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Battle of Cochin | |||||||
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Part of Portuguese battles in the Indian Ocean | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Cochin | Vassal Malabari states (Edapalli, Cranganore, Kottakkal, Kingdom of Tanur, Beypore, Chaliyam, Pariyapuram etc.)[1] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Duarte Pacheco Pereira |
Zamorin Raja of Calicut | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
130 Portuguese 300 Cochinese 5 vessels (2 galleons, 1 caravel and 2 small boats) |
70,000–84,000 260 vessels | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Negligible or none dead |
19,000 dead (c. 5,000 in action, 13,000 to disease) [2] |
The Battle of Cochin, sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin, was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal Malabari states.
The celebrated heroics of the tiny Portuguese garrison, led by Duarte Pacheco Pereira, fended off an invading army several hundred times bigger. It proved a humiliating defeat for the Zamorin of Calicut. He not only failed to conquer Cochin, but his inability to crush the tiny opposition undermined the faith of his vassals and allies. The Zamorin lost much of his traditional authority over the Malabar states of India in the aftermath. The preservation of Cochin secured the continued presence of the Portuguese in India.