6th Portuguese India Armada ( Albergaria , 1504 ) The Sixth India Armada was assembled in 1504 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria . The Fleet . The 6th Armada was composed of 13 ships ( approx . 9 large " " nau " / carracks + 4 small navetas / caravels ) and 1200 men . The exact composition of the fleet differs in the various accounts . The following list of ships should not be regarded as authoritative , but a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts . No actual names of the ships are known . Chronicles suggest most were carracks ( " naus " ) , accompanied by three or four smaller ships ( either ' navetas ' or caravel s , denoted as ' nta ' in the list ) . The captains of three of the navetas are identified in all the chronicles , although there is some disagreement over the fourth ( if there was a fourth ) . The above list of captains is principally based on João de Barros ' s " Décadas " ( Dec . 1 , Lib . 7 ) , Damião de Gois ' s " Chronica " , Castanheda ' s " História " and Quintella ' s " Annaes da Marinha " . The " Relação das Naus da Índia " introduces some of the name variations . As usual , Gaspar Correia differs from the others : he omits the fourth small ship of Pedro Dias ( or Dinis ) de Setúbal , and introduces instead two new small ships , one under Simão de Alcáçova , another under Cristóvão de Távora , bringing the total to fourteen . To get thirteen again , Correia asserts the captain - major Lopo Soares de Albergaria does not have his own ship , but is aboard the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça ( at least on outbound journey ) . The admiral of the fleet ( " capitão - mor " , captain - major ) was Lopo Soares de Albergaria ( sometimes called Lopo Soares de Alvarenga , or simply Lopo Soares ) . Albergaria was a middling noble , well - connected to the Almeida family , and had served a successful term ( 1495 – 99 ) as captain - general of São Jorge da Mina in the Portuguese Gold Coast ( West Africa ) . Lopo Soares de Albergaria sailed either on his own ship or on the ship captained by Pêro de Mendonça . Lopo de Abreu da Ilha may have been designated vice - admiral , although D . Leonel Coutinho may have been a higher noble . Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos was the nephew of influential Portuguese courtier and royal advisor Duarte Galvão . Two of the captains are veterans of earlier expeditions : Pedro Afonso de Aguiar and Lopo Mendes de Vasconcellos had sailed in the 4th Armada of 1502 . There was some private participation in the fleet . At least one of the ships was outfitted by Catarina Dias de Aguiar , a wealthy merchant woman from Lisbon . The carracks were designated to return to Lisbon with spice cargoes , the three or four small ships ( navetas or caravels ) were slated to remain in India , to bolster the local Portuguese coastal patrol . The Mission . The 2nd India Armada ( 1500 ) under Pedro Álvares Cabral had opened hostilities between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Zamorin of Calicut ( " Calecute " , Kozhikode ) , the dominant maritime power on the Malabar Coast of India . The large and well - armed 4th Armada of 1502 led by Vasco da Gama had hoped , by means of strong show of force , persuade the Zamorin to sue for terms . But in spite of terror , bombardment and blockade , the Zamorin had refused to yield . The Zamorin ' s defiance convinced Vasco da Gama that this was going to be a longer fight than he had anticipated , one that required more men and firepower than he had at hand . Gama ' s 4th Armada left India , intent on requesting a stronger fleet from Lisbon , with enough men and arms , if not to reduce Calicut , to at least defend the Portuguese - allied cities of Cochin ( " Cochim " , Kochi ) and Cannanore ( " Canonor " , Kannur ) . Gama delivered his report to Lisbon in 1503 , too late to affect the outfitting of the 5th Armada , which had left under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque a few months earlier . Although unequipped to challenge Calicut itself , the 5th Armada did enough to save Cochin from falling into the hands of the Zamorin ' s army and helped bolster its defenses by erecting a timber fort in the city . Basing themselves only on Vasco da