saxony, on April 17 - that is, seven days before the battle that was to take place at Mühlberg . On April 21, he was received by the emperor and went with him to mass. He told him of his desire to participate in the forthcoming battle against the Protestants and Charles V reacted by " expressing contentment ... for his intention to serve on

2241-676: The Indian Ocean (the Portuguese chronicler, António Pinto Pereira, called this coalition the "League of the kings of India", but the resulting conflict is usually referred to as the " War of the League of the Indies "). The partition of the territories to be conquered had already been decided by the Indian coalition. The sultan of Bijapur (called " Hidalcão " by the Portuguese) would march on Goa and take that city, and also Honnavar. The sultan of Ahmadnagar , Murtaza Nizam Shah I (whom

2324-554: The Indian potentates, with the purpose of expelling the Portuguese from their cities, forts and trading posts in the Indian Ocean . He was born in 1516, the second-born son of Dom Afonso de Ataíde by his wife Maria de Magalhães; and great-grandson of the 2nd count of Atouguia, Dom Martinho de Ataíde , by his second wife Filipa de Azevedo. He left for India for the first time in 1538, on the fleet's flagship that transported viceroy Dom Garcia de Noronha , his cousin. Later, under

2407-610: The Javanese against the Portuguese. Although seemingly unrelated to the "league", the larger conflict in mainland Asia left the Portuguese incapable of sending sufficient reinforcements to the Moluccas in each sailing season, between the monsoons. In a prolonged conflict that extended to Portuguese positions in Gilolo , Ambon , and Banda , the critically isolated Portuguese could count on little aid to defend not just themselves, but also

2490-523: The King changed his mind, and decided to personally assume the leadership of the expedition. As a compensation, Ataíde was again sent to India as Viceroy and he left Lisbon, headed for Goa, on 16 October 1577. The title of Count of Atouguia , as the 3rd holder in the Ataíde family , was granted to him by a decree from the king on September 4, 1577. This was seen at the time not just as a redress given to him by

2573-544: The King's. He left Portugal on 7 April, in command of a fleet that included an unusually large number of men-at-arms, and arrived in Goa in October 1568. At first he maintained the policies of his predecessor. But, in the following year, he began to show his military side. Acting in order to prevent the sultan of Bijapur from taking possession of the city of Honnavar - which was a haven for pirates - in November 1569, at

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2656-475: The King, for having removed him from the leadership of the military expedition to Morocco, but also as a just reward for the services he had rendered during his first mandate as viceroy in India. He kept winter quarters in Mozambique , where he awaited the arrival of the last fleet that left Portugal in 1578 - in which the famous Jesuit Matteo Ricci was traveling - and arrived in Goa on August 20, 1578. In

2739-441: The Nizam, however, failed to overcome the Portuguese in time. They had successfully held out through the monsoon season , until the weather finally allowed vessels to flow freely into the city, bearing fresh reinforcements nearly every day. On June 29, the Nizam ordered a general assault on the city. The Portuguese repelled the attack and pushed his army back to their camp in a complete rout , capturing cannon, weapons, and destroying

2822-502: The Portuguese called " Nizam Melek ") would take Chaul , Daman and Vasai; and the Zamorin of Calicut was assigned to conquer the cities of Mangalor, Cananor, Chale , and Cochin . The viceroy's defense strategy was based, from the very start of the combats, on seeking at all costs to keep the possession of the fortresses under threat of siege, with special emphasis on the strategic city of Chaul - which would prove to be decisive for

2905-529: The Portuguese galleys. At this point, a Portuguese captain Agostinho Nunes introduced for the first time to an innovation that the Portuguese historian António Pinto Pereira considered to have been critical in withstanding the enemy bombardment: he ordered his soldiers to dig a special trench with a firing parapet , protected by sloped earth—a "fire trench". Yet the disparity in numbers was still immense, and despite frequent sorties , little by little,

2988-526: The Portuguese were forced to concede ground to the great mass of enemies. Retreating from several defensive lines, in May they were cornered in their last line of defense. For the following thirty days, the Portuguese desperately defended their lines against several waves of attackers, discharging volleys of matchlock fire and hurling gunpowder grenades constantly. Portuguese casualties amounted to over 400, Hindu auxiliaries and civilians notwithstanding. The forces of

