Siege of Malacca (1568)
Encyclopedia
A Siege of Malacca occurred in 1568, when the Sultan of Aceh Alaal-Din attacked the Portuguese-held city of Malacca
. The city had been held by the Portuguese since its conquest by Afonso de Albuquerque
in 1511.
The offensive was the result of a pan-Islamic alliance organized by the Ottoman Empire to try to repel the Portuguese from Malacca and the coasts of India. The Ottomans supplied cannonneers to the alliance, but were unable to provide more due to the ongoing invasion of Cyprus
and an uprising in Aden
.
The army of the Sultan was composed of a large fleet of long galley-type oared ships, 15,000 troops and Ottoman mercenaries.
The city of Malacca was successfully defended by Dom Leonis Pereira, who was supported by the king of Johore.
Other attacks on Malacca by the Acehnese would continue during the following years, especially in 1570.
The offensive weakened the Portuguese Empire. In the 1570s, the Sultan of the Moluccas was able to repel the Portuguese from the Spice Islands
.
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...
. The city had been held by the Portuguese since its conquest by 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...
in 1511.
The offensive was the result of a pan-Islamic alliance organized by the Ottoman Empire to try to repel the Portuguese from Malacca and the coasts of India. The Ottomans supplied cannonneers to the alliance, but were unable to provide more due to the ongoing invasion of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and an uprising in Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
.
The army of the Sultan was composed of a large fleet of long galley-type oared ships, 15,000 troops and Ottoman mercenaries.
The city of Malacca was successfully defended by Dom Leonis Pereira, who was supported by the king of Johore.
Other attacks on Malacca by the Acehnese would continue during the following years, especially in 1570.
The offensive weakened the Portuguese Empire. In the 1570s, the Sultan of the Moluccas was able to repel the Portuguese from the Spice Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
.