 Macau was later offered to John III as a reward for Portuguese assistance against maritime piracy in the period between 1557 and 1564.Malacca, which controlled the eponymous Strait of Malacca, was vital to Portuguese interests in the Far East.After an unsuccessful expedition in 1509, Malacca was finally conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese viceroy of India, on 24 August 1511.