Who amongst the following was related to the ‘Blue Water policy' which aimed to make European power as the master of the Indian Ocean?

Solution

● Option A is incorrect: Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa in 1497. He arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the south-west coast of India in 1498, becoming the first European to do so. It was the first direct voyage from Portugal to India. Da Gama was appointed Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1524. ● Option B is correct: In 1505, the King of Portugal appointed Francisco De Almeida, as a governor. He was asked to consolidate the position of the Portuguese in India and destroy Muslim trade by seizing Aden, Ormuz, and Malacca. ○ Almeida’s vision was to make the Portuguese the master of the Indian Ocean. His policy was known as the Blue Water Policy. ● Option C is incorrect: Albuquerque succeeded Almeida as the Portuguese governor in India. He was the real founder of the Portuguese power in the East. He secured strategic control of the Indian Ocean for Portugese by establishing bases overlooking all the entrances to the sea. The Portuguese, under him strengthened control by introducing a permit system (Cartage system).) for other ships. He exercised control over the major shipbuilding centers in the region. Abolition of sati was an interesting feature of the rule of Albuquerque. ● Option D is incorrect: Nino da Cunha was a Portuguese admiral and governor of from 1529 to 1538. Da Cunha also attempted to increase Portuguese influence in Bengal by settling many Portuguese nationals there with Hooghly as their headquarters.