Francisco de Almeida

A Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer

Biography

He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492. In 1505 he was appointed as the first governor and viceroy of the Portuguese State of India (Estado da Índia). Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean, with his victory at the naval Battle of Diu in 1509. Before Almeida could return to Portugal, he lost his life in 1510. His son, Lourenço de Almeida, too was killed in the Battle of Chaul.

According to "The Capture of Malacca, AD 1511" by the Honorable R. J. Wilkinson, "D'Almedia was the apostle of Sea-Power. He saw that with all their apparent weakness, his ships had at their mercy the commerce of whole continents; and he preached the doctrine of a supreme navy. Alfonso d'Albuquerque disagreed. He was a veteran and distinguished soldier, a man of authority, who believed in Sea-Power but not in its all-sufficiency. He mocked at the theory of an Eastern empire that owned no ports or docks and could not caulk a ship except by the favour of an ally. He was the apostle of the Naval Base, sea-power resting on the shore. Moreover, as a man of ancient lineage, cousin to Spanish kings, himself a knight of the Order of Christ, he would not take service under Francis d'Almeida.

"King Emmanuel put an end to the quarrel by naming both the disputants Viceroys and giving each of them a fleet and a separate sphere of authority. This was in 1508."

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