Albuquerque,

Albuquerque, AFFONSO D', 'the Great,' viceroy of the Indies, was born in 1453, near Lisbon. In that age, the Portuguese people were distinguished for heroism and a spirit of adventure. They had discovered and subjugated a great part of the western coast of Africa, and were beginning to extend their dominion over the seas and the people of India. Albuquerque being appointed viceroy of these new possessions, landed on the Malabar coast in 1503, with a fleet and some troops; conquered Goa, which he made the seat of the Portuguese government, and the centre of its Asiatic commerce; and afterwards Ceylon, the Sunda Isles, the peninsula of Malacca, and (in 1515) the island of Ormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. When the king of Persia sent for the tribute which the princes of this island had formerly rendered to him, Albuquerque presented bullets and swords to the ambassador, saying: 'This is the coin in which Portugal pays her tribute.' He made the Portuguese name profoundly respected among the princes and people of the East; and many of them, especially the kings of Siam and Pegu, sought his alliance and protection. He maintained strict military discipline, was active, far-seeing, wise, humane, and equitable, respected and feared by his neighbours, while beloved by his subjects. His virtues made such an impression on the Indian peoples, that long after his death they resorted to his grave to implore his protection against the misgovernment of his successors. Yet he did not escape the envy of courtiers and the suspicions of his king, who appointed Soares, a personal enemy of Albuquerque, to supersede him as viceroy. This news reached him just as he was leaving Ormuz, and gave a severe shock to his shattered health. A few days after, he died at sea near Goa, December 16, 1515. His Commentaries were translated by Birch for the Hakluyt Soc. (4 vols. 1875-84).