The Armada comprised squadrons of different types of vessel. The principal naval ships were the great galleons of Portugal, sailing vessels with guns and naval crews. The Armada set sail from Lisbon on 28th May 1588 (British date or Old Style), picking its way out of the Tagus River and working north up the […]
São Martinho (meaning Saint Martin), built as a Portuguese Navy galleon, became the flagship of Duke of Medina Sedonia, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada. São Martinho in combat with English ships, in a painting by Hendrik Cornelisz Vroom When the Kingdom of Portugal came under the rule of King Philip II of Spain (Philip I […]
The Capture of Malacca in 1511 occurred when the Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque subdued 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 the […]
More than 400 years ago, who had the Lisbon panoramic view of the Tagus would have contemplated, out of Bethlehem, that majestic movement that anticipates the glory, the last galleon of the Great Armada y Felícisima. Under the command of the Duke Medina-Sidonia, second choice, 151 boats, manned by 8000 sailors and shipping 18,000 soldiers they […]