Asia and Africa in the 15th and 16th centuriesWars and battles

Portuguese conquest of Goa

Afonso de Albuquerque, governor of Portuguese India, finally wrested the city of Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate; it went on to become the centre of Portugal’s possessions in Asia.

Date: 25 November 1510exact dateDate in the Julian calendar
Place: Goa (Old Goa)today: Old Goa, India · South Asia
Participants: Afonso de Albuquerque, Kingdom of Portugal, Bijapur Sultanate
Threads: Asia and Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries, History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota

Early in 1510 the Portuguese, with the support of the Malabar corsair Timoji, had already occupied the city, but in May they were forced to abandon it under pressure from the army of Ismail Adil Shah. On 25 November, St Catherine’s Day, Albuquerque returned and took Goa by storm. From 1530 the city was the capital of Portuguese India, and it remained Portuguese until 1961.

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Connections

Causes and preconditions

Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India8 July 1497 – between August and September 1499 · Western and Central Europe

Related events

Battle of Diu3 February 1509 · South Asia
Portuguese conquest of Hormuz25 September 1507 – 1 April 1515 · Middle East and EgyptAlbuquerque’s strategy: Goa as the capital, Malacca and Hormuz as the gateways of Asian trade
Capture of Malacca25 July – between 10 August and 24 August 1511 · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Garcia de Orta’s Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India10 April 1563 · South AsiaOrta worked in Goa, the capital of Portuguese India since 1530
Indian annexation of Goa18–19 December 1961 · South AsiaPortuguese rule in Goa, begun by Albuquerque in 1510, lasted 451 years