Duarte Fernandes
Encyclopedia
Duarte Fernandes was a Portuguese
diplomat and the first Europe
an to establish diplomatic relations with Thailand
, when in 1511 he led a diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya Kingdom
(Kingdom of Siam), after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca
.
Duarte Fernandes was a tailor who went to Malacca
in the first expedition of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
in September 1509. In the sequence of a failed plot to destroy the expedition, he was among nineteen Portuguese that stood arrested in Malacca, together with Rui de Araújo, having gathered knowledge about the culture of the region.
In 1511, soon after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca, knowing of Siamese ambitions over Malay, Afonso de Albuquerque
immediately sent him in a diplomatic mission to the court of the King of Siam Ramathibodi II
, traveling in a Chinese junk
returning home. There he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations between the kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Siam, returning with a Siamese envoy with gifts and letters to Albuquerque and the king of Portugal. Five years after that initial contact, Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
diplomat and the first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an to establish diplomatic relations with Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, when in 1511 he led a diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya Kingdom
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
(Kingdom of Siam), after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
.
Duarte Fernandes was a tailor who went to Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
in the first expedition of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
Diogo Lopes de Sequeira was a Portuguese fidalgo, sent to analyze the trade potential in Madagascar and Malacca, he arrived at Malacca on 11 September, 1509. He left the next year when he discovered that Sultan Mahmud Shah, the local leader, was devising his assassination...
in September 1509. In the sequence of a failed plot to destroy the expedition, he was among nineteen Portuguese that stood arrested in Malacca, together with Rui de Araújo, having gathered knowledge about the culture of the region.
In 1511, soon after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca, knowing of Siamese ambitions over Malay, Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
immediately sent him in a diplomatic mission to the court of the King of Siam Ramathibodi II
Ramathibodi II
Somdet Phra Chettathiraj or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi II was the King of Sukhothai from 1485 and King of Ayutthaya from 1491 to 1529. His reign was marked by the first Western Contact with the Portuguese.-King of Sukhothai:Prince Chettathiraj was the youngest of Trailokanat's three sons...
, traveling in a Chinese junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
returning home. There he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations between the kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Siam, returning with a Siamese envoy with gifts and letters to Albuquerque and the king of Portugal. Five years after that initial contact, Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom.