Nossa Senhora da Graça incident

Nossa Senhora da Graça incident
Part of the Sengoku period and Japanese–Portuguese conflicts

Nanban Ship, Kano Naizen
DateJanuary 3–6, 1610
Location
Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
 Portugal
Commanders and leaders
Arima Harunobu André Pessoa 
Strength
At least 33 vessels carrying around 3000 samurai 1 carrack carrying about 40 men on deck
Casualties and losses
Several hundred Almost total, carrack sunk

The Nossa Senhora da Graça incident (ノサ・セニョーラ・ダ・グラサ号事件), alternatively called the Madre de Deus incident (マードレ・デ・デウス号事件), was a four-day naval battle between a Portuguese carrack and Japanese samurai junks belonging to the Arima clan near the waters of Nagasaki in 1610. The richly laden "great ship of commerce", famed as the "black ship" by the Japanese, sank after its captain, André Pessoa, set the gunpowder storage on fire as samurai overran the vessel. This desperate and fatal resistance impressed the Japanese, and memories of the event persisted even into the 19th century.