| Afonso de Albuquerque | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Afonso de Albuquerque in Goa (India), 16th century painting on wood, National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon, Portugal. |
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| Born | Afonso de Albuquerque 1453 Alhandra, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | December 16, 1515 (aged 61–62) Goa, Portuguese India |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Occupation | Conqueror, governor and viceroy of Portuguese India |
| Known for | Conquests that established the Portuguese Empire in the Indian Ocean. |
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] (or archaically spelt as Aphonso d'Albuquerque and also spelt as Affonso, Alfonso, and Alphonso; Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu dɨ aɫbuˈkɛɾk]; 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,[1][2] 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.[3] 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.
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Afonso de Albuquerque was born in 1453 in Alhandra, near Lisbon.[4] He was the second son of Gonçalo de Albuquerque, Lord of Vila Verde dos Francos and Dona Leonor de Menezes. His father held an important position at court and was connected by remote illegitimate descent with the Portuguese monarchy. He was educated in mathematics and Latin at the court of Afonso V of Portugal, where he befriended Prince John, future king John II of Portugal.[5] He served ten years in North Africa, where he acquired military experience. In 1471, under the command of Afonso V, he was present at the conquest of Tangier and Arzila in Morocco,[6] serving there as an officer for some years. In 1476 he accompanied Prince John in wars against Castile, such as the Battle of Toro. He was in the squadron sent to the Italian Peninsula in 1480 to rescue Ferdinand II of Aragon from the Ottoman invasion of Otranto that ended in a Christian victory.[7] On his return in 1481, when Prince John was crowned, Albuquerque was appointed chief equerry (estribeiro-mor) to the king. In 1489 he returned to service in North Africa, as commander of defence in the fortress of Graciosa, an island in the river Luco near the city of Larache, and in 1490 was part of the guard of King John II, returning to Arzila in 1495 where his younger brother Martim died fighting by his side.
When king Manuel I of Portugal was enthroned he showed some reticence towards Albuquerque, a close friend of his dreaded predecessor John II, and seventeen years his senior. Eight years later, on April 6 of 1503, after a long military career and at a mature age, Afonso de Albuquerque was sent on his first expedition to India with his cousin Francisco de Albuquerque. Each commanded three ships, sailing along with Duarte Pacheco Pereira and Nicolau Coelho. They participated in several battles against the forces of the Zamorin of Calicut (Calecute,Kozhikode) and succeeded in establishing the king of Cohin (Cohim, Kochi) securely on his throne. In return, the King gave them permission to build a Portuguese fort at Cochin and establish trade relations with Quilon (Coulão, Kollam). This laid the foundation of Portugal's empire in the East.
Albuquerque returned home in July 1504, and was well received by King Manuel I of Portugal. After Albuquerque assisted with the creation of a strategy for the Portuguese efforts in the east, King Manuel entrusted him with the command of a squadron of five vessels in the fleet of sixteen sailing for India in early 1506 headed by Tristão da Cunha. Their aim was to conquer Socotra and build a fortress there, hoping to close the trade in the Red Sea. Albuquerque went as chief-captain for the "Coast of Arabia" sailing under command of da Cunha until reaching Mozambique.[8] He carried a sealed letter with a secret mission ordered by the king: after fulfilling the first mission he should replace the first Viceroy of India, Francisco de Almeida, whose term ended two years later.[9] Before departing he legitimated a natural son born in 1500 and made his will.
