Almeida Wins the Battle of Diu

February 3, 1509

A second, decisive clash off Diu saw Almeida's smaller Portuguese fleet smash a Mamluk-Gujarati armada. The viceroy's guns redrew commercial geography: Venice's spice galleys faltered, Lisbon grew fat, and Islam lost its grip on the ocean that had been its economic lifeline for eight centuries. The victory established Portuguese naval supremacy for the rest of the century and foreshadowed the Mamluk Sultanate's fall eight years later.