Diogo de Azambuja or Diego de Azambuja (1432–1518) was a Portuguese noble and explorer.

Soldier

He was born at

Montemor-o-Velho Montemor-o-Velho () is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 26,171, in an area of 228.96 km². History In 711, the Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula began. Mont ...

, and became a knight of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

in the service of the Infante Dom Pedro, son of the Regent

Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaun ...

. After Peter's defeat and death in the

battle of Alfarrobeira The Battle of Alfarrobeira () took place on 20 May 1449. It was a confrontation between the forces commanded by King Afonso V of Portugal and his uncle Afonso, Duke of Braganza, against the army of the rebellious Peter, Duke of Coimbra. The p ...

(1449), he accompanied his master into exile. In 1458, he fought on the side of

Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Afric ...

in the conquest of Alcácer-Ceguer in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. He received several honours and became a counselor of the king. During the

War of the Castilian Succession The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Joanna 'la Beltraneja', reputed daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Castile ...

, he participated in the recapture of the town of Alegrete from the Castilians. He was injured in the leg during this engagement.

Portuguese Gold Coast

In 1481, Diogo was appointed by John II as captain of a fleet consisting of nine

caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing w ...

s and two ships with 600 soldiers and 100 masons and carpenters. They were sent, along with the necessary stone and other materials, to construct a fortress called

São Jorge da Mina Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or '' Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly th ...

at the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...

in the

Portuguese Gold Coast The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea. Established in 1482, the colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642 following Portugal’s def ...

colony. This became the best-known exploit of his long life. They chose a favourable defensive position for the fort, and construction was practically complete after only 20 days, in spite of resistance from the native population. With the fortress finished, contacts were established with the local population to establish trade. Diogo de Azambuja sent the fleet back to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

with word that the mission has been successfully accomplished, and he remained behind as captain of the fortress with a force of 60 soldiers. He held this post until 1484. The fortress is now known as "Elmina Castle", or the "Elmina Slave Castle".

Courtier

Diogo was rewarded by the king with the post of alcaide-mor of

Monsaraz Monsaraz is a civil parish (''freguesia'') of the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, on the right margin of the Guadiana River in the Portuguese Alentejo region, near its border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 782, in an area of 88.29& ...

, and was also named to the Privy Council. Diogo de Azambuja remained attached to the Court and the king's service for many years, in spite of his advancing age and disabled leg. He was already over the age of 70 in 1506 when

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

placed him in charge of building a fortress called Castelo Real at

Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

, near Safi, in the south of Morocco, to protect Portuguese interests in the area. Diogo of Azambuja not only carried out the mission, he also took the city of Safi, where he remained as captain until 1509, at the age of 77 years. At that time he finally returned to Portugal, where he died in 1518.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azambuja, Diogo De Captain-majors of Portuguese Gold Coast Portuguese explorers 1432 births 1518 deaths People from Montemor-o-Velho Portuguese nobility 15th century in Ghana 15th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese people 15th-century explorers of Africa 16th-century explorers