page_title: Portuguese conquest of Goa
section_title: Trapped in the river
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese conquest of Goa / First conquest of Goa / Trapped in the river
caption_attribution_description: English: Goa Mandovi Bridge view from Ribandar
context_page_description: The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred when the governor of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city in 1510. Goa was not among the cities Albuquerque had received orders to conquer: he had only been ordered by the Portuguese king to capture Hormuz, Aden, and Malacca.
context_section_description: On June 1, the ships sailed away from the riverfront of Goa to the mouth of the Mandovi River, unable to leave for the high seas due to the monsoon storms. The expedition was now trapped on their own ships within the rivermouth, and for the following three months would endure a severe rationing of supplies to the point of cooking rats and leather, a continuous Muslim bombardment, and the harsh weather conditions, all which threatened to crush the expedition.
  The riverwater was muddy, making fish hard to catch and the water undrinkable, although the heavy rain permitted some of the drinking water to be replenished. The Portuguese also suffered from the constant bombardment from artillery pieces on shore which, though erratic, forced them to frequently relocate the ships and avoid leaving out onto the decks. They avoided replying, to save ammunition. According to João de Barros: "Thus by hunger and thirst on one part and by war, lightning and Winter thunderstorm on another, the common folk was so stricken that some were driven to desperation".
  Many jumped overboard and defected, informing the enemy of the scarcity in the armada. The Adil Shah however, feared the renewal of hostilities with Vijayanagar at any moment, and wished to conclude a truce with the Portuguese. He sent an envoy proposing peace and the nearby town of Cintacora. Albuquerque received him with an abundant display of food and wine but rejected Ismail's proposal.
  The governor would run through every ship, raising morale and instilling discipline, but his relation with his captains was degrading rapidly after his popular nephew, Dom António de Noronha, died in a sortie on land. One episode was relevant, as one fidalgo Rui Dias had been disobeying the governor's orders, sneaking out of his ship to meet with the women that Timoja had captured, and were locked in a cabin on the governor's own flagship. Upon learning of this blatant disobedience, Albuquerque ordered him to be immediately hanged. With the noose around his neck, mutiny sparked among the ranks of Portuguese fidalgos in the armada – who objected not so much to his execution but the fact that he was being hanged and not beheaded as befitted a fellow nobleman. Albuquerque was, however, resolute. Dias was hanged and several of the rebellious captains arrested, though only for a few days.
caption: Mandovi river seen from Ribandar
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