naval engagement, early modern

Battle of Beadala

Name: Battle of Beadala
Location: Gulf of Mannar

Battle of Beadala was a naval engagement fought in 1538 at Gulf of Mannar. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Gulf of Mannar. The recorded result: Portuguese victory. Recorded strength: ~600–1,000 men; 22 fustas; 8 catures against ~4,000–8,000; 47 paraus.

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Fought1538

WhereGulf of Mannar8.414N, 78.989E, placed at the location, approximate

OutcomePortuguese victory

BelligerentsPortuguese EmpireagainstKingdom of Calicut

Record

Date	1538 (year precision) to 1538
Place	Gulf of Mannar 8.414N, 78.989E
Kind	Naval engagement, early modern
Strength	~600–1,000 men; 22 fustas; 8 catures	~4,000–8,000; 47 paraus
Casualties and losses	18 killed; 100+ wounded	~800 dead; 22 paraus captured; 25 paraus burned; 400 bombardas captured; 1,500 firearms captured
Commanders	Martim Afonso de Sousa	Kunjali Marakkar

Placed at Gulf of Mannar; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Action of 2 May 1654 1654, 186 km SE
Easter Sunday Raid 1942, 190 km SE
Siege of Colombo 1655, 191 km SE
Battle of Colachel 1741, 193 km W
Siege of Kotte 1557, 194 km SE

Elsewhere in 1538

Battle of Beadala is one of 1,470 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q131314623, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Beadala (1538), revision 1370433708, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.