Albuquerque is said to have entertained the…
August 1513 CE
Albuquerque is said to have entertained the idea of diverting the course of the Nile river and so rendering the whole country barren in order to destroy the power of Egypt.
Perhaps most tellingly, he intends to steal the body of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and hold it for ransom until all Muslims have left the Holy Land.
After a second attempt to reach Aden in August 1513, Albuquerque’s fleet returns to India with no substantial results.
Albuquerque thus has thus failed to stop the spice trade through the Red Sea and to establish a trade monopoly for the Europe-India spice trade.
This campaign, however, has been a major threat to the Mamluk harbor of Suez and to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which puts the Mamluk Sultan under tremendous pressure.
The Mamluk Sultan Qansuh is thus forced to seek Ottoman assistance in his resistance against the Portuguese, although the Ottomans have been a traditional rival.