Almeida had fought in Morocco, Granada, and the Battle of Toro before becoming viceroy of Portuguese India. He arrived with twenty-two vessels and roughly fifteen hundred men, a substantial force for a distant expedition. In India he strengthened a chain of factory-forts at Anjediva, Cannanore, Cochin, and Quilon. These bases combined commercial access with enough protection to support repeated naval operations without conquering large inland territories.
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Almeida paired experience with fortified factories
Francisco de Almeida brought decades of campaigning experience to a network of Portuguese forts and factories on India's southwest coast.