João Homem arrives in Quilon (Coulão, Kollam), right into the middle of a quarrel between the local Portuguese factor António de Sá and the regents of Quilon. De Sá had been fruitlessly trying to persuade the Quilon authorities to freeze out a group of Muslim spice merchants that had recently arrived from Calicut, but to no avail. Seeing Homem's caravel arrive in harbour, de Sá quickly persuades the captain to assist him in a hare-brained scheme to board the Muslim ships in harbour and cut down their masts and sails. Homem readily agrees, and this is swiftly done, much to the shock of the Quilon authorities, whose orders not to molest the ships were blatantly ignored. As soon as Homem sets sail out of Quilon harbour to rejoin Almeida, an anti-Portuguese riot erupts in Quilon. The Portuguese in the city, including the factor and his assistants barricade themselves in a local Syrian Christian church – but the church is burned down by the mob and the Portuguese are massacred. October 30, 1505 – Leaving Cannanore, Almeida proceeds to Cochin. But immediately upon arrival, Almeida receives the dramatic news of the Quilon massacre, and the provocative role of João Homem in the events. The furious Almeida demotes João Homem, and passes his caravel, the São Jorge, over to a new captain Nuno Vaz Pereira. Hoping to mend relations, Almeida immediately dispatches an expedition to Quilon under his 20-year-old son Lourenço de Almeida, with three naus and three caravels, under instructions to pretend as if nothing has happened, and hopefully negotiate a resolution. But seeing the approach of the Portuguese squadron, the city of Quilon rallies its defenses and prevent the Portuguese from disembarking. Lourenço limits himself to bombarding the town and burning down the (mostly Calicut-owned) merchant ships in Quilon harbour, before returning sullenly to Cochin. Quilon, one of the three principal Portuguese factories and allies in India, is now lost to the Portuguese. It is a tremendous blow, as Quilon, by its proximity to Ceylon and points east, had the best spice markets of the three. There is a strong likelihood that the construction of Fort Sant'Angelo of Cannanore (see above) really only began now, after Quilon (the original fort destination) was no longer an option. Coronation in Cochin December 1505 – In the meantime, back in Cochin, Almeida reinforces Fort Manuel (erected in 1503) at Cochin, placing the garrison