3071-418: The Portuguese, and resume paying tribute to Goa, in exchange for Portuguese assistance in clearing the western Indian coast of piracy and authorization to trade in Portuguese ports (provided every ship carried an appropriate trading license, or cartaz ), essentially recognizing Portuguese dominion of the sea. The fort of Chale had little strategic interest, and its loss did not represent a serious setback for

3154-532: The Portuguese. The fall of Vijayanagara however, had indirectly greater strategic implications for the Portuguese State of India, whose finances suffered a severe blow with the loss of the extremely lucrative horse trade with the Empire. It would take the assistance of other European powers to challenge the hegemony of the Portuguese, who would suffer their first serious setback with the fall of Hormuz , at

3237-616: The aftermath of the military disaster at Alcácer Quibir and the death of the Cardinal-king Henry. But he probably never got to know about the aftermath of the Battle of Alcântara and the proclamation of Philip I as king of Portugal. One of the last letters written by Ataíde, dated October 1580 and addressed to the Council of governors of the kingdom, insists above all on his desire to return to Portugal, where he needed to ensure

3320-467: The attack on Honavar, Ataíde sailed in a brigantine, accompanied by a famous musician playing a harp. When the musician stopped playing as shots fell all around, Ataíde insisted that he continue the tune. When he was requested to take better cover as his death could mean the failure of the expedition, he answered that if he were killed "there are men enough who are fit to succeed me". In 1570, writing to King Sebastian, Ataíde claimed success at patrolling

3403-439: The battle of Alcântara), is not enough to conclude that Ataíde's political position was identical. A sentence attributed to him shortly before his death (" I die when everything is against Portugal ") is not mentioned in 16th century sources, and - if it was actually uttered - could be interpreted as mere resignation in the face of developments in the distant kingdom, not susceptible to be influenced from Goa. Furthermore, Ataíde

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3486-453: The beginning, he battled the forces of Ali Adil Shah I, but he was soon able to negotiate a peace treaty with him, on August 11, 1579 - on favorable terms, which included the return to the Portuguese of the island of Salsette (today, part of the city of Mumbai ). He also dedicated his attention to the Portuguese interests in the island of Ceylon , giving them priority in the allocation of military resources - which were not enough to help all

3569-543: The cannons ceased fire. Throughout the Portuguese lines by the riverbanks, the Viceroy ordered torches and bonfires to be lit on isolated positions by night to give the impression of readiness and encourage the enemy to waste ammunition by firing on them. The Portuguese warships were distributed in the river to the East, so as to deny the enemy an avenue of approach to the city along the river banks with their artillery. This way,

3652-530: The city against a possible attack from the Sultanate of Aceh. Another fleet of three galleys and seventeen half-galleys carrying 500 men, commanded by Dom Diogo de Meneses, was sent to patrol the Malabar Coast to keep the vital trade routes with southern India, where the Portuguese city of Cochin was located, open and free of raiding from pirates. By December 28, 1570, General Nuri Khan had arrived with

3735-441: The city open, he stationed 120 Portuguese soldiers on a galley, a caravel, and a carrack. The third siege of Malacca was brief: only seventeen days after landing, the Acehnese lifted the siege and sailed back to Sumatra. The Portuguese claimed the Acehnese commander hesitated in ordering a general assault, though it is just as possible the Acehnese retreated due to internal problems. In June, Dom Miguel de Castro arrived from Goa with

3818-471: The city. Afterwards, Tristão Vaz da Veiga ordered Fernão Peres de Andrade to blockade the river mouth with a small carrack and a few oarships, trapping the enemy army within it and forcing the Javanese commander to come to terms with the Portuguese. Not coming to any agreement, in December Tristão Vaz finally ordered his forces to withdraw from the river mouth. The Javanese hastily embarked in

3901-463: The city. An attempt to board a galleon and two carracks anchored by the Island of Naus (modern-day Pulau Melaka) was met with heavy resistance and suffered severe casualties from Portuguese gunfire. On November 2, a carrack commanded by Tristão Vaz da Veiga arrived with the newly appointed captain of Malacca, Dom Francisco Rodrigues, along with important reinforcements. The captain immediately summoned

3984-481: The command of Kyai Demang—transliterated as Queahidamão , Quilidamão or Quaidamand by the Portuguese—although with very little artillery and firearms. Malacca was defended by about 300 Portuguese. By October 5, 1574, the armada anchored within the nearby River of Malaios and began landing troops, but the besiegers suffered Portuguese raids that caused great damage to the army when assembling stockades around

