Afonso de Albuquerque: Did you mean...?

A 16th-century portrait of Afonso de Albuquerque who established the colony of Portuguese Goa in India and who served as the Viceroy of the Estado da India from 1509 to 1515. (National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon)

The Portuguese admiral and military commander, Afonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515 CE), who served as Governor of Portuguese India from 1509-1515 CE and captured Malacca in 1511 CE.

Throughout the 15th century, the Portuguese Crown yearned for a piece of the Far Eastern spice trade. For centuries this trade had been dominated by the Venetians who obtained pepper, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon from their Middle...

Statue of a king, probably King Afonso Henriques I (r. 1147-1185 CE) the first king of Portugal. The bust is from the Antiga Ermida de S. Miguel da Alcáçova, Santarém, 13th century CE. Now located in The Carmo Archaeological Museum, Lisbon...

Goa, located on the west coast of India, was a Portuguese colony from 1510 to 1961. The small coastal area was conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque (c. 1453-1515) and became an important trade hub for the Eastern spice trade. Goa was the capital...

The Portuguese colonised Malacca (modern Melaka) on the southwest coast of the Malay peninsula from 1511 and kept it until 1641 when the Dutch took over. The port controlled the Malay Straits which lead from the Indian Ocean (the Andaman...

The Estado da India (1505-1961) was the name the Portuguese gave to that part of their empire which stretched from India to East Asia. However, in its widest sense, the name includes all Portuguese colonies east of the Cape of Good Hope and...

Visiting the vibrant and colorful city of Lisbon, on the banks of the river Tagus and the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, what is most showcased is one episode of the city's and country's glorious past: Lisbon as the capital of the Portuguese...

The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications, there were larger territorial colonies like Brazil...

Cochin, located on the southwest coast of India, was a Portuguese colony from 1503 to 1663. Known to the Portuguese as Cochim, it was one of several important cities on India’s Malabar Coast and a great trade centre for spices like pepper...