Rafael Perestrello

João de Barros (1496–1570) wrote that Rafael Perestrello almost became lost while sailing by the Andaman Islands, but ventured safely through territory that was rumored to be inhabited by native cannibals.

Rafael sailed in a ship from Portuguese Malacca to Guangzhou in southern China in 1516, sent by Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of Estado da India, in order to secure trading relations with the Chinese during the reign of the Ming dynasty ruler Zhengde (r. 1505–1521).

Rafael traveled with a crew from a Malaysian junk,[6] bringing back profitable trade items and glowing reports about China's commercial potential.

Rafael served as a captain under Jorge de Albuquerque, the younger cousin of Afonso, when the former was governor of Malacca and battled against the Islamic Kingdom of Pacem in Sumatra in 1514 in order to install a ruler there that was friendly to Portuguese interests.

[15] During Jorge de Albuquerque's second tour of duty, he defeated Mahmud Shah of Malacca at Bintan in 1524, forcing the latter to flee, this time to the Malay Peninsula.

Afonso de Albuquerque , the Viceroy of Portuguese India who commissioned Rafael Perestrello's mission from Portuguese Malacca to the Ming dynasty of China.
The red dot on the map signifies the central base of Portuguese Malacca .