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You treat the Portuguese as if we were/are cowards, but one thing is certain: the fortress's captain, of his name ANT"NIO DA SILVEIRA received a message from Suleihman, the "magnificent" who promised the Portuguese free leave of people and goods as long as they returned to the Coast of Malabar and handed over the fortress and their weapons. Suleihman promised to skin alive all of the Portuguese if they did not obey his conditions, referring that he had the largest army in Cambay, among which were many who had participated in the taking of Belgrade, Hungary and the Island of Rhodes. Finally he asked Ant"nio da Silveira how would he defend the pig-sty with so few pigs! His response was as follows: "Most honoured captain Pasha, I have carefully read your letter. If in the Island of Rhodes were the knights that are in this pig-sty you could be assured that you would have not conquered it. You are to learn that here are Portuguese, used to killing many Moors and are commanded by Ant"nio da Silveira that has a pair of balls stronger than the balls of your canons and that all the Portuguese here have balls and do not fear those who don't have them" (Suleihman was a eunuch, remember?). Also, bear in mind that the Muslim army encompassed several THOUSAND men, whilst the defenders were no more than 600. Surely such brave soldiery like the janizars would have no problem dealing with half a dozen ragged defenders, lacking in food and ammo, isn't it so? Even so, we, Portuguese held you at bay, having only 40 able men inside the walls when the Turks departed, thinking DIU to be impregnable. In 1546 the great deed was repeated, and still today we keep trophies like the Tiro de Diu, a 20 ton art. piece and several more like it.As for the victories achieved by your navy, I remember well the killing of the Vice-Rei's son, Dom LOUREN«O DE ALMEIDA, at Chaul, 1508, in a pitched naval battle. Even so, the Turks had the support of the Ruler of Diu, of his name Melequiaz (Portuguese form, of course). Fearing the reaction of the Vice-Rei, Melequiaz sent him a letter of condolences, saying that his son had died well. Well, to no avail, for in 1509 the Turkish/Cambaian fleet was utterly destroyed by Dom Francisco de Almeida, and the Turkish prisoners, tied to the mouths of the Bombardas (huge art pieces) and shot to bits. The conquest of Ormuz by your (Muslim) forces is another story, for you had the support of the English (which betrayed our alliance and were made to pay for it, together with the Dutch, in 1622, in the Sea of Ormuz, and forced to retreat to Surat, by Nuno Avares Botelho, a Portuguese sea captain respected for his bravery in all of Europe), and the portuguese were united with the Realm of Spain since 1572, becoming intermingled in the European affairs and neglecting the Defences. I must recall to you the fact that Ormuz was taken by Afonso de Albuquerque, with only 6 ships and 400 men-at-arms. Keep also in mind that we were indeed so puny as you try to make us, the name "Portuguese man-at-war" would not have been given to those specially aggressive jelly-fish, and you should remember also the name FERINGHI, whose meaning I leave for you to discover. We are now dwindled, but have left the marks of our pride everywhere in the globe, and I will not allow my people to be called a bunch of shrivelling cowards, not even if it's done in a polite manner such as yours, by anyone. As for me, my name is Filipe Acabado Salgueiro, and as a student of history AND Portuguese citizen, have to put my foot down when reading this kind of propaganda.
Dear Mr Amin, I am not sure which article Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro refers to? How and where has he picked up the question of Portuguese cowardice? To my mind and as hinted in one of my articles long ago the Portuguese were a brave and enterprising people. Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro is a student of history and has the advantage of falling back on vast amount of material available in libraries and archives in Portugal and other European countries. In Karachi, while writing my articles on the Indian Ocean, I could not muster even a dozen books. Some information I got was from the Internet. Concerning Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro's email one has to keep in mind that most reports, biographies and history books of the past are not free of bias. Without material from the opposite side, almost totally absent from the non-European side, it is often difficult to verify claims. A few things, however, are certain. The Portuguese were the first nation to design and build ocean-going warships. When these arrived in the Indian Ocean there were none local to challenge them. Had the Portuguese arrived about seventy five years earlier when the Chinese junk fleet under Admiral Ho used to visit the Indian Ocean to win friends it would have been an interesting affair. It is also well established that the Portuguese mission on their arrival in the Indian Ocean was to kill the Moors (Muslims) and to take over all their ocean trade from the East to Europe. This right was granted to them under a wider Papal Bull. The East included China, South East Asia and India. Meanwhile, never in the history of the Indian Ocean from the earliest times till independence of British India in 1947 had any state bordering the Indian Ocean ever thought of building ocean going warships. So much so that the Mughals when they arrived in Surat a quarter century after the Portuguese, they arranged for the latter to look after the Mughals interests on the high seas. Furthermore, till the arrival of the Europeans led by the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean there was complete freedom of navigation and trade all throughout. Certain capricious rulers of coastal states and sea pirates existed in fair numbers but this threat was by and large taken care of with private armed guards onboard individual merchant ships and by ships sailing close together for protection in convoys. As for warfare at sea, only the Fatimid king of Egypt who had experience of sea warfare in the Mediterranean, and suffering loss of revenues by dwindling East-West transit trade through his territories because of Portuguese action, formed a fleet to fight this menace. In the battle that followed the Portuguese fleet in the Arabian Sea was totally destroyed. Thereafter, it appears that the Egyptian king decided to eliminate Portuguese presence on the Indian coast. For this purpose, a fleet train i.e. a convoy of merchant ships carrying supplies of men, stores and material was readied and despatched without warship escorts to replenish the Egyptian fleet operating some-where off the present Mumbai. However, off Chaul, this merchant ship convoy was attacked and destroyed by a newly arrived Squadron of Portuguese warships. Thereafter, short of victuals and supplies of war the Fatimid fleet withdrew to its base. Simultaneously, war on land with neighbours forced the Fatimid king to lose interest in affairs at sea. Consequently, thereafter, no challenges remained to Portuguese supremacy on the Indian Ocean till the arrival of other European powers.
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/21693873/Indo-Pak-Wars-1947-71-A-STRATEGIC-AND-OPERATIONAL-ANALYSIS-BY-A-H-AMIN
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
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