Portuguese India ships distinguished themselves from the ships of other navies (especially those of rival powers in the Indian Ocean) on two principal accounts: their seaworthiness (durability at sea) and their artillery. With a few exceptions (e.g. Flor de la Mar, Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai), Portuguese India naus were not typically built to last […]
The size of the armada varied, from enormous fleets of twenty-something ships, to small fleets of only four or five. This changed over time. In the first decade (1500–1510), when the Portuguese were establishing themselves in India, the armadas averaged around 15 ships per year. This declined to around 9–10 ships in 1510–1525. From 1526 […]
The Portuguese India armadas (armadas da Índia) were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa. These armadas undertook what was called the Carreira da Índia (“India Run”), following the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope opened up by Vasco […]
The Fifth India Armada was assembled in 1503 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. It was Albuquerque’s first trip to India. It was not a particularly successful armada – navigational mistakes scattered the fleet on the outward journey. Ships spent much time looking […]