ALBUQUERQUE', ALFOliS0 THE GREAT, viceroy of the Indies, and also called the Portuguese Mars, was b. in 1453, near Alhandra, a t, not far from Lisbon, of a family of the royal blood of Portugal. In that age the Portuguese people were distinguished for heroism and a spirit of adventure. They had discovered and subjugated a great part of the western coast of Africa, and were beginning to extend their dominion over the seas and the people of India A. being appointed viceroy of these new possessions, landed on the coast of Malabar, on Sept. 26, 1503, with a fleet and some troops; conquered Goa, which he made the seat of the Portuguese government, and the center of its Asiatic commerce; and afterwards the whole of Malabar, Ceylon, the Sunda isles, the peninsula of Malacca, and (in 1515) the island of Ormuz at the entrance of the Persian gulf. When the king of Persia sent for the tribute which the princes of this island had formerly rendered to him, A. presented bullets and swords to the ambassador, saying: "This is the coin with which Portugal pays her tribute." He made the Portuguese name profoundly respected among the princes and people of the east; and many of them, especially the kings of Siam and Pegu, sought his alliance and protection. All his undertakings bore the stamp
of an extraordinary mind. He maintained strict military discipline, was active, far seeing, wise, humane and equitable, respected and feared by his neighbors, while beloved by his subjects. His virtues made such an impression on the Indian people, that long after his death they resorted to his grave, to implore his protection against the misgov ernment of his successors. Notwithstanding his valuable services, A. did not escape the envy of the courtiers and the suspicions of king Emmanuel, who appointed Lopez Soarez, a personal enemy of A., to supersede him as viceroy. This ingratinde affected him deeply.• Ishmael, the shah of Persia, offered his assistance to resist the arbitrary decree of the Portuguese court; but A. Would not violate his allegiance. A few days after, commending his son to the king in a short letter, be died at sea near Goa, Dec. 16, 1515. Emamnuel honored his memory by a long repentance, and raised his son to the highest dignities in the state. His life is well portrayed in the Commentarios do Grande Alfonso de El. (Lisbon, 1576 and 1774), published by his son Blasius.