Capture of Malacca (1511) 1511
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1511 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Malaysia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Malay-Portuguese War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Malacca sultanate, Portuguese Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 2.1889, 102.2511 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The governor of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the city of Malacca in 1511.
The port city of Malacca controlled the narrow, strategic Strait of Malacca, through which all seagoing trade between China and India was concentrated. The capture of Malacca was the result of a plan by King Manuel I of Portugal, who since 1505 had intended to beat the Castilians to the Far-East, and Albuquerque's own project of establishing firm foundations for Portuguese India, alongside Hormuz, Goa, and Aden, to ultimately control trade and thwart Muslim shipping in the Indian Ocean.
Having started sailing from Cochin in April 1511, the expedition would not have been able to turn around due to contrary monsoon winds. Had the enterprise failed, the Portuguese could not hope for reinforcements and would have been unable to return to their bases in India. At the time it was the farthest territorial conquest in history.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Capture of Malacca (1511) (revision 1378377591), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Malacca (1568) 1568 · 0 km
- Siege of Malacca (1606) 1606 · 0 km
- Siege of Malacca (1640–1641) 1640 · 0 km
- Battle of Gemas 1942 · 57 km
- Siege of Johor (1587) 1587 · 187 km
- Fall of Singapore 1942 · 193 km
Other battles of the Malay-Portuguese War
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