Gama ' s report , the 6th Armada that set out in early 1504 was equipped more purposefully , bringing more soldiers and ships to protect the Portuguese factories in Cochin and Cannanore . As noted explicitly in his " regimento " , Lopo Soares de Albergaria was under strict orders to accept no peace with the Zamorin of Calicut , and do what he could to harass Calicut . Outward Voyage . April 22 , 1504 - The 13 ships of the 6th Armada leave the Tagus estuary . May 2 - Ships arrive at the first collection point , Cape Verde . Lopo Soares announces that since they left Lisbon so late , there is no room for error . He lays down a set of strict sailing instructions , and warns pilots and masters he will dock their pay for every mistake . June - Proceeding in good order , the 6th Armada reaches the Cape of Good Hope . June 25 - The 6th armada reaches Mozambique Island . There , Lopo Soares finds the testimonial letter left behind by Pêro de Ataíde , the former captain of the India patrol , who had died there in February . It is here that Lopo Soares learns of the debacle of the coastal patrol of Vicente Sodré and Calicut ' s attack on Cochin the previous Spring . August 1 - Lopo Soares leaves Mozambique . Although instructed by his " regimento " to make a stop in Malindi , it is possible he sails for India directly from Mozambique . But Damião de Góis reports the 6th Armada did stop at Malindi , and was ( as usual ) well received by the Sultan of Malindi . Góis asserts the Sultan of Malindi not only resupplied the ships , but provided Lopo Soares with a Muslim pilot named ' Debucar ' . He also handed over sixteen Portuguese shipwrecked sailors , survivors of Ataíde ' s capsized ship , who had been collected by Malindi boats earlier that year . The 6th Armada remains in Malindi only two days , before setting off on their Indian Ocean crossing . Lopo Soares in India . Ataide ' s letter gave Lopo Soares the news of India up until February , 1504 . What Lopo Soares did not know ( but probably could guess ) was that at this very moment there was a desperate battle going on in Cochin . In March , the Zamorin of Calicut had launched a massive attack on Cochin , intending to capture the city and seize the Portuguese fortress . He brought some 57 , 000 troops , equipped with Turkish firearms and Venetian cannon . The tiny Portuguese garrison at Cochin , some 150 men under the command of Duarte Pacheco Pereira , by clever positioning , individual heroics and quite some luck , had managed to fend off attack after attack by the Zamorin ' s army and fleet in the ensuing months . The last assault was launched in early July , after which the humiliated Zamorin called off the invasion . August , 1504 - Crossing the Indian Ocean , the 6th Armada of Lopo Soares de Albergaria arrives at Anjediva island . There they find two Portuguese ships repairing - those of António de Saldanha and Rui Lourenço Ravasco . They had been part of the third squadron of the previous year ' s 5th Armada . They relate their sorry tale - how they got lost and separated in Africa , how they spent the winter season harassing East African ports and Red Sea shipping , and howw they were only able to undertake their Indian Ocean crossing this summer . They have no idea of the whereabouts of the third ship of their squadron , that of Diogo Fernandes Pereira , having lost track of it nearly a year ago . ( As it happens , Diogo Fernandes Pereira had wintered in Socotra by himself and undertook a solo crossing to India earlier that Spring , arriving in Cochin just in time to help Duarte Pacheco fend off the assaults of the Zamorin . ) Late August / Early September , 1504 - Saldanha and Lourenço accompany Lopo Soares ' 6th Armada down the coast to Cannanore . Arriving there , Albergaria finally hears fuller reports from the Cannanore factor Gonçalo Gil Barbosa about the battle of Cochin . Lopo Soares sets sail towards it at once . September 7 , 1504 - The 6th Armada appears before Calicut . Lopo Soares dispatches a message to the Zamorin , demanding he hand over any and all Portuguese prisoners to him ; moreover , he demands that they also deliver the two Venetian engineers who had been helping the Zamorin build European cannon . The Zamorin is absent from the city at the