ALFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE'S MALACCA ACCOUNT

The account of Afonso de Albuquerque regarding the conquest and state of Malacca (Melaka) in 1511 is primarily documented in The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque (Commentários do Grande Afonso de Albuquerque). This work was compiled by his son, Brás de Albuquerque, based on the Governor's official letters and reports to King Manuel I of Portugal.

His accounts are considered one of the most significant European historical records of 16th-century Southeast Asia, describing Malacca as a "Golden Chersonese" and the "throat of Venice."

Key Highlights from His Account

1. The Strategic & Commercial Value

Albuquerque’s writings emphasize that Malacca was the "key to the East." He famously noted that whoever held Malacca had their "hand on the throat of Venice," referring to how controlling the Malacca Strait would allow Portugal to bypass the Middle Eastern trade routes and cripple the spice monopoly held by Muslim and Venetian merchants.

• A Cosmopolitan Hub: He described a city teeming with over 80 languages spoken and a population of roughly 100,000–190,000 people.
• A Wealthy Port: He noted the vast quantities of gold, spices (cloves, nutmeg, mace), and silks flowing through the port from China, Java, and the Moluccas.

2. The Military Conquest (July–August 1511)

Albuquerque provides a detailed, albeit biased, military journal of the siege.

• The Bridge: He identified the bridge over the Malacca River as the city’s "jugular vein." His account details the use of a tall, armed junk (a ship) to serve as a floating fortress to seize the bridge.
• Enemy Defenses: He wrote about the Sultan’s "elephants of war" and the effective use of poisoned arrows and cannons by the Malay forces. He admitted that the city was much better defended than he had anticipated.
• Psychological Warfare: He describes his tactics of burning the Sultan's ships and waterfront buildings to incite panic before the final land assault.

3. Post-Conquest Administration

After the fall of the Sultanate, Albuquerque’s account shifts to the establishment of the Estado da Índia's influence:

• A Famosa: He ordered the construction of the fortress A Famosa using stones from the Sultan’s palace and nearby mosques.
• New Currency: He established a mint in Malacca to replace the Sultan’s coinage with Portuguese gold, silver, and tin coins (cruzados and leais).
• Diplomatic Missions: His records detail how he immediately sent envoys to Siam (Thailand), China, and the "Spice Islands" (Maluku) to secure new trade treaties.

Historical Perspective: Albuquerque vs. The Malay Annals

It is useful to compare Albuquerque's Commentaries with local sources like the Sulalat al-Salatin (The Malay Annals).

• Albuquerque depicts the conquest as a glorious "crusade" against Muslim influence.
• The Malay Annals focus more on the internal politics, the betrayal of certain officials (like the Bendahara), and the perceived "strangeness" of the Portuguese (whom they called "White Bengalis").

Note: While Albuquerque’s accounts are invaluable for their detail on trade and military logistics, they are written from a conqueror's perspective and often underplay the complexity of the Malay Sultanate's social structure.

WEAPONS USED DURING THE SIEGE

Alfonso de Albuquerque's commentaries provide a vivid—and sometimes surprising—inventory of the weaponry encountered during the siege. While the Portuguese are often credited with "superior technology," Albuquerque’s own records express shock at the sophistication and sheer quantity of the Malaccan arsenal.

1. Malaccan Weaponry (The Defenders)

Albuquerque was particularly impressed by the Sultan’s artillery. His son’s Commentaries note that after the city fell, they captured over 3,000 pieces of artillery (though some estimates suggest as many as 8,000).

Artillery & Firearms:

• Brass and Iron Cannons: Albuquerque noted that 2,000 of the captured pieces were brass and the rest iron. He remarked that the workmanship was so high it "could not be excelled, even in Portugal."
• Matchlocks (Espingardão): The defenders used large matchlock guns. One of Albuquerque's captains, Antonio d’Abreu, was famously struck in the face by a matchlock bullet during the assault on the bridge.
• Versatile Shot: The Malays fired balls made of stone, iron, and even iron covered with lead.

Traditional & Poisoned Weapons:

• Poisoned Arrows & Blowpipes: Albuquerque recorded that many of his soldiers died not from the impact of arrows, but from the poison on them. He noted that out of dozens of men hit by these arrows in the first assault, only one survived.
• Javanese Lances & Keris: He describes the fierce close-quarters combat involving long lances and the traditional wavy-bladed keris.

War Elephants: * The Sultan deployed a corps of 20 war elephants. Albuquerque describes how his soldiers had to target the elephants' trunks and eyes with pikes to turn them back against their own troops.

2. Portuguese Weaponry (The Attackers)

The Portuguese relied on a combination of heavy naval firepower and disciplined "tercio-style" infantry tactics.

Naval Heavy Artillery:

• Bombards: Large-caliber cannons mounted on carracks like the Flor de la Mar. These were used to shell the city and clear the stockades from the water.
• Breech-loading Guns: Used on smaller boats and the "siege-junk" to provide rapid fire.

Infantry Arms:

• The Montante: Heavy two-handed swords used by the fidalgos (nobles) to break through Malay spear lines.
• Pikes & Halberds: Used in tight formations to repel the Sultan's cavalry and elephants.
• Crossbows & Arquebuses: While the Portuguese had firearms, Albuquerque's records show they relied heavily on crossbows for accuracy during the bridge assault, as early gunpowder was often unreliable in the tropical humidity.

The "Siege Junk": * A unique "weapon" Albuquerque used was a captured merchant junk which he heavily reinforced and fitted with high platforms (like a floating siege tower). It was armed with heavy guns and crossbowmen to overlook and fire down onto the Malay defenses on the bridge.

3. Defensive Engineering

Albuquerque noted that the city was not just defended by men, but by extensive stockades (wooden fortifications) and palisades filled with earth. The Malays used these to create "killing zones" at the bridge, which Albuquerque had to dismantle piece by piece under heavy fire.

"Among the captured guns was one large piece sent by the King of Calicut to the King of Malacca... All the artillery with its appurtenances was of such workmanship that it created surprise in those that captured them."

— The Commentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque

Google Gemini AI

2 February 2026: 9.01 a.m