And it was before Albuquerque. The first vice-king of India was Francisco de Almeida, admiral of the first real military fleet to enter the Indian ocean (note: the guy you call Magellan was part of the marine crops on board). Almeida soon got into conflict with king Manuel, the former preferred a strict maritime dominance strategy while the latter wanted to be the king of the world.

With the message relieving Almeida of his command on the way, his son was captured and killed by the Mameluks (or their allies). After learning that the authors of this act where hiding in Diu, Almeida rushed the fleet there seeking vengeance. At Diu he found an enemy fleet with more than 200 ships belonging to a coalition of 4 states waiting for him. But Almeida didn't vacillate in his revenge and issued an ultimatum: surrender the assassins of his son or prepare for battle. With the ultimatum overdue Almeida plunged his 20 ships into what would be one of the most important naval battles in History.

Soon after Almeida got the message from the king and headed back home. He would never made it back, dying in a wreck in the coast of what is today South Africa.

luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social