Afonso de Albuquerque; (born 1453, Alhandra, near Lisbon

died Dec. 15, 1515, at sea,

off Goa, India) Portuguese soldier, conqueror of Goa (1510) in India and of Melaka (1511) on the Malay Peninsula. His program to gain control of all the main maritime trade routes of the East and to build permanent fortresses with settled populations laid the foundations of Portuguese supremacy in the Orient.

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fonso de Albuquerque;

(1453

December 16, 1515) was a Portuguese fidalgo, or

nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean. He is generally considered a world conquest military genius, given his successful

strategy: he attempted to close all the Indian Ocean naval passages to the Atlantic, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and to the Pacific, transforming it into a Portuguese mare clausum established over the Turkish power and their Muslim and Hindu allies. He was responsible for building numerous fortresses to defend key strategic positions and establishing a net of diplomatic relations. Shortly before his death he was appointed 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. For some time he was known as The Terrible, The Great, The Caesar of the East, Lion of the Seas and as The Portuguese Mars.

1453 - Afonso de Albuquerque was born in Allandra, near Lisbon, Portugal. 1503 - His first expedition to the East and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope to India. 1504 - He returned home and received by King Manuel I of Portugal. 1506 - He sailed to India with Tristan de Cunha to secure the sea route for the Portuguese to monopolize trade with India. 1507 - He arrived on September 25, 1507 and captured the Island of Socotra and the Island of Ormuz at the mouth of the Red Sea on October 10, 1507. 1508 - Arrived at India and immediately made known the commission he had received from the king empowering him to supersede the governor Francisco de Almeida. 1510 - He fought and lost to the Kingdom of Cochin on January 1510. He attacked Goa on March 1510 with the help of an Indian sea captain and with 23 ships. Abandoned the town on August 1510 and returned with the reinforcements on November 1510. 1511 - Albuquerque directed his force against the Sultanate of Malacca. 1512 - He sailed to the coast of Malabar and arrived at Goa on September 1512 where he supressed a serious revolt headed by Idalcan. 1513 - He laid siege to Aden but was repulsed. 1515 - His last warlike undertaking was the second attack upon Ormuz. He died at the sea on December 16, 1515.