Page "Portuguese India" Paragraph 6

Pedro Álvares Cabral sailed to India, officially discovering Brazil on the way, to trade for pepper and other spices, negotiating and establishing a factory ( trading post ) at Calicut, where he arrived on 13 September 1500.

Matters worsened when the Portuguese factory at Calicut was attacked by surprise by the locals, resulting in the death of more than fifty Portuguese.

Cabral was outraged by the attack on the factory and seized ten Arab merchant ships anchored in the harbor, killing about six hundred of their crew and confiscating their cargoes before burning the ships.

Cabral also ordered his ships to bombard Calicut for an entire day in retaliation for the violation of the agreement.

In Cochin and Cannanore Cabral succeeded in making advantageous treaties with the local rulers.

Cabral started the return voyage on 16 January 1501 and arrived in Portugal with only 4 of 13 ships on 23 June 1501.