Afonso de Albuquerque, Duke of Goa

3D Model

Afonso de Albuquerque, Duke of Goa (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu dɨ aɫbuˈkɛɾk(ɨ)]; c. 1453 – 16 December 1515) (also spelled Aphonso or Alfonso), was a Portuguese general, a “great conqueror”,[1][2][3] a statesman, and an empire builder.[4]

Afonso advanced the three-fold Portuguese grand scheme of combating Islam, spreading Christianity, and securing the trade of spices by establishing a Portuguese Asian empire.[5] Among his achievements, Afonso managed to conquer the island of Goa and was the first European of his Renaissance to raid the Persian Gulf, and he led the first voyage by a European fleet into the Red Sea.[6] His military and administrative works are generally regarded as among the most vital to building and securing the Portuguese Empire in the Orient, the Middle East, and the spice routes of eastern Oceania.[7]