The Siege of Kota Lama Kanan occurred in January 1543 when the Portuguese army of Estevao da Gama stormed the Johorian fortress of Kota Lama Kanan during the Malayan-Portuguese War. The fortress fell without much resistance.
History[]
By January 1543, the Portuguese colony in Malacca had been reinforced by hundreds of Portuguese troops and native mercenaries, allowing for them to continue their war with the neighboring Malay Johor Sultanate. At the time, the Malayan-Portuguese War consisted mostly of skirmishes between Portuguese armed parties and small Johorian farming caravans, as well as occasional battles with roving bands of mercenaries and bandits. On 28 January 1543, an army of nearly 1,000 Portuguese troops (nearly the entire Portuguese army in Malaya) marched north and past the major Johorian city of Perak to attack the northern Johorian fortress of Kota Lama Kanan. The hundreds of Portuguese troops encircled the fortress before assaulting it, facing a garrison of around 115 troops.
The Portuguese assaulted the fortress using a ramp, pouring over the ramparts and overcoming the wall defenders without much resistance. The Portuguese fought the Johorians into the courtyard, where they proceeded to battle the main body of the defenders. The desperate Johorians were forced to take refuge in the citadel, where Calixto Braga and a handful of Portuguese troops killed the last 5 Johorian defenders, while losing an arquebusier in the process. The Portuguese succeeded in taking Kota Lama Kanan with just 30 losses, including 22 dead.
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