5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503) Cape Verde, the first squadron of Afonso de Albuquerque struck out into the south Atlantic, following the South Atlantic Gyre. Along the way, Albuquerque came across Ascension Island. Although the island had already been discovered back in 1501 by the Third Armada of João da Nova (and named "ilha da Conceição" then), Albuquerque renamed it "ilha da Ascensão" on account of it being Ascension Day (May 21), the name that has since stuck. Strong south-westerly winds pushed them towards the coast of Brazil, where Albuquerque made a brief stop to take on water (exactly where is uncertain), before making his
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque (1934) NRP Afonso de Albuquerque (1934) The NRP "Afonso de Albuquerque" was a warship of the Portuguese Navy, named after the 16th-century Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque. She was destroyed in combat on 18 December 1961, defending Goa against the Indian Armed Forces invasion. The ship was the first of the "Afonso de Albuquerque" class, which also included the NRP "Bartolomeu Dias". These ships were classified, by the Portuguese Navy, as "avisos coloniais de 1ª classe" (1st class colonial aviso or sloop) and were designed to maintain a Portuguese naval presence in the Overseas territories of Portugal. They had limited capacity