Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa for Portugal in 1510.
Goa was a wealthy port on India’s west coast and a valuable base for controlling maritime trade in the Arabian Sea. Albuquerque first seized the city in March 1510 with support from Timoji, a privateer allied with the Vijayanagara Empire. Portuguese forces later withdrew when they could not securely hold it against the forces of the Bijapur Sultanate.
Albuquerque returned with reinforcements in November. The second attack began on November 25, and Goa surrendered on December 10, 1510. The Portuguese retained the city, which became the capital of Portuguese India and one of the empire’s most important Asian possessions.
Goa is sometimes confused with Cochin, Calicut, or Diu, all of which were significant places in Portuguese activity in India. But Albuquerque’s famous 1510 conquest was specifically Goa. Portuguese rule there lasted until 1961, when India annexed Goa, ending more than four centuries of Portuguese control.