2019-12-16 Mon

Afonso de Albuquerque was Portuguese admiral and politician, 3rd Viceroy of Portuguese India. He is generally considered a military genius and probably the greatest naval commander of the age.

Albuquerque was born in 1453 in Alhandra, Lisbon to Goncalo de Albuquerque and Dona Leonor de Menezes. Considered as "great conqueror" Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa in 1510 and the capture of Malacca in 1511. He became admiral of the Indian Ocean and was appointed as the head of the "fleet of the Arabian and Persian sea" in 1506.

His program to gain control of all the main maritime trade routes of the East and to build permanent fortresses with settled populations laid the foundations of Portuguese hegemony in the Orient.

The above shown 600 Escudos Indian note was printed on Mould Made Paper for the Portuguese colonies in India. The obverse features the texts “BANCO NACIONAL ULTRA MARINO”, “INDIA PORTUGUESA”, Decreto LEI ?39221. An Image of Afonso de Albuquerque who was the Governor of Portuguese India from 1509–1515 is also featured with the text “AFONSO DE|ALBUQUERQUE”.

On 16 December 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque died within sight of Goa.