Three Wars and a Funeral
Revenge is a Dish Best Served 40 Years Later
It was in 1489 when Alvaro Teixeira, a Portuguese explorer, reached India. The local reception was lukewarm at best. Raja of Venad, owner of Kotchin, did not allow Portuguese access to their ports and refused trade. Now, in October 1531, it was time for revenge. Venad, province right next to Kotchin, was about to conquered. By that time, Venad was already high on decline. They were down to one province, they had lost Kotchin to Malabar (who lost it to Portuguese and was conquered by Vinayagar soon after) and they had no armies whatsoever. Their only ally Bastar was in no condition to help them. Basically, Portuguese marched in, bombarded the city for 285 days and then, Venad gave up. Portugal now controls two provinces in India. In August 1532, the war was over.
Conquest of Venad was... well, effortless
Visit to Bank and Other Things
Meanwhile, England (well, Great Britain for a few years now) declared war on France, hoping to reclaim some of their lost lands. Portuguese joined in on the French side. Meanwhile, Portuguese gathered up in Africa and declared the war on Mali. War was declared on September 1533. This was as uneventful as the conquest of Venad. Malinese held their distance, let Portuguese siege what they wanted and in the end, coughed up 2300 gold in June 1535.
Now that is a nice bucket load of cash
Meanwhile, Portugal had reached maximum of offensive ideas, meaning that if needed, Portuguese armies can march really fast. This ability was really useful when pursuing fleeing enemies- meaning Portuguese would always be there, waiting for the enemy. Also, Portuguese traders became more shrewd, meaning more income from the trade and more power while steering trade.
Go Portugal! Especially, go forced march!
It was not all fun and games for Portugal though. English fleet sailed to Lusitanian sea. 7 heavy ships, 13 lights and 5 cogs. In December 1534, they engaged Portuguese trade fleet. Soon, the battle was joined by Portuguese heavy fleet, but in the following battle, the Portuguese were in really disadvantageous position. Portugal lost five ships there and English fleet kept sailing south- until they reached Gold Coast. Then, they turned back, avoiding Portuguese lands.
The most excitement during Malinese war
Last Trade Center of Seville
Oran, a province deep inside Algiers territory, had been an important trade center for quite some time. Their harbours gave good protection to the ships and the location was a perfect spot for meeting of the merchants from different cultures. Overall, it was one of the important nodes of Seville- and the last one not under Portuguese control.
Conquest of Spanish southern provinces had given Portugal a chance to fabricate a claim on Oran. By June 1536, King João II had sent most of his troops across Gibraltar. 24 000 Portuguese soldiers were now in borders of Algiers, waiting for orders of the King to start the war.
Algiers was allied with Milan and Tripoli, neither able to give Portugal much of the trouble. So, confident in victory, João II declared war on July 1536. Portuguese armies marched on- to Melilla and Tlemcen. Meanwhile, Algiers troops avoided them and marched to Fez, in Portuguese territory, to siege the province. Too afraid to directly face the Portuguese, they hoped to cut of supply of Portuguese troops and thus, make them retreat. Of course, Portuguese would not have any of it, marched their main army to Fez and attacked Algiers. In October, Marco Machado sent the Algerians flying home.
In January 1537, Portuguese main force attacked Algiers at Bejaia and once again, won the battle. Meanwhile, sieges of both Melilla and Tlemcen had been successful. Now, Oran was taken under siege.
Meanwhile, in the Lusitanian Sea, English came again. Trying to land some troops to Portugal- a move that would have been disastrous, for all Portuguese troops were in North Africa. Portuguese fleet was up to their standards this time though. They moved in to attack and a force of 14 carracks and 17 caravels took on the English force. In the following battle, taking space in December 1536, Portuguese proved their supremacy in the seas.
Here comes the revenge
Two English ships were captured while the rest of the fleet fled, lumbering back to England. Portuguese did not give pursuit, for they had their own wounds to lick. But most importantly, one of the ships captured was the newest ship on the English fleet, pride of the English navy- and now, a prize for a Portuguese navy.
Sovreign, flagship of the British Fleet
In July 1537, Milanese fleet dared to show their noses in the Gibraltar. Of course, that should not happen. Specially when Algiers itself had been smart enough to keep their fleet right in the harbour. Of course, Milanese could not stay there for long. Their fleet of caravels and galleys was attacked by Portuguese heavy fleet. And most of them were sunk before Milanese could even think of fleeing. The remaining few fled to Oran. Not a smart thing to do- considering the city was under siege by Portuguese.
In September 1537, Oran fell. Meaning not had only Portuguese achieved their goal, but Milanese fleet was forced out of the harbour- right to the hands of waiting Portuguese navy. The sad remnants of Milanese fleet were sunk that day. The war was almost over.
By November 1537, two things had happened. 15 000 Fezian patriots had crossed the border of Morocco, sieged Fez and took the province. Between them and the Portuguese were 16 000 Algiers soldiers in Tlemcen. Not a good place to be- Portuguese marched on, kicked the Algiers again and then took on the Fezian rebels.
Well, the situation looks a bit worse then it actually is
The war still lasted for half a year, with some minor battles still fought. In May 1539, the war was over, Algiers ceding Oran. Last of the Seville trade centers was now safely under Portuguese rule. And the money was flowing in even more. Soon, Portugal signed white peace with England.
New lands, trade in Seville and the outrageous coring costs
Trade from India
Majerteen, the Portuguese colony in Tip of Africa, became self-sustaining in October 1537. In August 1583, Portuguese adopted the idea of Free Trade, meaning additional merchant. Who was sent to Gulf of Aden, with a small fleet of 6 caravels. Soon, Portuguese traders were diverting most of the trade in Aden to south, and from there, across Cape of Good Hope to Portugal. Of course, Swahili traders were also active in that part, but most of the money kept flowing from Zanzibar onwards. Overall incoming trade to Sevilla- 5 from Caribbean, 12 from India and 3 from Genua. Over half of the Portuguese income now comes from trade.
Quite a nice piece of cash flows down towards Zanzibar
Death of the King
In the beginning of the year 1539, King João II was already 71 years old. Already an old man when he took the throne in 1521, he had managed to survive longer then anybody thought possible and ruled for 18 years, guiding Portugal to new heights. But in summer of 1539, the health of the King was finally acting up. He died in June 1539. His half-brother, also named João, took the throne as King João III. He was a superb ruler, but well... he was 68 years old when he came to power. Teodosio, his heir and third brother of Filipe, was 57. It seemed like Portugal would be destined to be ruled by old men....
New King and new Heir
And ouch, that is one hell of the Spanish Empire you have there. Well, at least you beat le blue blob!
