1.1.10 to 1.1.11

To further da Gama's achievement, Manuel I dispatched the Portuguese navigator Pedro �lvares Cabral to Calicut with a fleet of 13 ships. Later, the Hindus, incited by the Muslims, rose in arms and massacred the Portuguese whom Cabral had left behind. To avenge this deed a new fleet was fitted out in Lisbon to be sent against Calicut and to establish Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean. At first the command was to be given to Cabral, but it was later transferred to da Gama, who in January 1502 was given the rank of admiral. Da Gama himself commanded 10 ships, which were in turn supported by two flotillas of five ships each, each flotilla being under the command of one of his relations. Sailing in February 1502, the fleet called at the Cape Verdes, reaching the port of Sofala in East Africa on June 14. After calling briefly at Mozambique, the Portuguese expedition sailed to Kilwa, in what is now Tanzania. The ruler of Kilwa, the amir Ibrahim, had been unfriendly to Cabral; da Gama threatened to burn Kilwa if the Amir did not submit to the Portuguese and swear loyalty to King Manuel, which he then did. Coasting southern Arabia, da Gama then called at Goa (later the focus of Portuguese power in India) before proceeding to Cannanore, a port in southwestern India to the north of Calicut, where he lay in wait for Arab shipping. After several days an Arab ship arrived with merchandise and between 200 and 400 passengers, including women and children. After seizing the cargo, da Gama shut up the passengers aboard the captured ship and set it afire, killing all on board, the cruelest act of his career.