Battle of Calicut (1503)

2020-10-10T05:34:23Z

2600:1700:9C60:1AA0:3D4D:3514:4557:FD8C:

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Calicut
| partof = Portuguese battles in the Indian Ocean
| image =
| caption =
| date = 5–6 January 1503
| place = [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], [[India]]
| result = [[Portugal|Portuguese]] victory
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag Portugal (1495).svg}} [[Portuguese Empire]]
| combatant2 = [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] Arab privateers
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag Portugal (1495).svg}} [[Vasco da Gama]]
| commander2 = Khoja Kassein Cojambar
| strength1 = 10 carracks 6 caravels
| strength2 = 20 large ships 40 gun-mounted [[sambuk]]s Hundreds of smaller ships
| casualties1 = Low
| casualties2 = Very heavy
| campaignbox = {{Portuguese battles in the Indian Ocean}}
}}
{{Portuguese colonial campaigns}}
The naval '''Battle of Calicut''' was a military encounter between the 16 ships (10 [[carrack]]s and six [[caravel]]s) of the [[4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)|4th Portuguese Armada]] and a fleet led by two Arabic [[Barbary corsairs|corsairs]] formed under the orders of the [[Zamorin|Zamorin of Calicut]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vasco da Gama reaches India |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vasco-da-gama-reaches-india |website=www.history.com |accessdate=28 July 2019 |date=February 2010}}</ref>

After the fleet of [[Vasco da Gama]] reunited with 6 caravels of the patrol fleet of [[Vicente Sodré]], the Portuguese inflicted a heavy defeat on [[Kozhikode|Calicut]]. In one of the first recorded instances of a naval [[line of battle]], Gama's spice naus and escort caravels sailed in a line end-to-end, concentrating all their immense firepower as they passed against the twenty large Arab ships of Cojambar, before they could get organized, sinking a number of them and doing immense damage to the remainder. <ref>Archana Subramanian. [https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/what-could-be-the-reason-for-vasco-da-gama-landing-in-calicut-if-not-for-trade-read-on-to-find-out/article7818374.ece "Vasco da Gama landed the second time in Calicut"], ''[[The Hindu]]'', India, 29 October 2015. Retrieved on 20 November 2019.</ref>

On 30 October, 1502,<ref>The Diplomat. {{cite web |title=How Portugal Forged an Empire in Asia |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/how-portugal-forged-an-empire-in-asia/ |website=thediplomat.com |accessdate=20 November 2019 |date=July 2019}}</ref> [[Vasco da Gama]] landed in Calicut on the [[Malabar coast]] for the second time. This time he had come in war. He came to seek revenge for the treatment meted out to [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]] who had come to [[Calicut]] earlier.<ref>Archana Subramanian. [https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/what-could-be-the-reason-for-vasco-da-gama-landing-in-calicut-if-not-for-trade-read-on-to-find-out/article7818374.ece "Vasco da Gama landed the second time in Calicut"], ''[[The Hindu]]'', India, 29 October 2015. Retrieved on 20 November 2019.</ref>

[[Pedro Álvares Cabral]], was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer. He had come to make a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut and to set up a Portuguese factory in the city. But he was not successful and there was conflict between the local Arab merchant guilds. The Portuguese factory was overrun in a riot and almost 70 [[Portugal|Portuguese]] were killed. Cabral blamed the Zamorin and bombarded the city. War broke out between Portugal and [[Calicut]].

[[Vasco da Gama]] invoked his royal letter and took command of the armada. He set sail with 15 heavily armed ships and 800 men.

{{coord missing|Kerala}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Naval battles involving Portugal|Calicut 1503]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1503|Calicut 1503]]
[[Category:1502 in India]]
[[Category:1503 in India]]
[[Category:History of Kozhikode]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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Battle of Calicut (1503)