The Third India Armada was assembled in 1501 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of João da Nova. Nova's armada was relatively small and primarily commercial in objective. Nonetheless, they engaged the first significant Portuguese naval battle in the Indian Ocean. The Third Armada is also credited for the first discovery of the uninhabited islands of Ascension and Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. There is also some speculation that it may have been the first Portuguese armada to reach Ceylon.