The fleet left Lisbon on April 6, 1506. Albuquerque piloted his ship himself, having lost his appointed pilot on departure. In Mozambique Channel they rescued captain João da Nova who joined his ship Frol de la mar to the fleet, having been stranded on his return from India.[10] From Malindi, da Cunha sent envoys to Ethiopia, which at the time was thought to be closer than it actually is. Those included priest João Gomes, João Sanches and Tunisian Sid Mohammed who, having failed to cross the region, headed for Socotra from where Albuquerque managed to land them in Filuk.[11] After a series of successful attacks on Arab cities on east Africa coasts, they conquered Socotra, and built a fortress at Suq, hoping it would be a base to stop the Red Sea commerce to the Indian Ocean.[12]
From Socotra their ways parted: Tristão da Cunha sailed for India, where he would relieve the Portuguese besieged at Cannanore, and Albuquerque sailed with a fleet of seven ships and five hundred men in an unrequested advance towards Ormuz in the Persian Gulf, one of the eastern chief centers of commerce. On this route he conquered the cities of Curiati (Kuryat), Muscat in July 1507 and Khor Fakkan, accepting the submission of the cities of Kalhat and Sohar. On September 25 they arrived with a fearsome reputation at Ormuz and soon captured the city, which agreed to become a tributary state for the Portuguese king. A few days later, the king of Ormuz was met by an envoy demanding the payment of tribute to shah Ismail I from Persia. He was sent back with the answer that the only tribute would be in cannon-balls and guns, thus beginning the connection between Albuquerque and Shah Ismail I (often named Xeque Ismael).[13][14] Immediately Albuquerque began building the Fort of Our Lady of Victory (later renamed Fort of Our Lady of the Conception).[15] engaging his men of all ranks in the works. However, some of his officers revolted against the heavy works and climate, and claiming that Albuquerque was exceeding his orders departed for India. With the fleet reduced to only two ships and left without supplies he was unable to maintain this position for long. Forced to abandon Ormuz in January 1508, he raided coastal villages to resupply the settlement of Socotra, returned to Ormuz and only then headed to India.
Albuquerque arrived at Cannanore on the Malabar coast in December 1508, where he immediately opened before the viceroy Dom Francisco de Almeida the sealed letter he had received from the king, appointing him governor.[16][17] The viceroy, then joined by the officers who had defeated Albuquerque in Ormuz, had a matching royal order, but declined to yield, protesting that his term ended only in January and stating his intention to avenge his son's death by fighting the mameluk fleet of Mirocem, refusing Albuquerque's offer to fight him himself. Afonso de Albuquerque obeyed without confronting D. Francisco de Almeida - which could have led to civil war - and moved to Kochi, pending instructions from Portugal, supporting and housing his entourage himself. He was described by Fernão Lopes de Castanheda as patiently enduring an open opposition from the group that had gathered around D. Francisco de Almeida, with whom he kept formal contacts. Increasingly isolated, he wrote to Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, who was arriving with a new fleet to India, but was ignored as Sequeira joined the Viceroy. At the same time Albuquerque refused approaches from opponents of the viceroy, who challenged him to take power.[18]
On February 3, 1509 Almeida fought the naval Battle of Diu against a joint fleet of Mamluks, Ottomans, the zamorin of Calicut and the sultan of Gujarat, taking it as personal revenge for the death of his son Lourenço de Almeida at the Battle of Chaul. His victory was decisive: Ottomans and Mamluks left the waters of the Indian Ocean, easing the Portuguese rule for over 100 years. In August, after a petition from Albuquerque's former officers with the support of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira considering him unfit for governance, he was sent in custody in an old ship to St. Angelo Fort in Cannanore.[19][20] There he remained under what he considered to be imprisonment. In September 1509 Sequeira advanced the mission of establishing contact with the Sultan of Malacca but failed, leaving behind 19 Portuguese prisoners.
Albuquerque was released after three months' confinement, on the arrival at Cannanore of the grand-marshal of Portugal with a large fleet.[21] He was the most important Portuguese noble ever to visit India and he brought an armada of fifteen ships and 3,000 men sent by the king to defend the rights of Albuquerque and take Calicut.[22]
In 4 November 1509 Albuquerque became the second Governor of the State of India, a position he would hold until his death. Almeida having returned home in 1510,[23] he speedily showed the energy and determination of his character.[24]
Albuquerque intended to dominate the Muslim world and control the Spice trade.[24] Initially king Manuel I and his council in Lisbon tried to distribute the power, outlining three areas of jurisdiction in the Indian Ocean:[25] in 1509 the nobleman Diogo Lopes de Sequeira was fitted with a fleet and sent to Southeast Asia, with the task of seeking an agreement with Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca, but failed and returned to the kingdom. To Jorge de Aguiar was given the area between the Cape of Good Hope and Gujarat, he was succeeded by Duarte de Lemos but left to Cochin and then for the kingdom, leaving his fleet to Albuquerque.
