ABSTRACT
The chapter highlights the Indo-Portuguese naval battles during the early decades of the sixteenth century. The naval confrontations of the Indians with the Portuguese right from the inception of the mutual contacts provide a picture slightly different from what is seen in the case of peaceful navigation and trade. As the prestige of the naval power of the Portuguese went on increasing day by day, the Zamorin himself began to fear that the Portuguese might destroy the Kingdom of Calicut. Lourenco de Almeida, the valiant son of Francisco de Almeida died and a number of Portuguese vessels were destroyed by the combined forces of the Zamorin of Calicut, Sultan of Gujarat, under Malik Ayaz, and Admiral Amir Hussain representing the Sultan of Cairo. The naval battles waged in the Indian Ocean by the Indians and the Europeans in the period before 1700 were won by those who had better artillery.
