Chapter 36: Iberian-Japanese War Part III - San Salvador and Malacca Besieged
Despite being outmatched in manpower and resources, the Spanish and Portuguese were confident that their naval power and technology would win the war. However, the Japanese navy was no slouch. Ever since the establishment of a central navy by Nobunaga, Azuchi had not only acquired European-style warships through monetary purchase but also learned how to build them natively, establishing dedicated shipyards where galleons, carracks, and tekkousen were all built. As a result, by the time of the Iberian-Japanese war, the Azuchi navy was a heterogeneous mixture of European and Asian designs. The tekkousen itself had branched into three main designs, a basic one largely unchanged since 1578, the zentousen (前筒船), which was equipped with a large front-facing cannon, and the hobayasen (帆早船) which had decreased iron plating in favor of a single large sail for greater mobility. Azuchi also had many junks, often equipping them with cannons. Daimyo navies also co-existed alongside the central navy, although for the most part they only had a couple European warships if at all and these were mostly purchased either from another Japanese navy or from a European power. The Japanese nevertheless would prove to be formidable.
The contest over Fort San Salvador began on June 9th out in the ocean shortly before the arrival of Oda Tadataka’s army on land as Itou Sukenori and his squadron of 4 galleons, 6 carracks, 10 zentousen, and several junks and tekkousen challenged the Spanish fleet of 4 galleons and several smaller vessels guarding San Salvador’s waters. The Iriebashi fleet’s right wing consisting of carracks, junks, and tekkousen sailed ahead and cut off the Spanish ships from the south while the rest of the ships, fronted by the zentousen, surged forward. The Spanish fleet attempted to first break the Japanese right through cannonfire but were matched by both the carrack’s guns and the tekkousen’s breech-loaded swivel guns. The exchange of cannonfire distracted the Spanish from the Japanese frontal assault of the zentousen, a ship the Spanish had hardly any knowledge of. Within a few hours, the Spanish fleet, surrounded and bombarded on multiple sides, crumbled and was completely driven out. Sukenori’s squadron now completely blockaded the fort.
Salmon=Japan, light orange=Spain
On June 13th, Tadataka’s army finally arrived at Fort San Salvador. He established a line of communication with Sukenori to coordinate artillery bombardments. Thus, the garrison inside the fort, despite recently reinforced and well-provisioned, were trapped between two simultaneous lines of fire. Tadataka immediately began deploying his 30 cannons towards the fort while Sukenori did the same, also attempting multiple amphibious landings. The Spanish garrison were relatively successful in thwarting every single attempt using a combination of indigenous and Filipino archers and Spanish men formed in a makeshift tercio with their pikes and arquebuses. In one instance, a Japanese ship was even briefly boarded by 10 brave Filipino warriors, although all but 1 would be killed or captured. On land, however, the carnage was much more devastating with the garrison unable to even make a dent in Tadataka’s well-trained soldiers, especially the samurai and Zheng Zhilong’s musketeers. They would successfully make a breakthrough on the night of July 23rd after an unfinished part of the fort was destroyed and exposed a gaping entrance. By the next morning, Juan de Alcarzo would surrender. While the Filipino and Spanish survivors were spared, the Chinese and indigenous allies would be beheaded as traitors by Tadataka as subjects of Japan serving a foreign enemy. The Bireitou governor then began repairs on Fort San Salvador and renamed it Nanbanraku Castle (南蛮落城), translated as the Castle of the Fallen Southern Barbarian. [1]
Sketch of Zheng Zhilong’s musketeers, some of the most capable soldiers in Tadataka’s army
Meanwhile, other fronts of the war heated up. The Portuguese, warned by Manila of the Dutch-Japanese threat, expanded their garrisons and fortifications and stored provisions throughout their outposts in the East Indies to prepare for any Dutch or Japanese naval assaults. Malacca especially was reinforced as it provided a strategic connection between the East Indies and both Goa, Portugal’s principal outpost in Asia, and the Iberian homeland. The main fortress itself was equipped with 100 cannons to ensure only a serious effort would be capable of toppling it. These fears would prove well-founded when in mid-July, a Dutch fleet of 10 galleons carrying 1,000 men, including 100 Javanese allies, landed on the shores of Malacca and began an assault on the city. The Portuguese, numbering 300, were initially driven back but halted the rapid Dutch advance when mixed-race and native reinforcements numbering 2,000 in total arrived. Both sides dug trenches and brought out cannons. The next few weeks witnessed exchange after exchange of cannonfire along with night assaults, but neither side achieved much success. However, the Dutch fleet effectively blockaded the city and allowed the Dutch to readily experience a stream of supplies, contributing to a Dutch breakthrough all the way to the walls of the Malaccan suburbs. The fighting when tropical disease ravaged both sides in October, with the Malaccan troops also experiencing famine. 500 more Dutch soldiers joined the siege in December, giving the VOC a decisive edge and the next month they would capture the city. While some wealthier Portuguese were allowed to leave for Goa, the majority of the remaining troops in Malacca were taken prisoner.
Map of Malacca from 1630
So far, the anti-Iberian coalition had enjoyed solid victories, but unbeknownst to the VOC or Azuchi, 2 large Spanish fleets were not far from Manila. The war was just getting started.
[1]: I'm not sure if I ever specified but TTL's Fort San Salvador was around where IOTL's Fort Zeelandia built by the Dutch was.
