Vasco Da Gama’s Arrival in Calicut and Initial Interactions
Arrived at Calicut in May 1498 with three ships, guided by a Gujarati pilot named Abdul Majid.
Received a friendly reception from the Hindu ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin (Samuthiri), due to Calicut's prosperity as an entrepot.
Faced apprehensions from Arab traders on the Malabar coast who were wary of Portuguese dominance.
Impact on Indian Ocean Trade: Disrupting Established Networks
The trading system had numerous participants (Indians, Arabs, Africans, Chinese, Javanese) who followed tacit rules and avoided dominance, focusing on profit.
The Portuguese aimed to monopolize the profitable eastern trade, excluding competitors, especially the Arabs.
Vasco Da Gama’s First Voyage: Establishing the Pepper Trade Route
Stayed in India for three months.
Returned to Portugal with a rich cargo, selling it at a huge profit in Europe.
Demonstrated the importance of direct access to the pepper trade, bypassing Muslim middlemen and reducing costs significantly.
Pedro Alvarez Cabral’s Voyage: Establishing a Portuguese Presence
Undertook a voyage to trade for spices, establishing a factory at Calicut in September 1500.
Encountered conflict when the Portuguese factory was attacked by locals, leading to several Portuguese deaths.
Retaliated by seizing Arab merchant ships, killing hundreds of crew members, confiscating cargo, and burning ships.
Bombarded Calicut and made advantageous treaties with local rulers of Cochin and Cannanore.
Vasco Da Gama’s Second Voyage: Escalating Conflict and Establishing Trade Centers
Returned to India in 1501.
The Zamorin refused to exclude Arab merchants in favor of the Portuguese.
Vasco Da Gama responded with commercial greed and hostility, attacking Arab shipping.
Established a trading factory at Cannanore.
Over time, Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin became important Portuguese trade centers.
Fortification of Trade Centers: Consolidating Portuguese Power
The Portuguese, under the guise of protecting their factories and trading activities, obtained permission to fortify these centers.
Francisco De Almeida: Appointed Governor and the Blue Water Policy
Francisco De Almeida’s Appointment and Objectives
In 1505, the King of Portugal appointed a governor in India for a three-year term and equipped the incumbent with sufficient force to protect the Portuguese interests. Francisco De Almeida, the newly appointed governor, was asked to consolidate the position of the Portuguese in India and to destroy Muslim trade by seizing Aden, Ormuz, and Malacca. He was also advised to build fortresses at Anjadiva, Cochin, Cannanore, and Kilwa.
Vasco da Gama's Landing and its Significance
The landing of Vasco da Gama at Calicut in 1498 is generally regarded as the beginning of a new era in world history, especially in the relationship between Asia and Europe. Although Asia and Europe had been in commercial relations with each other since antiquity, the opening of the direct sea-relations between the two was not only the fulfilment of an old dream (according to the Greek historian, Herodotus, the Phoenicians had rounded Africa in the 6th century BC) it presaged a big increase in trade between the two.
This, however, was only one of the objectives of the Portuguese. For the Portuguese, the opening of a new sea-route to India would give a big blow to the Muslims, the Arabs, and Turks, who were the traditional enemies of Christianity, and were posing a new threat to Europe by virtue of the growing military and naval power of the Turks. A direct sea-link with India would displace the virtual monopoly of the Arabs and Turks over the trade in eastern goods, especially spices. They also vaguely hoped by their exploration of Africa they would be able to link up with the kingdom of the legendary Prior John, and be in a position to attack the Muslims from two sides. Thus, the commercial and religious objectives supported and justified each other.
Opposition from Zamorin and Mameluke Sultan
What Almeida, however, encountered along with the opposition of the Zamorin, was a threat from the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. Encouraged by the merchants of Venice whose lucrative commerce was now at risk due to the Portuguese interference, the Egyptians raised a fleet in the Red Sea to stop the advance of the Portuguese.
