He first travelled east in 1502, and, after being appointed viceroy of the Portuguese Indies four years later, conquered Goa and made it the capital of the Portuguese empire in the east. Albuquerque made further conquests in Ceylon, Malacca, Ormuz, the Sunda Islands, and the Malabar Coast, but was relieved of office as a result of a court intrigue at home and died on the passage back to Portugal.