moment , but his ministers are willing to release the Portuguese prisoners . The Italians , however , they cannot . Restless , Lopo Soares has the 6th Armada subject Calicut to forty - eight hours of continuous shore bombardment , causing great damage . Satisfied , the 6th Armada proceeds south to Cochin . They are met at Fort Manuel by the Trimumpara Raja and the tired Portuguese garrison . But the fort ' s commander Duarte Pacheco Pereira himself is not there at that moment ( he had recently left on a jaunt to Quilon , to check on the Portuguese factory there ) . Greetings and gifts are exhanged - including a sizeable sum of cash sent by Manuel I of Portugal as a reward for the Trimumpara Raja ' s alliance . With the Cochin spice markets starved by the recent siege , Lopo Soares sets about collecting spices from elsewhere . Four or five ships ( Lopes da Costa , Aguiar , Coutinho , Abreu and perhaps another ) are sent down to Quilon to load up . Two ships ( Pêro de Mendonça and Vasco Carvalho ) are sent out to patrol the coast south of Calicut , and seize whatever merchant ships they can ( and take their spice cargoes ) , while Tristão da Silva , joined by five local " bateis " ( pinnace s ) are dispatched on patrol duty inside the lagoon . Hearing of the armada ' s arrival , Duarte Pacheco ( then in Quilon ) sets sail back to Cochin , and meets Lopo Soares on September 14 ( October 22 according to Castanheda ) . Raid on Cranganore . October , 1504 - While in Cochin , Lopo Soares receives reports that the Zamorin of Calicut has dispatched a force to fortify Cranganore , the port city at the northern end of the Vembanad lagoon , and the usual entry point for the Zamorin ' s army and fleet into the Kerala backwaters . Reading this as a preparation for a renewed attack on Cochin after his 6th Armada leaves , Lopo Soares decides on a preemptive strike . He orders a squadron of around ten fighting ships and numerous Cochinese " bateis " and " paraus " , to head up there . The heavier ships , unable to make their way into the shallow channels , anchor at Palliport ( Pallipuram , on the outer edge of Vypin island , guarding the channel between Cranganore and the sea ) . Converging on Cranganore , the Portuguese - Cochinese Vembanad fleet quickly disperses the Zamorin ' s forces on the beach with cannon fire , and then lands an amphibian assault force - some 1 , 000 Portuguese and 1 , 000 Cochinese Nairs , who take on the rest of the Zamorin ' s forces in close combat . The Zamorin ' s forces are defeated and driven away from the city . The assault troops capture Cranganore , and subject the ancient city , the once - great capital of the Chera Dynasty of Kerala , to a thorough and violent sacking and razing . Even while the main fighting was still going on , deliberate fires were set around the city by squads led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira and factor Diogo Fernandes Correa . The fires quickly consume most of the city , save for the Syrian Christian quarters , which are carefully spared ( Hindu and Jewish homes are not given the same consideration ) . Hearing of the attack , the Zamorin had dispatched a hastily - formed Calicut fleet , some 5 ships and 80 " paraus " , to save the city . But they are intercepted by the idling Portuguese ships near Palliport and defeated in a brief naval encounter . Two days later , the Portuguese receive an urgent message from the ruler of Tanur ( " Tanore " ) , whose kingdom lay to the north , on the road between Calicut and Cranganore . The raja of Tanur had come to loggerheads with his overlord , the Zamorin , and offered to place himself under Portuguese suzerainity instead , in return for military assistance . He reports that a Calicut column , led by the Zamorin himself , had been assembled in a hurry to try to save Cranganore , but that he managed to block their passage at Tanur . Lopo Soares immediately dispatches Pêro Rafael with a caravel and a sizeable Portuguese armed force to assist the Tanurese . The Zamorin ' s column is defeated and dispersed soon after its arrival . The raid on Cranganore and the defection of Tanur are serious setbacks to the Zamorin , pushing the frontline north , effectively placing the Vembanad lagoon out of the Zamorin ' s