In January 1510, fulfilling the orders from the kingdom, and knowing of the absence of Zamorin, Albuquerque advanced on Calicut (now Kozhikode). The attack was unsuccessful as Marshal D. Fernando Coutinho, against instructions, ventured into the inner city fascinated by its richness, and suffered an ambush. During the rescue, Albuquerque received a severe wound and had to retreat.[26]
Soon after the failed attack on Calicut, Albuquerque hastened to form a powerful fleet of twenty-three ships and 1200 men. Contemporary reports state that he wanted to fight the Egyptian Mameluke Sultanate fleet in the Red Sea or return to Hormuz. However, he had been informed by Timoji (a privateer in the service of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire) that it would be easier to fight them in Goa, where they had sheltered after the Battle of Diu,[27] and also of the illness of the Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah and war between the Deccan sultanates.[28] So he invested by surprise in the capture of Goa to the Sultanate of Bijapur. He thus completed another mission, for Portugal wanted not to be seen as an eternal "guest" of Kochi and had been coveting Goa as the best trading port in the region.
A first assault took place in Goa from March 4 to May 20, 1510. After initial occupation, feeling unable to hold the city given the poor condition of its fortifications, the cooling of Hindu population support and insubordination among his ranks following a severe attack by Ismail Adil Shah, Albuquerque refused a truce by the sultan and abandoned the city in August. His fleet was scattered and a palace revolt in Kochi hindered his recovery, so he headed to Fort Anjediva. New ships that now arrived from the kingdom were intended for the nobleman Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos at Malacca, who had been given a rival command of the region.
Only three months later, on November 25, Albuquerque reappeared in Goa with a renovated fleet, Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos compelled to accompany him with the reinforcements for Malacca[29] and about 300 Malabari reinforcements from Cannanore. In less than a day they took possession of Goa from Ismail Adil Shah and his Ottoman allies, who surrendered on 10 December. It is estimated that 6000 of the 9000 Muslim defenders of the city died, either on the fierce battle in the streets or drowned while trying to escape.[30] Albuquerque regained the support of the Hindu population, although frustrating the initial expectations of Timoja, who aspired to become governor. Albuquerque rewarded him by appointing him chief "Aguazil" of the city, an administrator and representative of the Hindu and Muslim people, as a knowledgeable interpreter of the local customs.[27] He then made an agreement to lower yearly dues.
In Goa Albuquerque started the first Portuguese mint in the East, after complaints from merchants and Timoja about the scarcity of currency, taking it as an opportunity to announce the territorial conquest.[31] The new coin, based on the existing local coins, showed a cross on one side and the design of an armillary sphere (or "espera"), king Manuel's badge, on the other. Gold, silver and bronze coins were issued, respectively gold cruzados or manueis, esperas and alf-esperas, and "leais".[32][33] Another mint was established at Malacca in 1511.
Despite constant attacks, Goa became the centre of Portuguese India, with the conquest triggering the compliance of neighbouring kingdoms: the Sultan of Gujarat and the Zamorin of Calicut sent embassies, offering alliances and local grants to fortify.
In February 1511, through a friendly Hindu merchant called Nina Chatu, Albuquerque received a letter from Rui de Araújo, one of the nineteen Portuguese held at Malacca since 1509. It urged moving forward with the largest possible fleet to demand their release, and gave details about the fortifications. Albuquerque showed it to Diogo Mendes de Vasconcelos, as an argument to advance in a joint fleet. In April 1511, after fortifying Goa, he gathered a force of about 900 Portuguese, 200 Hindu mercenaries and about eighteen ships.[34] He then set sail from Goa to Malacca, against the orders of the kingdom and under the protest of Diogo Mendes, who claimed the command of the expedition. Albuquerque eventually centralized the Portuguese government in the Indian Ocean. After the conquest of Malacca he wrote a letter to the King where he explained the disagreement with Diogo Mendes, suggesting that further divisions could be harmful to the Portuguese in India.[35] Under his orders was Ferdinand Magellan, who had participated in the failed embassy of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in 1509.
