Almeida, Francisco de

(1450?-1510)

   One of the most notable conquistadores and empire builders of Portugal's early Asian empire and the first viceroy of Portuguese India. Having served the Catholic kings in the Granada campaigns, Almeida was also a skilled navigator-sailor. In 1505, King Manuel I dispatched Almeida to Portuguese India as the first viceroy, with a fleet of 21 ships and about 1,500 soldiers. A ferocious and cruel fighter, Almeida fought his way up the coast of East Africa and along the west coast of India. In early February 1509, Almeida's fleet annihilated a Muslim fleet in the harbor of Diu, ensuring Portugal's naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean for more than a century, one of the more decisive naval engagements in world maritime history. Having served as viceroy successfully during 1506-09 when replaced by Afonso de Albuquerque, under orders from King Manuel, Almeida obstinately refused to step down. Orders from Portugal arrived via a fleet in India in October 1509, and Almeida was forced to accept the fact of his dismissal. On his return to Portugal, when landing near the Cape of Good Hope, Almeida was killed in a skirmish with Africans.

   See also Diu, Battle of.