Mamluk–Portuguese conflicts

Quick Facts: Who was Mamluk–Portuguese conflicts?

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Mamluk–Portuguese conflicts

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The 16th-century naval conflict between the Mamluk Sultanate and the expanding Portuguese Empire in the Indian Ocean.

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Origins & Early Life

A number of armed engagements between the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate and the Portuguese Empire in the Indian Ocean took place during the early part of the 16th century. The conflicts came following the expansion of the Portuguese after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, from 1504 to the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517. Following the Portuguese bombardment of Calicut in 1500–01 by the 2nd Portuguese India Armada under Cabral, the spice trade linking India to Egypt and then Venice was seriously diminished and prices shot up. Arab shipping was also being attacked directly: in 1503, the first Egyptian ship was looted and sunk by the Portuguese as it was returning from India. In 1504, 17 Arab ships were destroyed by the Portuguese in the Indian harbour of Panane.

Career & Major Achievements

In 1504, the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri first sent an envoy to the Pope, in the person of the Grand Prior of the Saint Catherine's Monastery, warning that if the Pope did not stop the exactions of the Portuguese against Muslims, he would bring ruin to the Christian Holy Place in the Levant and to the Christians living in his realm. In 1504, the Venetians, who shared common interests with the Mamluks in the spice trade and desired to eliminate the Portuguese challenge if possible, sent envoy Francesco Teldi to Cairo. Teldi tried to find a level of cooperation between the two realms, encouraging the Mamluks to block Portuguese navigations. The Venetians claimed they could not intervene directly, and encouraged the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri to take action by getting into contact with Indian princes at Cochin and Cananor to entice them not to trade with the Portuguese, and the Sultans of Calicut and Cambay to fight against them. Some sort of alliance was thus concluded between the Venetians and the Mamluks against the Portuguese.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

There were claims, voiced during the War of the League of Cambrai, that the Venetians had supplied the Mamluks with weapons and skilled shipwrights. The Mamluks however had little inclination for naval operations: "The war against the Portuguese, being mainly a naval war, was entirely alien to the Mamluk and little to his taste. The navy and everything connected with it was despised by the land-minded Mamluk horsemen". The Portuguese however kept blockading the Red Sea, and arresting Muslim merchant ships. In the Autumn of 1504, a Portuguese force commanded by Lopo Soares de Albergaria encountered a Mamluk armada near Pandarane in India and a battle ensued.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1498: 1498 Milestone — The conflicts came following the expansion of the Portuguese after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, from 1504 to the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517.
2. 1500: 1500 Milestone — Following the Portuguese bombardment of Calicut in 1500–01 by the 2nd Portuguese India Armada under Cabral, the spice trade linking India to Egypt and then Venice was seriously diminished and prices shot up.
3. 1503: 1503 Milestone — Arab shipping was also being attacked directly: in 1503, the first Egyptian ship was looted and sunk by the Portuguese as it was returning from India.
4. 1504: 1504 Milestone — In 1504, 17 Arab ships were destroyed by the Portuguese in the Indian harbour of Panane.

Notable Quotes by Mamluk–Portuguese conflicts

“If you desire to destroy the Sultan [Qansuh] by land, you can recount on great assistance from the Armada of the King my Lord by sea...”

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Mamluk–Portuguese conflicts

True or False: “The Mamluks were primarily interested in engaging in large-scale naval warfare against the Portuguese.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The text explicitly states that the war against the Portuguese was 'entirely alien to the Mamluk and little to his taste,' as they were land-minded horsemen.

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