After a false start towards the Red Sea, they sailed to the Strait of Malacca. It was the richest city that the Portuguese tried to take, and a focal point in the trade network where Malay traders met Gujarati, Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Bengali, Persian and Arabic, among others, described by Tomé Pires as of invaluable richness. Despite its wealth, it was mostly a wooden-built city, with few masonry buildings but was defended by a mercenary force estimated at 20,000 men and more than 2000 pieces of artillery. Its greatest weakness being the unpopularity of the government of Sultan Mahmud Shah, who favoured Muslims producing dissatisfaction amongst other merchants.
Albuquerque made a bold approach to the city, his ships decorated with banners, firing cannon volleys. He declared himself lord of all the navigation, demanding the Sultan release the prisoners, pay for the damage, and asking to build a fortified trading post. The Sultan eventually freed the prisoners, but was unimpressed by the small Portuguese contingent. Albuquerque then burned some ships at the port and four coastal buildings as a demonstration. The city being divided by the Malacca River, the connecting bridge was a strategic point, so on 25 July at dawn the Portuguese landed and fought in tough battle, facing poisoned arrows, taking the bridge in the evening. After waiting for the reaction of the sultan, they returned to the ships. As the sultan did not respond, they prepared a junk offered by Chinese merchants, filling it with men, artillery, sandbags. Commanded by António de Abreu it sailed upriver at high tide onto the bridge, with success: the day after all had landed. After a fierce fight during which the sultan appeared with an army of war elephants, the defenders were dispersed and the sultan fled.[36] Albuquerque rested his men for a week and waited for the reaction of the Sultan. Merchants approached, asking for Portuguese protection. They were given banners to mark their premises, a sign that they would not be looted. On 15 August the Portuguese attacked again, but the Sultan had fled the city. Under firm orders they looted the city, respecting the banners.[37]
Albuquerque remained in Malacca preparing its defences against any Malay counterattack,[34] immediately building a fortress, distributing his men in shifts and using stones from the mosque and the cemetery. Despite the delays caused by heat and malaria, it was completed in November 1511, its surviving door known as "A Famosa" (the famous). It was possibly then that Albuquerque had a large stone engraved with the names of the participants in the conquest. To quell disagreements over the order of the names, Albuquerque had it set facing the wall, with the single inscription Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes (latin for "The stone the builders rejected", from prophecy of David, Psalm 118:22-23) on the front.[38]
He settled the Portuguese administration, reappointing Rui de Araújo as factor, a post assigned before his 1509 arrest, and appointing rich merchant Nina Chatu to replace the previous bendahara, representative of the Kafir people and adviser. Besides assisting in the governance of the city and first Portuguese coinage, he also provided the junks for several diplomatic missions.[39] Meanwhile, Albuquerque arrested and executed powerful Javanese merchant Utimuti Raja who, after being appointed to a position in the Portuguese administration as representative of the Javanese population, maintained contacts with the exiled royal family.
