Lourenço de Almeida (died 1508[1]), son of Francisco de Almeida, acting under him, distinguished himself in the Indian Ocean, and made Ceylon (present Sri Lanka) tributary to Portugal (see Portuguese Ceylon). He belonged to the Order of Christ.
He made the first Portuguese voyage to Sri Lanka in 1505 and established a settlement there,[2] thus permitting the expansion of the Portuguese Empire in Asia.
He defeated the fleet of the samorin at the Battle of Cannanore in 1506. Two years later however, he died in a naval action off Chaul,[3] in India, at the Battle of Chaul.