Key Facts
- Duration
- 4 days
- Year
- 1610
- Ship type
- Portuguese carrack ("black ship")
- Captain
- André Pessoa
- Cause of sinking
- Captain ignited gunpowder store to prevent capture
Strategic Narrative Overview
Forces of the Arima clan dispatched samurai junks to intercept and board the Portuguese carrack in Nagasaki Bay. Over four days, Japanese samurai attempted to overwhelm the vessel in a sustained naval engagement. The Portuguese crew mounted fierce resistance against the numerically superior Japanese forces, but the samurai gradually overran the ship's defenses, pressing the crew into an increasingly desperate final stand aboard the richly laden merchantman.
01 / The Origins
In the early 17th century, Portuguese carracks made regular trading voyages to Japan, carrying rich cargoes and acting as intermediaries in the Sino-Japanese trade. Tensions between Portuguese traders and Japanese authorities had grown over commercial disputes and perceived slights. The Nossa Senhora da Graça, known to the Japanese as the 'black ship', arrived at Nagasaki in 1610 amid escalating hostility involving the Arima clan, a powerful samurai family with grievances against the Portuguese.
03 / The Outcome
Facing imminent capture, Captain André Pessoa ignited the ship's gunpowder magazine, destroying the Nossa Senhora da Graça and killing himself along with those aboard. The act of self-destruction rather than surrender deeply impressed Japanese observers and was remembered for generations. The incident contributed to growing Japanese suspicion of Portuguese traders and added to the pressures that would eventually lead to Japan's broader policy of restricting foreign trade and contact.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
André Pessoa.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.