Portuguese Governors In India
- Francisco De Almeida
- In 1505, the King of Portugal appointed a governor in India for a three-year term and equipped the incumbent with sufficient force to protect the Portuguese interests. Francisco De Almeida, the newly appointed governor, was asked to consolidate the position of the Portuguese in India.
Almeida’s vision was to make the Portuguese the master of the Indian Ocean. His policy was known as the ‘Blue Water Policy’ i.e. to be powerful at sea instead of building fortresses on land.
- Albuquerque, who succeeded Almeida as the Portuguese governor in India, was the real founder of the Portuguese power in the East. He secured for Portugal the strategic control of the Indian Ocean by establishing bases overlooking all the entrances to the sea. The Portuguese, under Albuquerque, bolstered their stranglehold by introducing a permit system for other ships and exercising control over the major ship-building centers in the region. He acquired Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510 with ease. An interesting feature of his rule was the abolition of sati.
- Nino da Cunha
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He assumed office of the governor of Portuguese interests in India in November 1529 and almost one year later shifted the headquarters of the Portuguese government in India from Cochin to Goa. Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, during his conflict with the Mughal emperor Humayun, secured help from the Portuguese by ceding to them in 1534 the island of Bassein with its dependencies and revenues. He also promised them a base in Diu.