Image: Malacca in 1550-1563

Description: A view over Malacca shortly after its conquest by the Portuguese, as drawn by Gaspar Correia in his 'Lendas da Índia', written in the 16th century. CONTEXT: At the time of the 1551 attack led by Japara and Johor-the last one on Melaka before 1568-the fortifications around the Portuguese settlement were very simple: except for the old Famosa fortress, they were entirely made of wooden palisades with taipa walls (that is of earth and pebbles beaten together with pestles). This intermediate stage of fortification was, in fact, achieved only after the Acehnese surprise attack of 1537 had nearly succeeded in storming the Portuguese settlement. In 1564, fearing that this unsophisticated fortification would not be sufficient to protect Melaka from the mounting pressure and growing forces of Aceh and other Muslim city States of the Archipelago, the Viceroy of India gave instructions to D. Diogo de Menezes, the new Captain of Melaka, for full-fledged defence-works to be built around the fortress, the Melaka Hill and the surrounding plain to its north and northeast. See [1]
Title: Malacca in 1550-1563
Credit: Lendas da Índia, first published by the Academia Real de Ciências de Lisboa in 1858-1863
Author: Gaspar Correia
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Attribution Required?: No