4067-617: The defense of Goa, the viceroy introduced the unprecedented tactic of defending the city from 19 bases installed on its outer perimeter, with garrisons equipped with "large and smallish" artillery. He also involved the Catholic chapter of Goa in the defense of the city, arming hundreds of members of the Franciscan and Dominican religious orders and determined the formation of military companies of slaves and "indigenous Christians", under Portuguese command. Murtaza Nizam Shah I launched

4150-560: The end, a "honorable peace" had been negotiated with the enemies of the Kingdom of Portugal . He arrived at the mouth of the Tagus river on July 3, and - after a short stay in Cascais - he solemnly entered Lisbon on the 21st. King Sebastian had meanwhile decided that, taking into account the military victories in India, he would " grant Dom Luís de Ataíde the honor of accompanying him, in

4233-618: The expedition ". Ataíde thus participated in the battle that resulted in one of the greatest military victories of Charles V - and a resounding defeat for the Lutherans of the Schmalkaldic League , which would lead to its subsequent dissolution. He stood out for his courage in combat, and the emperor rewarded him on the occasion by offering him a plate armour . This combat experience was also an opportunity for Dom Luís de Ataíde to learn military techniques in land warfare, with

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4316-492: The few ships they had left, overloading them, and sailed out of the river, only to be then preyed upon by Portuguese ships, who chased them down with their artillery. The Javanese lost almost all of their junks and suffered about 7,000 dead at the end of the three-month campaign. In the final day of January 1575, a new Acehnese armada composed of 113 vessels, which included 40 galleys, once more laid siege to Malacca. The captain of Malacca Tristão Vaz da Veiga had received reports of

4399-470: The fort and sent Dom Jorge back to Goa. With the withdrawal of the forces of Adil Khan from Goa, the Portuguese then passed on the offensive against the Zamorin, blockading Calicut and devastating the kingdom, until he was also forced to sue for peace. The reinforcements sent from Goa in August 1570, under the command of Dom Luís de Melo da Silva, proved critical in preventing Malacca from being besieged at

4482-593: The government of Noronha's successor, governor Dom Estevão da Gama , he joined an expedition to the Red Sea, and - after the Battle of El Tor - he was formally knighted by da Gama in Saint Catherine's Monastery , at the foot of Mount Sinai , in April 1541. This episode would become famous, considered one of the greatest feats of chivalry in history, later celebrated in Europe, with Emperor Charles V saying that he

4565-431: The greatest specialists of his time, such as the emperor himself and the 3rd Duke of Alba - applied by a multinational army of about 25,000 men and 8,000 horsemen. Such knowledge, in conjunction with the practice of naval warfare which he had already gained in the East, would help build his reputation for high competence in military matters. At the beginning of 1548, he returned to Portugal, and years later, in 1555, he

4648-455: The hands of combined Anglo-Persian force, about forty years later in 1622. Dom Luís de Ataíde was succeeded in office by Dom António de Noronha in September 1571. On his arrival in Portugal in July 1572, Ataíde was solemnly received by King Sebastian , and awarded several honours including the command of the planned expedition to Morocco —which he turned down, for disagreeing with the nature of

4731-422: The head of an armada of 110 ships, he conquered that city, where the Portuguese later on built a fortress. That same year, a Portuguese fleet under Ataíde also conquered the city of Basrur (known as "Barcelor" by the Portuguese), where a Fort was later built. In that expedition the captain of one of the ships was his cousin D. Diogo de Ataíde, the son of a bastard brother of the 1st Count of Castanheira . At

4814-528: The imminent threat. In response, he had dispatched the merchants away from Malacca on their vessels (to prevent their collusion with the Acehnese), merchant ships to fetch supplies in Bengal and Pegu , and urgent messages to the Viceroy in Goa requesting reinforcements, knowing these would not be forthcoming at least until May because of the monsoon season, if they came at all. To keep the naval supply lines of

4897-471: The initiative of individual captains assigned to the archipelago. In late 1570, the captain of Ternate, Diogo Lopes de Mesquita had Sultan Khairun of Ternate assassinated, as the latter had been persecuting native Christians for some time. This proved untimely, as it provoked a major rebellion led by the late Sultan's son Baabullah ( Babu in Portuguese), who allied with the Sultan of Tidore with support of