reach . Any hopes the Zamorin had of quickly resuming his attempts to capture Cochin via the backwaters are effectively dashed . No less importantly , the battles at Cranganore and Tanur , which involved significant numbers of Malabari captains and troops , clearly demonstrated that the Zamorin was no longer feared in the region . The Battle of Cochin had broken his authority . Cranganore and Tanur showed that Malabaris were no longer afraid of defying his authority and taking up arms against him . The Portuguese were no longer just a passing nuisance , a handful of terrifying pirates who came and went once a year . They were a permanent disturbance , turning the old order upside down . A new chapter was being opened on the Malabar coast . Departure from Cochin . Late December , 1504 - His naus loaded with spices from the markets of Cochin and Quilon ( and topped off with cargoes from seized merchant ships ) , Lopo Soares prepares his departure from Cochin . Duarte Pacheco Pereira , the hero of the battle of Cochin , is slated to be relieved as captain of Fort Manuel . It is said that the Trimumpara Raja of Cochin , who had become personally attached to Duarte Pacheco during the battle earlier that year , was beside himself with grief and did everything he could to persuade Lopo Soares to let Duarte Pacheco stay on . But Lopo Soares reuses . Bowing to inevitability , the Trimumpara offers Duarte Pacheco a free cargo of pepper as a personal reward for his services , but Duarte Pacheco , knowing how the Trimumpara Raja had been personally impoverished by the war , refuses to take it . Duarte Pacheco ' s replacement as " capitão - mor " of Fort Manuel of Cochin is nobleman Manuel Telles de Vasconcelos ( or Manuel Telles Barreto , according to Barros ) . Lopo Soares leaves Manuel Telles with three ( possibly four ) ships : one nau , and two caravels , under the commands of Diogo Pires and Pêro Rafael ( and possibly Cristovão Jusarte ( Lisuarte Pereira ? ) ) , all veterans of the battle of Cochin . Lopo Soares annexes what remains of the earlier fleets ( e . g . , Diogo Fernandes Pereira , Antonio de Saldanha , etc . ) into the returning 6th Armada . Overall , Lopo Soares is bringing back to Lisbon two more ships than he left with . Battle of Pandarane . December 31 , 1504 - Setting out from Cochin , the 6th Armada first heads north , intending to dock briefly at the port of Ponnani , in order to pay his respects to his new ally , the raja of Tanur . While negotiating entry at the port ( Ponnani doesn ' t actually belong to Tanur , which is further inland ) , Lopo Soares receives a message that a large Arab - Egyptian transport fleet ( ' Moors from Cairo and Mecca ' ) - some 17 Arab ships , 4000 men - had arrived at Pandarane ( Pantalyini Kollam ) , a spacious service port just north of Calicut . The Egyptian fleet had not come on a military mission , but only to evacuate expatriate Arab merchants and their families from Calicut and bring them home to Egypt and Arabia . Calculating that the ships are probably loaded with the evacuating rich families ' valuable belongings and treasures , Lopo Soares cannot resist . The naus being too loaded with spices to maneouver properly , Lopo Soares decides to send them on to Cannanore , and attack the Egyptian transport fleet at Pandarane with just two caravels and 15 Malabari " bateis " , loaded with around 360 Portuguese soldiers . It is a bold venture , but Lopo Soares manages to trap the Egyptian fleet in Pandarane harbor and in the subsequent ferocious battle , succeeds in capturing and plundering the ships , killing some 2 , 000 defenders in the process . Portuguese casualties are not light - at 23 dead , 170 wounded , that is about half the force , more than Duarte Pacheco ' s losses in all his encounters at Cochin a few months earlier . Return Voyage . Early January , 1505 - After a brief stop in Cannanore , Lopo Soares and the 6th Armada set sail back across the Indian Ocean . February 1 , 1505 - The 6th Armada arrives at Malindi . Here they pick up some of the booty António de Saldanha and Rui Lourenço Ravasco had deposited from their predatory ventures around East Africa and Cape Guardafui the previous year . February 10 , 1505 - The 6th Armada arrives at Kilwa , where