Battle of Mombasa (1505)

The battle

The Portuguese reached the harbour of the city on August 13, 1505. The harbour was protected by a small fort or bulwark, connected to the city by a short wall, and armed with eight guns. The fort opened fire on the first Portuguese ship to enter the harbour to sound it, the São Rafael, captained by Gonçalo de Paiva. After being silenced by the fire from the fleet, its garrison made no attempts to further resist the Portuguese and instead retreated into the town.

The next day in the afternoon, the Portuguese sailed up the river to the city front, where they were shot with guns, bows and stones, and subjected the city to a naval bombardment. Dom Francisco messaged the sultan, but the ruler only replied with insolent taunts. Dom Francisco was met by a Spanish resident in Mombasa, a gunner by profession who had converted to Islam, and he told the Portuguese that "Mombasa was not like Kilwa: they would not find people with hearts that could be eaten like chickens as they had done in Kilwa, but that if they were keen to come ashore the people were ready to set about them for their supper."

The next day later they landed, divided in two squadrons and stormed the town. Despite heavy resistance and the very narrow streets, the Portuguese captured the settlement. The ruler of the town fled with many of its inhabitants to a nearby wood.

Aftermath

The Portuguese captured valuable spoil left behind by its inhabitants. All the vessels found in the harbour were burned. The city was then torched. In this battle, the only son of Dom Francisco de Almeida, Dom Lourenço de Almeida distinguished himself. He would later in the year be the first Portuguese to contact Ceylon. The Portuguese sailed to Malindi, whose sultan was most pleased to hear of the sacking of the rival city.