herd was raided with the loss of one man, while Almeida awaited his men some distance from the beach. As the flagship's master Diogo d'Unhos had moved the landing boats to a watering point, the Portuguese were left without a means of retreat. The ǃUriǁ'aikua sensed the opportunity for an attack, during which Almeida and 64 of his men perished, including 11 of his captains. Almeida's body was recovered the same afternoon and buried on the shore front of the current Cape Town. An archivist, Nicolaas Vergunst, suggested in a 2011 book that De Almeida was the victim of a plot by his own men, who intentionally cut off his retreat after the planned provocation of the ǃUriǁ'aikua Relatives and subjects Almeida was the son of the 1st Count of Abrantes and one of a number of highly distinguished siblings including two bishops, an ambassador to the Holy See and the Portuguese head of the Order of Malta. His son, Lourenço, was killed in the battle of Chaul, but he was survived by a daughter, Leonor, who was married twice: with Dom Rodrigo de Melo, Count of Tentúgal, precursor of the Dukes of Cadaval, and with Francisco de Mendonça, of the House of the Alcaides de Mourão.He also had a bastard daughter, Susana, who married Diogo de Barbuda, Alcaide of Seia. Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães) accompanied Almeida to the east, but was promoted to captain and only returned in 1512 after losing that commission. See also Lourenço de Almeida, his son 7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505) Chronology of European exploration of Asia References Fernão Lopes de Castanheda's account of Almeida's mission External links Blue Water Policy The Story of Almeida, by Ian D. Colvin, The Baldwin Project Paul Lunde, The coming of the Portuguese, 2006, Saudi Aramco World Knot of Stone: the day that changed South Africa's History, 2011, by Nicolaas Vergunst, Arena Books, UK Portuguese explorers Explorers of Asia Explorers of India Viceroys of Portuguese India 1450s births 1510 deaths Portuguese colonial governors and administrators Portuguese military personnel killed in action Portuguese soldiers Maritime history of Portugal Portuguese in Kerala People from Lisbon 1500s in Portuguese India 16th-century explorers 16th-century Portuguese people Portuguese nobility