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A Famosa Fortress
A Famosa (Portuguese for 'the famous') was a stone coastal fortress begun immediately after the Portuguese captured Malacca in 1511, their first perm…
Timeline
- 1511–1512St. Paul's Hill, Malacca · MalaccaAfter the Portuguese captured the Malacca Sultanate in August 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque immediately ordered a fortress begun on the seaside hill north of the town to defend against the expected counterattack. Early construction reused brick and stone from the old Malacca mosque site, built by soldiers and conscripted local laborers working day and night to complete the first defensive line.
- 1512–1516Malacca · MalaccaBetween 1512 and 1516 the Portuguese systematically expanded the fortress, strengthening walls, adding batteries and towers, and building granaries, wells, and a church. The regular garrison numbered some 300–500 Portuguese soldiers with numerous light and heavy guns. The fortress successfully repelled several counterattacks by the former Malacca Sultanate and local powers.
- 1516–1520Malacca · MalaccaBy 1516–1520 A Famosa had become one of Europe's strongest fortifications in Southeast Asia, commanding the mouth of the Malacca River from the sea and deterring all vessels entering or leaving the Strait of Malacca. A Portuguese town (Cidade) grew around the fortress with churches, hospitals, and warehouses, marking the establishment of a permanent Portuguese colonial presence in Southeast Asia.
Sources
- The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque — Afonso de Albuquerque (Birch, W. de G., trans.) (1875)
- A Famosa: The Fortress of Malacca — Nor Azizan Idris (2003)
- Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450–1680, Vol. 1 — Anthony Reid (1988)