| Siege of Anjediva | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Bijapur Sultanate |  Portuguese Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Yusuf Adil Shah António Fernandes | Francisco de Almeida Manuel Passanha | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 60 ships | Unknown | ||||||
Thesiege of Angediva in 1506 took place when the sultan of Bijapur ordered the capture of the fortress that the Portuguese had built on the island of Angediva, his domain.[1]
The island was explored on September 24, 1498 byNicolau Coelho, a member ofVasco da Gama's expedition when he was on his way to Portugal after havingdiscovered the sea route to India. Gama sent Nicolau Coelho to investigate the island with a boat. After disembarking on the island and sailing around it, Coelho returned to the flagship to inform Gama that on the island there were only the ruins of what seemed to him to be a church, some residents, a py, an aslacetic who lived in a cave, good water springs and a water tank.Vasco da Gama's fleet anchored there for 12 days resting the crews, loading provisions or water and repairing or fairing the ships. The island became, from now on, a favorite place for Portuguese navies to make watery.[2]
On September 13, 1505, the first viceroy ofPortuguese India,Francisco de Almeida laid the foundations of the fortress of Angediva. Due to the lack of lime, the fortress was built of stone joined with clay. Manuel Pessanha remained as captain and Francisco de Almeida left agalley and twobrigantines there to serve as a service fleet and opened a trading post underDuarte Pereira.[3]
The fortress was attacked just over six months later by a fleet of 60 ships in the service of theSultan of Bijapur, "owner" of that island. A Portuguese renegade named António Fernandes commanded the fleet. The attack took place and the Muslims expected the fortress to surrender quickly, however, they were attacked by captain Manuel Pessanha and his men. The Muslims took refuge under trees on a hill and four days and nights later they fled, after realizing that the Portuguese garrison had come into contact with the fleet ofLourenço de Almeida.[4]
Francisco de Almeida later ordered the fortress to be dismantled and the Portuguese later abandoned the island. They would reoccupy it later.[1]