4980-410: The intention of pleasing the monarch, helped to reinforce his position, in the context of the fierce disputes among the most important nobles of the court, trying to gain influence on the very young king. Due to his military experience in Europe and India, he was appointed by the King to head a planned military expedition to Morocco, which would later end in the military disaster of Alcácer Quibir . But

5063-417: The island to maintain trade which, given the circumstances, the next Portuguese captain, Lionel de Brito, accepted upon arriving, just three days after the surrender, and was allowed to trade as usual. In March 1576, the Portuguese began construction of a new fortress on Ambon , that henceforth became the center of Portuguese activity in the Moluccas. In 1578, as per request of its Sultan, the Portuguese built

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5146-529: The job of concluding the negotiations and he departed from Goa on January 6, 1572, having completed his viceroyal mandate. Almost at the end of the return journey, he anchored on Terceira Island , from where he sent a letter to the King, telling him that, during his tenure in Goa, "the Moors " of the Sultanates of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar had lost 30,000 soldiers in the battles with the Portuguese; and that, in

5229-528: The likelihood of a military victory by the pretender Dom António, against such formidable opponents. His tomb is today at the Church of Santa Casa da Misericórdia , in Peniche . He married three times, with no surviving generation. According to contemporary sources, he also had two illegitimate offspring, which he did not legitimize. Parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of

5312-477: The most powerful kingdoms in Asia on Portuguese possessions failed to achieve any significant objectives. Neither did it decisively overturn Portuguese influence in the Indian Ocean. On the contrary, the rulers of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and the Zamorin were forced to come to terms that were favourable to the Portuguese: among other terms, they would charge no fees from Christian merchants, harbour no enemy fleets of

5395-450: The mouth of the river that effectively blockaded Portuguese shallow draft vessels from passing through. The captain of the fortress, 80-year-old Dom Jorge de Castro, influenced by the King of Tanur, a local ally of the Portuguese, decided to surrender the fortress on November 4, 1571, in what became the first formal capitulation of territory by the Portuguese. The Zamorin immediately demolished

5478-423: The nascent communities of local Christians. Eventually, in 1575, with dwindling supplies and no hope of reinforcement, the less than 100 remaining defenders of the fortress of Ternate surrendered, at the end of a five-year long siege, to Sultan Babu. The Sultan then occupied the fort as his royal palace. Probably fearing retaliation from the Portuguese, he nonetheless allowed a few (about 18 married men) to remain on

5561-404: The only possible way to approach the city would be through a swampy, narrow section to the north, forcing the enemy to bottleneck their forces and become bogged down in the mud. The Portuguese numbered 900 soldiers, but each was fully equipped with plate armour and matchlocks. They outnumbered the 300 arquebusiers on the opposing side, but because both cavalry and elephants were rendered useless in

5644-664: The opportunity arose, the services that had been rendered by his family to the Avis dynasty , since the start of the 15th century. Thus, on the occasion of King Sebastian's stay in Ceuta , in August 1574, he honored his great-great-great-uncle Vasco Fernandes de Ataíde (the first Portuguese nobleman that died in combat, in the process of the Portuguese overseas expansion), with a tombstone in Latin commemorating his heroic death. This initiative, laden with symbolism, and undoubtedly also taken with

5727-468: The outcome, favorable to the Portuguese. Surrounded in Goa by the large army of the Ali Adil Shah I (35 thousand horsemen, 60 thousand infantrymen and 2 thousand elephants, according to contemporary sources), Dom Luís de Ataíde was able to send military help to Chaul (despite the ecclesiastical opposition in Goa, which advised abandoning that fortress) and to carry out frequent counter-attacks. In

5810-584: The position of the fifth most important aristocrat of the kingdom of Portugal, after the Dukes of Bragança and Aveiro and the Marquises of Vila Real and Ferreira - which clearly demonstrates the importance that Filipe I attributed to obtaining Ataíde's support for his proclamation as sovereign in Portuguese India. He died on March 10, 1581, at the age of 65, shortly after having received news of

5893-409: The same time as Goa and Chaul. In November 1570, the Portuguese destroyed an Aceh fleet of 100 ships by the mouth of River Formoso to the south of Malacca, killing the prince-heir of Aceh, and thus forcing the Sultan to postpone the attack to a later date. Dom Luís de Melo then returned to India with his forces the following January, to assist in the defence of Goa. Nevertheless, by October 1573 Malacca

