War of the League of the Indies

War of the League of the Indies

16th century Portuguese carracks (naus) and galleys
DateDecember 1570–1575
Location
Western India and the Straits of Malacca
Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Portuguese Empire
Commanders and leaders

Dom Luís de Ataíde

Strength
  • Over 5,000 soldiers (at the beginning of the war)
  • 1,500 Christian lascarins
  • 1,000 armed slaves
  • 500 militia
  • over 20 galleons or naus
    [1]
Unknown

The War of the League of the Indies was a military conflict lasting from December 1570 to 1575, wherein a pan-Asian alliance attempted to overturn the Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean. The pan-Asian alliance was formed primarily by the Sultanate of Bijapur, the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar, the Kingdom of Calicut, and the Sultanate of Aceh. It is referred to by the Portuguese historian António Pinto Pereira as "the League of Kings of India", "the Confederated Kings", or simply "the League". The alliance undertook a combined assault against some of the primary possessions of the Portuguese State of India: Malacca, Chaul, the Chale fort, and the capital of the maritime empire in Asia, Goa.

The Portuguese successfully overcame nearly all of the sieges imposed by the "League", with the exception of a small fort on the outskirts of Calicut, which fell to the Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut. Although strategically insignificant, this was the first time that a Portuguese-held stronghold formally capitulated in India.

  1. ^ Monteiro 2011, p. 328.