ALFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE

ALFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE (1453-1515) was a celebrated Portuguese patriot and navigator. He was the founder of the Portuguese power in India. This Portuguese statesman conquered Goa in 1510, who, after securing a footing in India for Portugal that he sought for, settled in Goa. He made Goa the capital of the Portuguese empire in the east, where his recall at the instance of jealous rivals at home gave him such a shock that he died of a broken heart just as he was leaving.

The Indians long remembered his benign rule, and used to visit his tomb to pray him to deliver them from the oppression of his successors.