Most Muslim and Gujarati merchants having fled the city, Albuquerque now invested in diplomatic efforts demonstrating generosity to Southeast Asian merchants, like the Chinese, to encourage good relations with the Portuguese. Trade and diplomatic missions were sent to continental kingdoms: Rui Nunes da Cunha was sent to Pegu (Burma), from where king Binyaram sent back a friendly emissary to Kochi in 1514[40][41] and Sumatra, Sumatran kings of Kampar and Indragiri sending emissaries to Albuquerque accepting the new power, as vassal states of Malacca.[42] Knowing of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes in a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand), travelling in a Chinese junk returning home. He was one of the former Portuguese arrested in Malacca, having gathered knowledge about the culture of the region. There he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations between the kingdom of Portugal and the court of the King of Siam Ramathibodi II, returning with a Siamese envoy bearing gifts and letters to Albuquerque and the king of Portugal.[43]
In November, after having secured Malacca and learning the location of the then secret "spice islands", Albuquerque sent an expedition of three ships sailing east to find them, led by trusted António de Abreu with the deputy commander Francisco Serrão.[44] Malay pilots were recruited to guide them through Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands and the Ambon Island to Banda Islands, where they arrived in early 1512.[45][45] There they remained for about a month, buying and filling their ships with nutmeg and cloves. António de Abreu then sailed to Amboina whilst Serrão stepped forward to the Moluccas but was shipwrecked near Seram. Sultan Abu Lais of Ternate heard of their stranding, and, seeing a chance to ally himself with a powerful foreign nation, brought them to Ternate in 1512 were they were permitted to build a fort on the island, Forte de São João Baptista de Ternate (pt), built in 1522.
In early 1513, Jorge Álvares— sailing in a mission under Albuquerque — was allowed to land at Lintin Island in the Pearl River Delta of southern China, and soon after Albuquerque sent Rafael Perestrello to southern China to seek out trade relations with the Ming Dynasty of China. In ships from Portuguese Malacca, Rafael sailed to Canton (Guangzhou) in 1513 and again from 1515–1516 to trade with Chinese merchants there. These ventures, along with those of Tomé Pires and Fernão Pires de Andrade, were the first direct European diplomatic and commercial ties with China.[46]
In 20 November 1511 Albuquerque sailed from Malacca to the coast of Malabar on board the old Flor de la mar carrack that had served to support the conquest of Malacca. Despite already being deemed unsafe, Afonso de Albuquerque used her to transport the treasure amassed in the conquest, given her large capacity:[47] he wanted to give the court of King Manuel I a show of Malaccan treasures. There were also the offers from the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand) to the king of Portugal and all his own fortune. On the voyage a storm arose and the Flor De La Mar was wrecked, and he himself barely escaped with his life.[34]
Albuquerque returned from Malacca to Kochi, but could not sail to Goa as it faced a serious revolt headed by the forces of Ismael Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur, commanded by Rasul Khan with the help of some of his countrymen. While he was absent in Malacca, Portuguese who opposed the taking of Goa had waived the possession, even written to the king stating that it would be best to let it go. Held up by the monsoon and with few forces available, he had to wait for the arrival of reinforcement fleets headed by his nephew D. Garcia de Noronha and Jorge de Mello Pereira.
On 10 September 1512, Albuquerque set sail from Cochin to Goa with fourteen ships carrying 1,700 soldiers. Determined to recapture the fortress, he ordered trenches to be dug and a wall to be breached. But on the very morning of the planned final assault, Rasul Khan surrendered. Albuquerque demanded the fort be handed with all its artillery, ammunition and horses, and the deserters to be given up. Some had joined Rasul Khan when the Portuguese were forced to flee Goa in May 1510, others during the recent siege. Rasul Khan consented, on condition that their lives be spared. Albuquerque agreed and he left Goa. Albuquerque kept his word, but mutilated them horribly. One of such renegades was Fernão Lopez, bound for Portugal in custody, who escaped at the island of Saint Helena leading a 'Robinson Crusoe' life for many years. After such measures the town became the most prosperous Portuguese settlement in India.
In December 1512 an envoy from Ethiopia arrived at Goa. Mateus was sent by regent queen Eleni following the arrival of the Portuguese from Socotra in 1507, as an ambassador for the king of Portugal in search of a coalition to help face growing Ottoman influence. He was received in Goa with great honour by Albuquerque, as a long sought "Prester John" envoy. His arrival was announced by king Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X in 1513. Although Mateus faced the distrust of some of Albuquerque rivals, who tried to prove he was some impostor or Muslim spy, Albuquerque sent him to Portugal.[48] The king is described as having wept with joy at their report.
