| Siege of Calicut | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Calicut–Portuguese wars | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Calicut | .svg) Portuguese Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Zamorin | João de Lima | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 300 | ||||||||
Thesiege of Calicut occurred in 1526, when theZamorin, the local Indian ruler, captured the fort ofCalicut from thePortuguese.[1]
The Portuguese had plans for establishing a fort at Calicut since 1500, whenPedro Álvares Cabral received this mission.[1] The fort was finally completed in 1513, on the spot of an earlier "Serame", after a peace treaty was signed between the king of Portugal and the Zamorin.[1] Hostilities were triggered whenDuarte de Menezes attacked and destroyed a fleet of the Zamorin atPonnani on 26 March 1525.[1]
In reprisal, the Zamorin attacked the fort of Calicut on 3 June 1526.[1] There were 300 Portuguese defenders in the fort, underJoão de Lima.[1] Reinforcements came fromGoa on 20 September, with the intent of embarking the defenders and attacking the troops of the Zamorin.[1]
Faced with the continuous hostility of the Zamorin however, the Portuguese decided to abandon and partly destroy the fort, which was then captured by the Zamorin.[1]