The Aceh Expedition was a military expedition launched by the Portuguese against the Acehnese to force them to build a Portuguese fortress near Aceh. However, the expedition ended in failure.
Background
Since the rise of the Aceh Sultanate, the Acehnese entered with the Portuguese a long series of conflicts to dominate the Straits of Malacca. In 1568, the Acehnese, backed by the Ottomans, besieged Malacca but to no avail. Between 1570 and 1575, they came close to capturing Malacca but failed.
The nature of the conflict changed when the new Portuguese enemy arrived. The Dutch sought to establish their own empire, entering a long conflict with the Portuguese. In 1600 the Dutch were welcomed by the Acehnese who sought allies against the Portuguese,Frederick Charles Danvers, The Portuguese In India, Vol. 2 p. 136 which made relations with Portuguese strained and sought to punish them for breaking a pact between them before, but the Portuguese also wanted to erect a fort near Aceh, as demonstrated by Philip's letter to Martim Afonso de Castro:Peter Borschberg, Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese, and Free Trade in the East Indies, p. 181
Expedition In May 1606, the Portuguese fleet left Goa with a ship of 15 or 16 full-rigged ships; they were joined by two carracks, followed by a caravel, four galleys, and 23 fustas and galliots.André Murteira, Portuguese military expeditions to Southeast Asia, 1597–1606, p. 145 The armada carried 3,000 soldiers. André Murteira, p. 145David Nicolle, The Portuguese in the Age of Discovery c.1340–1665 They arrived in June and spotted three Acehnese cargo ships sailing; they were captured,Frederick Charles Danvers, p. 136 Dom Martim then dispatched an envoy to Aceh, demanding that its sultan allow them to establish a fortress. The Acehnese were interested in negotiations but this proved to be a trick, as the Acehnese extended the negotiations in order to prepare for the upcoming attack and strengthen their resistance inland, which caused delays in embarking.David Nicolle.André Murteira, p. 145
After the negotiations ended, the Acehnese bombarded the armada, and in response, Dom Martim launched an amphibious assault and captured a fortress on the coast, capturing 2 cannons, and then marched to capture the second one.William Marsden, The History of Sumatra, p. 438Ahmad Jelani Halimi, Sejarah dan tamadun bangsa Melayu, p. 292 Alarmed by their success, the Acehnese prince Iskandar Muda, who was imprisoned at that time after losing a civil war with his father, Ali Ri'ayat Syah III, begged his father to release him and allow him to lead the Acehnese army, which he accepted.Paulo Jorge de Sousa Pinto, The Portuguese and the Straits of Melaka, 1575-1619, p. 265 under the prince, the Acehnese succeeded in halting the Portuguese attack with two or three attacks, and the fighting had lasted for two days. Having gained no advantage against Aceh, Dom Martin ordered a withdrawalFrederick Charles Danvers, p. 136William Marsden, p. 438 upon learning of a combined Dutch-Johorese attack on Malacca.David Nicolle.André Murteira, p. 146 Despite capturing a fortress, the entire expedition caused 200 or 300 of their "best men" to be killed.André Murteira, p. 146William Marsden, p. 438
See also Siege of Malacca (1568) Battle of Aceh (1521) Battle of Aceh (1569) Pedir expedition (1522) Acehnese conquest of Pasai Battle of Aceh (1528)
References