Lopo Soares announces his intention to collect the yearly tribute from the city due to King Manuel I of Portugal ( imposed by Vasco da Gama back in 1502 . ) But the ruling Emir Ibrahim refuses . Lopo Soares , his ships too loaded to risk damage in a confrontation , decides to sail on . Mid - February , 1505 - The 6th Armada makes a stop in Mozambique Island for repair and re - supply . Realizing it is going to be a two - week stay , Lopo Soares dispatches two ships - Pêro de Mendonça and Lopo de Abreu - ahead of him to Lisbon to announce the results . Pêro de Mendonça ' s ship will be lost somewhere after Cape Correntes , probably capsized on the South African coast , and will never be heard from again . Lopo de Abreu will arrive in Lisbon in mid - July . July 22 , 1505 - About nine days after Lopo de Abreu ' s arrival , Lopo Soares de Albergaria main fleet arrives in Lisbon . Save for Pêro de Mendonça , the fleet is intact . The 6th Armada ' s cargo is noted by contemporaries as one of the best ones yet brought back from India . Even more well - received is the person of Duarte Pacheco Pereira , whose exploits Lopo de Abreu had already related to the royal court . King Manuel I of Portugal orders an elaborate reception and public celebrations to honor of the hero of Cochin . Aftermath . Overall , the 6th Armada was a success . Notwithstanding the casualties at Pandarane and the loss of Pêro de Mendonça ' s ship , it was a comparatively successful run . The cargo was particularly splendid , the military achievements - Cochin , Cranganore , Tanur - strategically important . The particular news about Socotra island - discovered by Diogo Fernandes Pereira in late 1502 , but who was only now returning to report it - was also highly valued . 1504 was the year where the old order on the Malabar coast was finally broken - the Zamorin ' s authority was fragmenting , the Arab merchants were fleeing , Portuguese allies were no longer tentative and few , but confident and growing . The question for the Portuguese was no longer ' how can we break into the spice trade ? ' , but ' we have broken it , now what ? ' . The Portuguese seemed to now have a chance to write the next chapter of the history of Kerala and the spice trade . And the next fleet , the 7th Armada sent out in the Spring of 1505 under D . Francisco de Almeida , very much intended to write it . For the Zamorin , 1504 was a veritable nightmare . The humiliations at Cochin , the destruction of Cranganore , the defections of his vassals , permanently changed the landscape of Kerala , and his prospects for survival . His strategy of trying to force the Portuguese to peace on his terms , to behave like other foreign merchants , to respect the existing order , had backfired dramatically . Lopo Soares ' s destruction of the Arab - Egyptian fleet at Pandarane must also have seemed like a blow to the Zamorin . He had urgently hoped to cajole the Mameluke Sultanate to come to his aid and help him bring the misbehaving Portuguese to heel . After Pandarane , the Zamorin feared the Arabs might not wish to risk such losses again , and might just leave Calicut out to dry . But his fears of abandonment were mislaid , for at this very moment preparations were being launched in Cairo to strike back at the Portuguese forcefully . The Mameluke sultan Al - Ashraf Qansuh al - Ghawri of Egypt had thus far taken a largely passive stance to the Portuguese havoc in his rear , e . g . evacuating his nationals from India , widening the port of Jeddah to shelter Muslim ships chased by Portuguese pirates . But the repeated appeals by the Zamorin of Calicut , backed up by the rulers of Gujarat , Aden , Kilwa , and the Venetian Republic were growing deafening . His own ministers must have pointed out how badly the Portuguese adventurers were hurting the Sultan ' s treasury - all the customs dues and taxes being lost by the Portuguese disruption of the Red Sea spice trade and the Mecca pilgrim traffic . In late 1504 , the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt was finally persuaded that more active measures must be taken - not merely to get the Portuguese to behave , but to drive them out of the Indian Ocean altogether . ( see Portuguese – Mamluk naval war ) Sources . Secondary :