[5] Promoted by King John III to the position of Governor of India in 1526 but unable to sail to Goa due to the weather, Dom Pedro decided to take advantage of the unusually high number of soldiers then available at Malacca to put an end to the threat posed by Mahmud Shah.

[6] They were further supported by an unrecorded number of escravos de peleja ("combat slaves") and 400 auxiliary Malays, under the command of Tuão Mafamede.

The Portuguese found its main defenses to be the mangrove swamps that made landings perilous, complemented by a moat surrounding the city, poisoned timber stakes, and a tall stockade furnished with artillery.

[6] Heavy ships like the galleons and carracks could only approach the city via a narrow canal, which was blocked by vertical wooden stakes driven into the seabed.

[3] The Portuguese began by bombarding a stockade Mahmud Shah had built on an islet by the entrance to the canal, with the galleon, a carrack and the two batels protected by pavises and heavy rope mats.

[3] Unable to seriously damage their vessels, the Sultan's forces abandoned the islet an hour later and the Portuguese captured 20 light artillery pieces there.

[9][10] As day broke, the Portuguese fleet opened fire and its crewmen landed as they sounded their trumpets, which drew the attention of the Sultan's forces away from the bridge.

[9][12] The Portuguese managed to capture a great number of the sultan's court, servants, harem and part of his royal treasure in the vicinity of the city, where they killed many who had not been able to flee in time.

Mascarenhas remained in Bintan for 15 days, capturing and dividing spoils, organizing the voyage back home, and hunting for those who had fled, but which the Portuguese found impossible to pursue into the jungle.