In 1507, the Portuguese squadron was defeated in a naval battle off Diu by the combined Egyptian and Gujarat navies, and Almeida’s son was killed. Next year, Almeida avenged his defeat by totally crushing the two navies. Almeida’s vision was to make the Portuguese the master of the Indian Ocean. His policy was known as the Blue Water Policy (cartaze system).
Alfonso de Albuquerque: Consolidating Portuguese Power in India
Albuquerque's Governorship and Strategic Control
Albuquerque, who succeeded Almeida as the Portuguese governor in India, was the real founder of the Portuguese power in the East, a task he completed before his death. He secured for Portugal the strategic control of the Indian Ocean by establishing bases overlooking all the entrances to the sea. There were Portuguese strongholds in East Africa, off the Red Sea, at Ormuz; in Malabar; and at Malacca. The Portuguese, under Albuquerque bolstered their stranglehold by introducing a permit system for other ships and exercising control over the major ship-building centres in the region. The non-availability of timber in the Gulf and Red Sea regions for ship-building also helped the Portuguese in their objectives.
Acquisition of Goa: A Key Portuguese Possession
Albuquerque acquired Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510 with ease; the principal port of the Sultan of Bijapur became “the first bit of Indian territory to be under the Europeans since the time of Alexander the Great”. An interesting feature of his rule was the abolition of sati.
Francisco De Almeida's View on Naval Power
“As long as you may be powerful at sea you will hold India as yours; and if you do not possess this power, little will avail you a fortress on shore.”
Encouragement of Portuguese Settlers: Establishing a Colonial Society
The Portuguese men who had come on the voyages and stayed back in India were, from Albuquerque’s day, encouraged to take local wives. In Goa and the Province of the North they established themselves as village landlords, often building new roads and irrigation works, introducing new crops like tobacco and cashew nut, or better plantation varieties of coconut besides planting large groves of coconut to meet the need for coir rigging and cordage.
In the cities, such as Goa and Cochin, they settled as artisans and master-craftsmen, besides being traders. Most of such Portuguese came to look upon their new settlements, rather than Portugal, as home.
Nino da Cunha
Nino da Cunha's Governorship
Nino da Cunha assumed office of the governor of Portuguese interests in India in November 1529 and almost one year later shifted the headquarters of the Portuguese government in India from Cochin to Goa. Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, during his conflict with the Mughal emperor Humayun, secured help from the Portuguese by ceding to them in 1534 the island of Bassein with its dependencies and revenues. He also promised them a base in Diu. However, Bahadur Shah’s relations with the Portuguese became sour when Humayun withdrew from Gujarat in 1536. Since the inhabitants of the town started fighting with the Portuguese, Bahadur Shah wanted to raise a wall of partition. Opposing this, the Portuguese started negotiations, in the course of which the ruler of Gujarat was invited to a Portuguese ship and killed in 1537. Da Cunha also attempted to increase Portuguese influence in Bengal by settling many Portuguese nationals there with Hooghly as their headquarters.
Albuquerque's Policy on Muslims
Bitter persecution of Muslims was one serious drawback of Albuquerque’s policy. This could have been due to his resolve to further the interests of his countrymen by complete extinction of Muslim commercial interests in the East. During his rule, Albuquerque did his best to strengthen the fortifications of Goa and enhance its commercial importance. In order to secure a permanent Portuguese population in India he encouraged his men to take Indian wives. The Gazetteer of India, Vol. II
Favourable Conditions for Portuguese in India
In India, excepting Gujarat, which was ruled by the powerful Mahmud Begarha (1458-1511), the northern part was much divided among many small powers. In the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom was breaking up into smaller kingdoms. None of the powers had a navy worth its name, nor did they think of developing their naval strength. In the Far East, the imperial decree of the Chinese emperor limited the navigational reach of the Chinese ships. As regards the Arab merchants and ship-owners who until then dominated the Indian Ocean trade, they had nothing to match the organisation and unity of the Portuguese. Moreover, the Portuguese had cannons placed on their ships.
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