Siege of Malacca (1568) explained

Conflict:Siege of Malacca
Partof:Acehnese–Portuguese conflicts
Date:1568
Place:Malacca
Result:Portuguese and Johorean victory
Combatant1: Portuguese Empire
Sultanate of Johor
Combatant2: Aceh Sultanate
Kalinyamat Kingdom
Ottoman Empire
Commander1:Leonis Pereira
Muzaffar II of Johor
Commander2:Alauddin al-Kahar
Ratu Kalinyamat
Strength1:1,500 men[1]
Strength2:15,000 men
400 Ottoman gunners
300 ships
200 cannons[2]
Casualties1:3 dead[3]
Casualties2:4,000 dead[4]
Several more wounded

The siege of Malacca occurred in 1568, when the Sultan of Aceh Alauddin attacked the Portuguese-held city of Malacca. The city had been held by the Portuguese since its capture by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511.[5]

The offensive was the result of a pan-Islamic alliance to try to repel the Portuguese from Malacca and the coasts of India.[6] The Ottoman Empire supplied cannonneers to the alliance, but were unable to provide more due to the ongoing invasion of Cyprus and an uprising in Aden.[6]

The army of the Sultan was composed of a large fleet of long galley-type oared ships, 15,000 troops, and Ottoman mercenaries.[7] [5] [8] [9] [10] The city of Malacca was successfully defended by Dom Leonis Pereira, who was supported by the king of Johore.

Other attacks on Malacca by the Acehnese would continue during the following years, especially in 1570. The offensive weakened the Portuguese Empire. In the 1570s, the Sultan of the Moluccas was able to repel the Portuguese from the Spice Islands.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Danvers, Frederick Charles . A.D. 1481-1571 . 1894 . W.H. Allen & Company, limited . en.
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=prA99TUDgKQC&dq=siege%20of%20malacca%201568&pg=PA66 Crusaders in the Far East Charles Truxillo p.66
  3. Book: Danvers, Frederick Charles . A.D. 1481-1571 . 1894 . W.H. Allen & Company, limited . en.
  4. Book: Danvers, Frederick Charles . A.D. 1481-1571 . 1894 . W.H. Allen & Company, limited . en.
  5. https://www.jstor.org/pss/312600 Of fortresses and galleys Pierre-Yves Mandrin
  6. https://books.google.com/books?id=vAIUk2xHTRcC&pg=PA59 By the sword and the cross Charles A. Truxillo p.59
  7. "In 1568 Sultan Alaal-Din of Acheh assembled a huge fleet, with 15000 troops and Turkish mercenaries, and besieged Malacca. Aided by Johore, Dom Leonis Pereira drove off the siege, but Achinese attacks continued for many years." in Dictionary of Battles and Sieges by Tony Jaques https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh6jydKXikoC&pg=PA620 p.620
  8. Book: Tony Jaques. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. 1 January 2007. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-33538-9. 620–.
  9. Book: J. M. Barwise. Nicholas J. White. A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia. registration. 2002. Interlink Books. 978-1-56656-439-7. 110–.
  10. Book: Merle Calvin Ricklefs. A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1200. 2001. Stanford University Press. 978-0-8047-4480-5. 36–.