Francisco de Almeida was a nobleman, soldier, and explorer from Portugal. He rose to prominence as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and subsequently in the Moorish wars and the conquest of Granada in 1492. He became the first ruler and viceroy of the Portuguese State of India in 1505. This article will explain to you about Francisco de Almeida which will be helpful in Modern Indian History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Francisco De Almeida

• In 1505, King Ferdinand I of Portugal appointed a three-year governor in India and provided him with adequate troops to preserve Portuguese interests.
• The newly appointed governor, Francisco De Almeida, was tasked with consolidating the Portuguese position in India and destroying Muslim trade by conquering Aden, Ormuz, and Malacca.
• Francisco de Almeida arrived at Cochin on October 31, 1505, with only 8 ships remaining.
• He learned that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been slaughtered while he was there. He dispatched his son Lourenço with six ships, which indiscriminately sank Calicut boats in Quilon's harbour.
• Almeida settled down in Cochin. He improved the Portuguese defences at Cochin's Fort Manuel.
• With his victory in the naval Battle of Diu in 1509, Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean.
• Almeida was the first Portuguese to arrive in Bombay by the sea in 1509.
• He went after Meliqueaz, to whom he had sent a frightening letter, and the Mamluk Mirocem, leading a fleet of 23 ships near the port of Diu, in the naval Battle of Diu on 3 February 1509.
• He defeated a joint fleet of the Mamluk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan of Gujarat, and the Zamorin of Calicut, with technical naval help from the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), which worried for its eastern trade lines.
• He was also instructed to construct fortifications at Anjadiva and Cochin.
• Kilwa and Cannanore Almeida, on the other hand, faced danger from Egypt's Mamluk Sultan, in addition to the Zamorin's resistance.
• The Egyptians formed a navy in the Red Sea to oppose the Portuguese advance, spurred on by the merchants of Venice, whose profitable trade was now jeopardised owing to Portuguese meddling.
• The Portuguese squadron was beaten by the combined Egyptian and Gujarat navies in a naval action off the coast of Diu in 1507, and Almeida's son was slain.
• The next year, Almeida avenged his defeat by annihilating both navies. Almeida's dream was for the Portuguese to rule the Indian Ocean.
• The Blue Water Policy (cartage system) was his policy.
• The Portuguese squadron was beaten by the combined Egyptian and Gujarat navies in a naval action off the coast of Diu in 1507, and Almeida's son was killed here.
• The next year, Almeida avenged his defeat by annihilating both navies.
• Almeida's dream was to make Portuguese the master of the Indian Ocean.his policy was known as Blue Water Policy (Cartaz system).
• Almeida died in a conflict with indigenous peoples at the Cape of Good Hope in 1510, before returning to Portugal. Lourenço de Almeida, his only son, had previously been killed in the Battle of Chaul.

Francisco de Almeida

Blue Water Policy

• Don Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese territories in India, is credited with the "Blue Water" Policy.
• The primary aim behind this plan is to make Portugal a dominant country in the maritime area.
• In India, it is the fortification of the Indian Ocean in order for Portuguese businesses to establish themselves in the Indian Ocean.
• The goal of Viceroy of Possession in India, Francisco de Almeida's blue water policy was to preserve sea dominance in Indian waterways and limit their operations to solely economic dealings.
• The Portuguese should be the sole trading power in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, according to this doctrine.
• Instead of erecting fortifications on the Indian continent, it was suggested that the Portuguese become formidable at sea.

Conclusion

With his victory in the naval Battle of Diu in 1509, Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese authority in the Indian Ocean. Almeida died in a confrontation with indigenous people near the Cape of Good Hope in 1510.