In February 1513, while Mateus was in Portugal, Albuquerque sailed to the Red Sea with a force of about 1000 Portuguese and 400 Malabaris. He was, from the start, under orders from the kingdom to secure that channel to Portugal. Barren Socotra had proved ineffective to control the Red Sea entrance and was abandoned, and Albuquerque's hint that Massawa could be a good Portuguese base might have been influenced by Mateus' reports.[49]
Knowing that mameluks were preparing a second fleet at Suez, he wanted to advance before reinforcements arrived to Aden. He accordingly laid siege to the city.[50] Aden was a fortified city, but although having scaling ladders they broke and after half day of fierce battle Albuquerque was forced to retreat. They cruised the Red Sea inside the Bab al-Mandab, as the first European fleet to have sailed this route. Albuquerque attempted to reach Jeddah, but the winds were unfavourable and so sheltered at Kamaran island in May, until sickness among the men and lack of fresh water forced to retreat. In August 1513, after a second attempt to reach Aden, they returned to India with no substantial results. In order to destroy the power of Egypt, Albuquerque is said to have entertained the idea of diverting the course of the Nile River and so rendering the whole country barren. Perhaps most tellingly, he intended to steal the body of the Prophet Muhammad, and hold it for ransom until all Muslims had left the Holy Land.[51][52]
In 1514 Afonso de Albuquerque devoted himself to governing Goa, concluding peace with Calicut and receiving embassies from Indian governors, strengthening the city and stimulating the marriage of Portuguese with local women. At that time, Portuguese women were barred from travelling overseas due to superstition about women on ships, as well as the unsafe nature of the sea route. In 1511, the Portuguese government encouraged their explorers to marry local women, under a policy set by Albuquerque. To promote settlement, the King of Portugal granted freeman status and exemption from Crown taxes to Portuguese men (known as casados, or "married men") who ventured overseas and married local women. With Albuquerque's encouragement, mixed marriages flourished. He appointed local people for positions in the Portuguese administration and didn't interfere with local traditions, except "sati", the practice of immolating widows, which he forbade.
In March 1514 King Manuel I of Portugal had sent to Pope Leo X a huge and exotic embassy led by Tristão da Cunha, who toured the streets of Rome in a extravagant procession of animals from the colonies and wealth from the Indies that struck Europe. His reputation reached its peak, laying foundations of the Portuguese Empire in the East. In early 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque had sent ambassadors to Sultan Muzafar II, ruler of Cambay, to seek permission to build a fort on Diu. The mission returned without an agreement, but diplomatic gifts were exchanged, including an Indian rhinoceros.[53] Albuquerque sent the gift, named ganda, and its Indian keeper, Ocem, to King Manuel I.[54] In late 1515, the king sent it as a gift , the famous Dürer's Rhinoceros to Pope Leo X. Dürer never saw the actual rhinoceros, which was the first living example seen in Europe since Roman times.
In 1513 at Cannanore Albuquerque was visited by a Persian ambassador from shah Ismail I, who had sent ambassadors to Gujarat, Ormuz and Bijapur. The shah's ambassador to Bijapur visited Albuquerque inviting him to send back an envoy to Persia. Miguel Ferreira was sent via Ormuz to Tabriz, were he had several interviews with the Shah about common goals on defeating the Mameluke sultan.
Having returned with rich presents and an ambassador, on the journey back in March 1515 they were met by Albuquerque at Ormuz, where he went to establish his rule.[55] Fueled by the offers of the shah, Albuquerque had decided to recapture Ormuz. He had learned that after the Portuguese retreat in 1507, a young king was reigning under the influence of a powerful Persian vizier, Reis Hamed, whom the king greatly feared. At Hormuz, Albuquerque had a parley with the king and asked the vizier to be present. He then had him immediately stabbed and killed by his entourage, thus "freeing" the dominated king so the island in the Persian Gulf yielded to him without resistance, and remained a Portuguese vassal state until 1622. There Albuquerque stood, engaging in diplomatic efforts and receiving envoys while becoming increasingly ill. In November 1515 he decided to return, but he didn't survived the journey, dying off Goa.
