Soares is said to have charted a homeward route east of Madagascar (ilha de São Lourenço). This makes it the first time the outer route from the East Indies has been used on a return journey and possibly the first time the east coast of Madagascar was sighted and confirmed to be an island. November 15, 1506 – Second Return Fleet under Diogo Correia arrives in Lisbon. However, its third ship, the Madalena of Lopo de Deus, is delayed for repairs in Mozambique Island and will arrive only in January 1507. December 1506 – Third return fleet''' arrives in Lisbon – actually, only nau São Gabriel of Vasco Gomes de Abreu, carrying Almeida's official report and the baby elephant. João da Nova's Flor de la Mar encountered problems near Zanzibar, where he is forced to stay for eight months for repairs. Nova will not return to Lisbon, but be picked up in February 1507 in Mozambique and annexed by the outbound 8th Portuguese India Armada of 1506. Naturally, all three return fleets arrive too late to influence the outfitting of the next armada, the 8th India Armada, which set out under Tristão da Cunha in April 1506. Although scheduled to arrive in India that August, the 8th Armada will miss the monsoon winds and be forced to winter in Africa, arriving only in 1507. Aftermath The 7th Armada of D. Francisco de Almeida placed the Portuguese in a strong position in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese now have five fortified strongpoints in the Indian Ocean: Kilwa and Sofala in Africa, and Anjediva, Cannanore and Cochin in India. A new Portuguese state had been erected in the Indian Ocean. By and large, it had been a successful armada. Three new forts were erected, a couple of potential enemies knocked out (Kilwa, Mombasa), and the return fleets brought back substantial cargoes of spices. But the seemingly smooth operation quickly developed wrinkles in 1506, as serious problems emerged in Cannanore, Anjediva, Sofala and Kilwa. See also Portuguese expedition to Sofala (Anaia, 1505) Portuguese India Armadas Governors of Portuguese India Portuguese India Francisco de Almeida Notes Sources Duarte Barbosa (c. 1518) O Livro de Duarte Barbosa [Trans. by M.L. Dames, 1918–21, An Account Of The Countries Bordering On The Indian Ocean And Their Inhabitants, 2 vols., 2005 reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services.] João de Barros (1552–59) Décadas da Ásia: Dos feitos, que os