[1] Hostilities broke out in 1500 and continued for thirteen years until the ruling Zamorin was assassinated and his successor signed a peace treaty with the Portuguese governor of India Afonso de Albuquerque.

It involved a significant part of Portuguese society whether directly or indirectly, many joining the service of King Manuel in the armadas attracted by the prospects of wealth and glory despite the very high risks due to disease, enemy action or shipwrecks.

[3] "It was a supreme national effort that called on all the available resources of manpower, shipbuilding, material provision and strategic vision to exploit a window of opportunity before Spain could react.

"[4] By simply sailing to India around Africa, the Portuguese incurred in the hostility of the entire Muslim community involved in the east–west trade, as well as the Republic of Venice whose commercial interests were threatened.

Losses were heavy for Calicut, whether in terms of lives, resources or prestige: several vassals defected, a large number of merchants quit the city to trade elsewhere, and ultimately the ruling Zamorin was himself assassinated.

After two and a half months of negotiations, a treaty was signed, the terms ingraved on metal plates and a trading post opened in the city, placed under the direction of the experienced agent Aires Correia with 70 Europeans.

[22] The feitoria in the city was attacked by an armed mob and about 50 Portuguese were killed, among them the agent Aires Correia, a number of Franciscan friars and Pêro Vaz de Caminha, while the rest managed to escape to the fleet, most of them wounded.

[32] Talks continued after this act of duplicity was uncovered but they quickly broke down, Gama had a number of Muslim merchants implicated in the massacre of the feitoria along with some fishermen hanged from the yard-arms, and Calicut was subjected to a new bombardment for two days.

Now that Gama was isolated, however, in the early hours of the following morning before daybreak his flagship was unexpectedly surrounded and fired upon by 70 to 80 armed oarships that the Portuguese watches had mistaken for fishing vessels.

[33] Furious at this second act of duplicity under the guise of peace talks, Gama had a number of envoys from the Zamorin still in his flagship hanged and their bodies floated ashore in a canoe before returning to Cochin.

[38] Cochin was subsequently overrun, the heir Narayan was killed in combat with the few troops that had been possible to muster, and the Trimumpara withdrew to the island of Vypin with his last remaining forces, including the Portuguese under his protection.

[39] Four days later 3 more ships arrived from Europe with more men under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque, who had been separated from Francisco and Saldanha en route to India and a simple fort was soon complete.

By mid-December the Zamorin had agreed to supply the Portuguese 900 caddies of pepper as compensation, shut down Muslim trade between Calicut and the Middle East, sign a peace with Cochin and return the two Italian deserters.

[43] Cochin was located at the tip of a peninsula surrounded by salt-water creeks and channels, crossable only in a few narrow fording points, which were blocked with stockades, lines of sharpened stakes and caltrops.

Kept up to date by reliable intelligence, Pereira was able to anticipate, ambush, bottle-neck and inflict severe defeats upon the numerous but under-equipped and inflexible army of the Zamorin, whose nairs came under heavy fire at every attack.

After the third bombardment of Calicut, two Saint Thomas bishops wrote a letter to the Catholicos Mar Elias in the Middle East describing the arrival of the Portuguese and the situation in the Malabar Coast, which read: [...] From the Occident powerful ships have been sent to these countries of India by the king of the Christians, who are our brethren the Franks.

[51][52] The merchant ships were found linked together in four groups anchored very close to shore, with the bows turned to sea and defended by Mamluk or mercenary Turkic archers while a battery of cannon on a cape overlooked the Pandarane bay.

[50] Because the carracks were too heavily loaded to take part in the shallow waters so close to shore, Albergaria decided to attack with a detachment of 360 soldiers on two war-caravels and 25 longboats, which was risky though Portuguese morale was high.

[3] The Venetians had hoped that the Cape Route would prove to be too long or hazardous to be viable, but the Portuguese armadas sailed on every year though 1800 or thirty-five percent out of the 5500 men who departed for India between 1497 and 1504 never returned, most being lost to shipwrecks.

[53] Almeida was the first member of the Portuguese high nobility to participate in the India venture, he was then 55 years old, experienced in military, diplomatic and nautical matters, lacked home ties, was mature in his judgements and unmaterialistic.

"[53] After calling at Angediva Island to build Fort São Miguel, Dom Francisco proceeded to Honavar, which was sacked for harbouring a number of vessels hostile to the Portuguese, also burnt.

[57][56] Dom Lourenço had his ships anchor at Colombo and signed a treaty with the King of Kotte Parakramabahu VIII, who agreed to supply the Portuguese with cinnamon in exchange for a military alliance.

Unaware of these developments, in January 1508 Dom Lourenço de Almeida once more set out from Cochin tasked with escorting a convoy of allied trade ships to Chaul, with three carracks, three caravels and two galleys.

With the backing of prominent fidalgos and noblemen, he refused to allow his appointed successor Afonso de Albuquerque take office and departed to Diu, where he routed the joint Muslim armada.

[63] On behalf of the Portuguese, the Trimumpara sent two Brahmins to spy on Calicut while letters were sent to inland lords, vassals and friends in the mountainous country urging them to attack the Zamorin; Albuquerque was also supplied with 20 prahus so he'd be able to land soldiers.

[70] The most important clauses included the construction of a fort at Calicut, the payment of half the ports dues as tribute to pay for the upkeep of the garrison, the signing of a trade agreement and Portuguese military aid to the Zamorin.

The new Zamorin appears to have been among the first Asian rulers who sought to emulate Portuguese or European norms, as he had only a single wife and also dispatched a young relation with his ambassador to King Manuel to be educated in Portugal.

[69] The king of Cochin was Portugal's first ally in Asia and as a reward for his loyalty, he was gifted a golden crown, paid 6000 cruzados annually, and given the right to mint coin, which he had been denied as a vassal of the Zamorin.

[74] The historian Bailey Diffie commented that "it has usually escaped notice outside Portugal that the fifteen-year burst of national activity that followed the return of Vasco da Gama was one of the most purposeful and decisive in the history of the Western world.

No one, except the Portuguese, ever dreamed that less than a generation after da Gama's weather-beaten ships turned up on the roads of Calicut, his small but determined nation on the western rim of Europe could establish itself firmly as master of the Indian Ocean, twelve thousand sea miles from home...