Lopo Soares had served a successful term (1495–99) as captain-general of São Jorge da Mina in the Portuguese Gold Coast (West Africa).

Regarded as one of the more successful early India armadas, Lopo Soares brought the fleet back in 1505 nearly intact, with one of the best cargos yet received by King Manuel I of Portugal.

In August, having learned through contacts in Venice that the Mamluk Sultan of Cairo had prepared a fleet at Suez to fight the Portuguese, king Manuel repented to have replaced Albuquerque, and immediately wrote to Albergaria to return the command of all operations to Albuquerque, and provide him with resources to fight.

[1] As governor in India Albergaria made a naval expedition into the Red Sea in 1517, taking on board the embassy to Emperor Dawit II of Ethiopia, including Mateus, Duarte Galvão and Francisco Álvares, with the intent of landing them on the coast.

In 1518 Lopo Soares de Albergaria captured Ceylon for his king, having landed at Colombo with a large fleet.