Albuquerque's career had a painful and ignominious close. He had several enemies at the Portuguese court who lost no opportunity of stirring up the jealousy of King Manuel against him, insinuating that he intended to strike power in Portuguese India, and his own injudicious and arbitrary conduct on several occasions served their end only too well.
On his return from Ormuz, at the entrance of the harbour of Goa, he got news about a fleet arriving from Europe bearing dispatches announcing that he was superseded by his personal enemy Lopo Soares de Albergaria. The blow was too much for him and he died at sea on December 16, 1515.[56] Before his death Albuquerque dictated a letter to King Manuel I in dignified and affecting terms, vindicating his conduct and claiming for his natural son the honours and rewards that were justly due to himself.
Albergaria had departed from Lisbon in 7 April 1515, along with Mateus and a returning embassy to Ethiopia. Yet in August, through contacts in Venice, King Manuel I learnt that the Mamluk Sultan of Cairo had prepared a fleet at Suez with men and artillery to fight the Portuguese in India and, especially, in Hormuz. Fearing the effects and repenting his replacement of Albuquerque, he hurriedly wrote to Albergaria to return the command of all operations to Albuquerque, and to provide him with resources so that he could fight the rival forces. However when the letter arrived, Albuquerque had already died.[57] His body was buried in Goa according to his will, in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Serra (Our Lady of the Hill), built in 1513 thanking for his escape from Kamaran island.[58] After 51 years, in 1566, he was moved to Nossa Senhora da Graça church in Lisbon,[59] which was ruined and rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake.
King Manuel I of Portugal was convinced too late of Albuquerque's loyalty, and endeavoured to atone for the ingratitude with which he had treated him by heaping honours upon his son, Brás de Albuquerque (1500—1580).,[60] whom he renamed "Afonso" in memory of his father.
Afonso de Albuquerque was a prolific writer, having written numerous letters to the king reporting all kind of matters during his governorship, from minor issues to major strategies. In 1557 his son published a collection his letters under the title Commentarios do Grande Affonso d'Alboquerque.[61]- a clear reference to Caesar's Commentaries- which he later reviewed and re-published in 1576. There Albuquerque was described as "a man of middle stature, with a long face, fresh colored, the nose somewhat large. He was a prudent man, and a Latin scholar, and spoke in elegant phrases; his conversation and writings showed his excellent education. He was of ready words, very authoritative in his commands, very circumspect in his dealings with the Moors, and greatly feared yet greatly loved by all, a quality rarely found united in one captain. He was very valiant and favored by fortune."[62]
In 1572 Albuquerque's feats were inscribed in The Lusiads, the Portuguese main epic poem by Luís Vaz de Camões (Canto X, strophe 40 to 49), where the poet praises his achievements but has the muses frown upon the harsh rule towards his own men, of whom Camões was almost a contemporary fellow. In 1934 Albuquerque was celebrated by Fernando Pessoa in Mensagem, a symbolist epic. In the first part of this work, called "Brasão" (Coat-of-Arms), he relates Portuguese historical protagonists to each of the fields in the Portuguese coat-of-arms, Albuquerque being one of the wings of the griffin headed by Henry the navigator, the other wing being King John II.
An exquisite and expensive variety of mango, that he used to bring on his journeys to India, has been named in his honour, and is today sold throughout the world as Alphonso mangoes.[63]
Despite his fame, the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico is not named after him. It was named after a Spanish Viceroy of Mexico named Don Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, who also held the title Duke of Alburquerque. There is, however, a town near the Spanish-Portuguese border named Alburquerque which may be the root of both names. Additionally, it is highly likely that one of the major thoroughfares in Malacca's Portuguese Settlement, Jalan D'Albuquerque, is named after Afonso de Albuquerque.
| Preceded by Francisco de Almeida |
Viceroy of Portuguese India 1509–1515 |
Succeeded by Lopo Soares de Albergaria |