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Afonso de Albuquerque (1453—1515) was a Portuguese admiral whose military and administrative accomplishments as second governor of Portuguese India established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean. He is generally considered a military genius.<br/><br/> Albuquerque attempted to close all Indian Ocean naval routes to the Atlantic, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and to the Pacific, and was responsible for building numerous fortresses to defend key strategic positions and establishing a net of diplomatic relations.<br/><br/> Shortly before his death he was awarded viceroy and 'Duke of Goa' by king Manuel I of Portugal, becoming the first Portuguese duke not from the royal family, and the first Portuguese title landed overseas. He was known as ‘The Terrible’, ‘The Great’, ‘The Caesar of the East’, ‘Lion of the Seas’ and ‘The Portuguese Mars’.<br/><br/> There is no doubting Albuquerque’s ruthless ambition. He suggested diverting the course of the Nile River to render Egypt barren. And he even planned to steal the body of the Prophet Muhammad, and hold it for ransom until all Muslims had left the Holy Land.
In April 1511, Portuguese conquistador Afonso de Albuquerque set sail from Goa to Malacca with a force of some 1,200 men on a fleet of 17 or 18 ships. They conquered the city on August 24, 1511, and Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Sultan of Malacca, had to take refuge in the hinterland. Malacca became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies where they could exploit the spice trade.<br/><br/>In 1641, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese with the help of the Sultan of Johore. The Dutch ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1798, but they were not interested in developing it as a trading centre, placing greater importance in Batavia (Jakarta) on Java as their administrative centre.<br/><br/>Malacca was ceded to the British in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen on Sumatra. From 1826 to 1946, Malacca was governed by Britain, first by the British East India Company and then as a Crown Colony.
Vasco da Gama (1460 or 1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery, and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Under the reign of King Manuel I, Portugal discovered Brazil in 1500. Meanwhile, da Gama set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a fleet of four ships and 170 men. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, impersonated a Muslim in Mozambique, resorted to piracy in Kenya, and finally landed in Calicut in India on May 20, 1498. For a short time in 1524, he was Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy.
Vasco da Gama (1460 or 1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery, and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Under the reign of King Manuel I, Portugal discovered Brazil in 1500. Meanwhile, da Gama set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a fleet of four ships and 170 men. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, impersonated a Muslim in Mozambique, resorted to piracy in Kenya, and finally landed in Calicut in India on May 20, 1498. For a short time in 1524, he was Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy.