johnthebaptist7
Junior Member
Afonso Albuquerque the great. He was a portugese conqurerer. In 6 years he setup and sustained theh portugese empire across four continents. Somethign no general in history had done before him - Africa (North), Asia (Indian ocean), Oceania (indonesia), teh MIddle East (Persian gulfs). Below is a battle he took against a Persian king, one of teh most powerful and significant kings in the Dynasty that ruled Persia and the Middle East at that time. He held off the ottomon and Egyptian empire and Mughal empires in INdia and setup up the portguese empire in those regions within a space of 6 years. Much faster than alexander the great. This empire was aminated there for up to 150 years after hsi death. And he did it in 6 years. And he didnt jsut rule and lead armies into war, he also administered teh portuguese empire and governed. His next plan, before his untimely death, was to conquer Jerusalem the Holy City, (by passing through the Red Sea/Persian Gulf). His plan was to invade Mecca, to take the prophet mohammeds body and to use it as ransom - i give you mohammeds body back - and you (meaning the islamic empires) abandon your occupatoin of Jerusalem. Read the history books - I am not making this up.
I found this passage below on the internet that describes one of his battles against a persian empire:
I just typed 'untold story portugal' in google.
"Vice-Roy of India, D. Afonso de Albuquerque, a military genius of the highest degree commanded a fleet of six ships manned by four hundred men, and entered Ormuz Bay, being surrounded by 250 warships and a 20.000 men army on land ready to dispatch the small Portuguese flotilla.
When the King of Ormuz sent aboard an emissary to question Albuquerque, the great Commander told the messenger one phrase: Surrender yourselves !!!
This must have provoked an inner laugh from the messenger who left.
When the battle begun, Albuquerque made his fleet circle like a carrousel and destroyed most of the ships. He then proceeded to conquer Ormuz with 400 men.
How could this be achieved one must ask. The technical explanation may make some sense, but will not explain the courage of taking such a risk.
In fact we all know that during the U.S.Civil War, canons had to be loaded from their mouths. This was in the XIX Century. However Albuquerque’s canons were equipped with breeches that did not require the canons to be brought backwards to be loaded. It meant that while the enemy’s canons fired a shot, the Portuguese canons could fire six with a range of 1.800 meters against 700 meters of the enemy’s canons. The next issue is that the Portuguese artillery men had discovered the propulsive effect of water. If you throw a stone at a low angle near the surface of the water, the stone will be propelled by the water’s surface and gain more speed.
The second row of canons were placed very near the floating line and the stronger fire power was further enhanced by the water effect, causing the steel balls to not only hit the ship but hit the one behind the first one. Being fired at close to the floating line, the ships would start sinking very fast.
Then one must be aware that the Portuguese knew they were always outnumbered, a certainty that led them to employ all their courage and determination in the fights and battles they engaged.
In many cases, just mentioning the Portuguese would distress an entire army or fleet, knowing the fierceness and bravery of the Portuguese warriors.