Battle of Chaul

Previously, the Portuguese had been mainly active in Calicut, but the northern region of Gujarat was even more important for trade, and an essential intermediary in east–west trade: the Gujaratis were bringing spices from the Moluccas as well as silk from China, and then selling them to the Egyptians and Arabs. Venice negotiated for Egyptian tariffs to be lowered to facilitate competition with the Portuguese, and suggested that "rapid and secret remedies" be taken against the Portuguese. ==Preparations==

The Mamluk fleet finally left in February 1507 under Amir Husain Al-Kurdi in order to counter the expansion of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and arrived in the Indian port of Diu in 1508 after delays subduing the city of Jeddha. It consisted of six round ships and six great galleys called galleasses. ==Battle==

The Portuguese, under Lourenço de Almeida, son of the Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, were inferior in number with only a light force, and located in the nearby harbour of Chaul. The rest had sailed north to protect shipping and fight the so-called piracy. When the Mamluks sailed into Chaul, Almeida's main artillery captain, the German-born Michael Arnau, advised to bombard the enemy fleet from afar. However, Almeida ordered to board the enemy ships, as a victory by afar would be neither honorale nor profitable. His tactics, however, went awry due to the size and number of the enemy ships and the sea's currents. The Mamluks fought for two days inconclusively with the Portuguese. Finally, Malik Ayaz sailed in with his own galleys. The Portuguese had to retreat, and Almeida's ship was sunk at the entrance of Chaul harbour with Almeida aboard. Amir Hussain returned to the port of Diu, but from that point abandoned any further initiative on the Indian coast, his ships becoming derelict and his crews dispersing. ==Aftermath==

Although a victory for the Muslim forces, the result had been largely pyrrhic. Hussain had lost between 600 and 700 out of a total of 800 soldiers and the remainder of his forces now feared European weaponry. The Portuguese later returned and attacked the fleet in the harbour of Diu, leading to a decisive victory in the Battle of Diu (1509). These events would be followed by a new Ottoman intervention in 1538, with the Siege of Diu. ==See also==