Unmistakable Portuguese Man O War Carrack Replica in Melaka

One of the most profound things to view in Melaka City is the replica of a Portuguese Man o War ship. The ship is tall especially with its high main mast but its length looks stunted. It's actually a Maritime museum located a rickshaw ride away from the infamous A Famosa ruins; a stone walled fort built by the Portuguese after the conquest of Malacca (Melaka). Entrance fee to the Maritime museum for adults is about $3 per person.

In the 1500s on the approximate date of 1511 ad, the Sultanate of Malacca lost the possession of Melaka port & city to the Portuguese Naval forces & collaborators. Hence, the control of the renowned Melaka port immensely enriched the Portuguese nation as it meant control of the trade in the center of the Spice Islands. Portuguese writer, Duarte Barbosa wrote "He who is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice".

Being aboard the replica of the Portuguese ship is a deceiving experience. The deck has not much area to walk about on but once you walk into the hull of the ship, it's a different story. It's quite spacious & fits two levels of Maritime museum galleries! One can view old images, statues, history of the Melaka & Portuguese arrival, & much more inside the full of the ship. It is difficult to know whether the Portuguese, led by Admiral Lopes de Sequeira first came to Malacca for the purpose of conquest in 1509.

Portuguese Invade Melaka

Influenced by a group of Goa Muslims in the Sultan's court; whom had previously lost their Goa port to their Portuguese; the Sultan of Melaka perceived the Portuguese first arrival to Melaka as a threat & ordered the capture of the Portuguese party who were at first welcomed.

One way or another, the Portuguese had to have a presence in the rich port of Melaka. With their first attempt in 1509 being thwarted by the Malaccan Sultanate, the Portuguese sailed back to Goa, India & readied a fleet of war ships to return for a second attempt at invasion of Melaka in 1511. Visit the Maritime Museum of Malacca; you will not be bored!

Portuguese Man O War replica ship in Malacca is not much of an impressive ship nowadays but it was a state of the art coastal coasting & ocean going type Carrack battle ship back in the 1500s. Once on the replica ship, you can attempt to realize how it could feel to be traveling on the coasts of continents & through vast oceans for months on a ship borne two story house filled with medieval cannons.

Factors for Successful Melaka Conquest by Portugal

The success of the Portuguese conquest in 1511, led by Alfonso de Albuquerque with a fleet of about seventeen or eighteen ships was largely due to the uncooperative disability of an ongoing bitter dispute between the Malaccan Sultan, Sultan Mahmud & his son Sultan Ahmad. In the difficult & dire political situation, all the Malaccan Sultanate artillery could not be used to stop the fanatical Portuguese invaders & their collaborators.

It was mentioned by historians that ultimately, after only 40 days of fighting, victories & losses in battle; the Portuguese forces managed to break down the Malaccan defenses with the help of Chinese Capitans, & southern Indian & Javanese groups who were eager to see the control of the Malaccan port & city to change hands.