5976-411: The saps and siegeworks along the way. They had slain over 3,000 of the besiegers at the end of six hours of fighting. After this setback, on July 24 Murtaza Nizam Shah requested peace and withdrew his army. Despite the weather, the Portuguese managed to send reinforcements and a small amount of supplies through to the fortress when news of the attack reached Goa. The Zamorin placed an artillery battery on

6059-411: The seas, for in that year only 2 ships had managed to escape Portuguese control, while traveling from Calicut to Mecca, compared to 16 or 18 ships in previous years. Despite these initial military successes, a very serious threat remained, resulting from the fact that the Indian princes and potentates had allied themselves, in a large Islamic coalition, with the intention of expelling the Portuguese from

6142-546: The sieges imposed by the "League", with the exception of a small fort on the outskirts of Calicut, which fell to the Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut. Although strategically insignificant, this was the first time that a Portuguese-held stronghold formally capitulated in India. At the beginning of 1564, the Sunni Muslim Sultan of Ahmadnagar dispatched ambassadors to the Ottoman Empire with rich presents and

6225-482: The succession of the house of the counts of Atouguia; it is thus not possible to corroborate reports from later chroniclers, according to which he tended to sympathize with the pretender Dom António, Prior of Crato . The fact that some of his closest relatives, such as his nephews Lopo de Brito (who should not be confused with his grandfather and namesake, Lopo de Brito , 2nd captain of Ceylon) and Cristóvão de Brito, supported Dom António (they fought for him and died in

6308-528: The undertaking. In 1578, he was reappointed Viceroy of India, and would in fact be the last Viceroy nominated by the Portuguese Crown before the Iberian Union . He died in office in 1581. In the Moluccas, the great distances made it extremely difficult, if not completely impossible, for the Portuguese Crown to direct a consistent policy in such a remote region, meaning it was often reduced to

6391-411: The vanguard of the army from Bijapur. Adil Shah arrived eight days later with the bulk of his forces. He established a camp around his red tent to the east of the island of Goa, with the infantry distributed ahead of Banastarim and the artillery in position to exchange fire with the Portuguese batteries. The artillery of Bijapur began fire on the fort, which was constantly repaired throughout the night when

6474-486: The vast possessions of the Estado da Índia. He thus considered Ceylon more central to the Portuguese position in the East than the presence in other places equally in need of military support, such as Aceh . It was during the second term of Ataíde, in 1580, that the King of Kotte , Dom João Dharmapala , bequeathed his kingdom to the King of Portugal, a fundamental decision that would later serve to legitimize many decades of Portuguese sovereignty and territorial dominion in

6557-458: The wind was in their favour to meet the Portuguese. Despite being outnumbered the Portuguese oar ships positioned themselves ahead of the carrack and the galleon to board the Acehnese galleys in the vanguard. The crews of the oar ships fired volleys of shrapnel and matchlock fire and threw gunpowder grenades, while the carrack and the galleon fired their heavy caliber artillery, sinking many Acehnese oar ships. Despite having Turkish gunners and cannon,

6640-484: Was " envious of those who had been armed as knights at the foot of Mount Sinai ". After the arrival in Goa of a new governor, Martim Afonso de Sousa , Ataíde returned to Portugal, where he became the heir to his father's estates, as his eldest brother had meanwhile died in combat in the Portuguese possessions in Morocco . In February 1547, King João III appointed him ambassador to the court of Charles V , Emperor of

6723-439: Was confirmed by king João III as lord of the town of Atouguia , on the death of his father. He then occupied himself with the defense of his territory, that was a constant target of attacks by French corsairs . And he was careful to stay away from the political struggles and intrigues that followed the death of king João III, concerning the regencies, first of Catarina of Austria and then of Cardinal Dom Henrique . In 1567, in

6806-525: Was scarcely defended as most soldiers were embarked in commercial missions, and the Sultan of Aceh had gathered 7,000 men and a fleet of 25 galleys, 34 half-galleys, and 30 craft and requested assistance from the Queen of Kalinyamat ( Japará in Portuguese) to besiege it. On October 13, without waiting for its ally, the Aceh force landed south of Malacca and dealt severe casualties to the Portuguese who attempted

6889-466: Was well acquainted with the powerful armies of Charles V, on whose side he had fought as a young man, and he had met the Emperor's son, Philip II of Spain (later to become also Philip I of Portugal) and his military commander, the 3rd Duke of Alba . It thus does not seem very plausible that - under the hypothesis, not proven, that he was aware of the outcome of the battle of Alcântara - he would believe in

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