essays list in site map

 

4.3  Initial Ottoman incursions

The Portuguese capture of Socotra at the entrance to the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aden in 1507 increased their domination and control of trade in the Indian Ocean and enhanced their campaign of forcing all trade between India and Europe to use the direct route to Portugal around southern Africa. This created probelms for the Mamluk (Egyptian) economy and Sah Ismail, ruler of the Mamluks, who had only just reached the Persian Gulf was not happy to see it monopolised by Europeans but was willing to help the Portuguese by supplying their ships in return for their assistance against the Ottomans. The Ottomans, who under Selim were pursuing an agressive policy against the Safavids in Persia, responded by supplying to the Mamluks guns, gunpowder, naval supplies, shipwrights and seamen to help rebuild the Mamluk Red Sea fleet in January 1511.^[1] Portuguese accounts of the period indicate that Socotra where a fort was built was too far away to control the Red Sea as they were to discover when the Egyptian fleet, built with assistance from the Venetians whose trade was being eroded, intercepted D. Francisco de Almeida’s son Lourenço in a surprise attack at Chaul in early 1508. Although Lourenço was mortally wounded and his ship captured, news reached D. Francisco de Almeida who then set about collecting a force together of 19 ships and 1,600 men. The Egyptians meanwhile sailed into Indian waters and made a base at Diu on the west coast where they were reinforced by the Samorin of Calicut. On 2 February 1509 the Portuguese defeated the Egyptians and their Indian allies off Diu and ensured their domination of Indian waters and to a certain extent the Indian Ocean.^[2]

Tomé Pires, the leader of the first official Portuguese embassy to China, went to India in 1511 and wrote an account of his travels whilst he was there between 1512-15. It would therefore appear that his visit to Hormuz was made some time between the visits made by Afonso de Albuquerque. Although it encompasses parts of Oman, it does give a detailed account of Ormuz in that period and includes many items not mentioned by other travellers:

 

Next in order the civilized island of Ormuz is represented for us all its kingdom and with the many islands in the straits there. This kingdom, besides being rich and noble, is the key to Persia. It borders on Arabia Petrea on the [word missing] side, where it has cities under its sway, and the Cabmbay side [it is bounded by] the Nodhakias, and on the mainland [it is bounded by] the great Persian province. The islands of Bahrein belong to the kingdom of Ormuz, and also those in the Strait of Ormuz, and also the Moorish king with the red cap, newly converted. The people of Ormuz are warlike and have good arms and horses; they are civilized and domestic men. This kingdom stretches from Cape Ras el Hadd inwards along the straits. It has many people with houses of good workmanship.

The city of Ormuz is an island which is almost joined to Persia, about a league away. It has walls, houses with terraces, towers, and ramparts in it. It is very cool, and is one of the four [great cities] on this side of Asia, with all the elegance of beautiful white women. Its neighbours have no advantage over it in trade. If things to eat are in question neither the Flemings nor the French come up to its citizens; and it has fruits like ours in abundance. The city has people from many parts, big merchants. Only this island lacks water; the city contains many cisterns and wells, but now the water that is constantly drunk comes in jars from the mainland in almadias, and is sometimes dear, according to the weather. If however the water from the mainland is not forthcoming, there is water in the city - neither very good nor for so many people. It has islands near to it which also have beautiful water. This city was founded on account of the port.

Ships fom outside are constantly coming there with merchandise and Ormuz trades with them all. Wherefore the king of Ormuz is immensely rich from the Ormuz dues. Ormuz is ancient both in arms and trade, and is held in esteem in these parts. Its trade is very necessary in these parts, and it is a very populous, rich and honoured city.

Between Arabia Petrea and the land of Persia there is an arm of the sea with some beautiful towns on either shore, and this is called the Strait of Ormuz. It is not all navigable and for the most part any one who is in the middle can [only] see the land on one side and towards the end [he can see] both. It is navigable further in. Four or five days’ sail with favourable wind from Ormuz there are many islands, the chief of which are called Bahrein, where there is the best pearl fishing in these parts, and they are plentiful, and they are genrally whiter and rounder than those from anywhere else.

Ormuz trades with Aden and Cambay and with the kingdom of the Deccan and Goa and with the ports of the kingdom of Narsuiga and in Malabar. The chief things the Ormuz merchants take are Arabian and Persian horses, seed pearls, salt petre, sulphur, silk, tutty, alum - which is alexandrina in our part of the world - copperas, vitriol, quantities of salt, white silk, many tangas - which are silver coins about (?) sixty - five reis - and musk, sometimes amber, and a great deal of dried fruit, wheat, barley and foodstuff of that kind.

They bring back pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and all sorts of other spices and drugs, which are greatly in demand in the land of Persia and Arabia, and some of which go to Aden when there is a great deal; but as they are already costly at Ormuz I do not think much goes from there to Cairo for despatch to Italy. They also bring back as much rice as they can, [also] beatilha, white cloth, and iron, although their great idea is to bring back pepper, rice and gold with them. Horses are worth a high price in the kingdom of Goa, of the Deccan and of Narsuiga, so the Ormuz [merchants] go to these kingdoms with them every year. A horse may be worth as much as seven hundred xerafins - coins worth 320 reis each - when it is good, The best are the Arabians, bext the Persians and third are those from Cambay. These latter are worth little, as we shall see later.^[3]

 

Afonso de Albuquerque having followed the spice trade to its source had now turned his attention to completing his idea of domination of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.^[4] Although he attacked Aden in February 1513 he was unable to take it through lack of ladders and fresh water. In February 1515 Afonso de Albuquerque returned to Ormuz where he finally obtained possession of Hormuz and a tribute of 125,000 gold xerafins and began the restoration of the Portuguese fort.^[5]

 

When Reys Nordim had made an end of giving the king an account of what had passed with Afonso Dalboquerque, the king ordered that the gate of the fortress which communicated with the palace should be closed, and that the other which led to the strand should be opened. And as soon as this had been carried out he sent word to Afonso Dalboquerque that the gate of the fortress was now open, therefore he might take possession of it whenever he chose. Then Afonso Dalboquerque ordered D. Alvaro de Castro and Lopo de Azevedo, with the train-bands, to go and take possession of the fortress; and this took place on Palm Sunday, the last day of the month of March,1 in the year one thousand five hundred and fifteen, with great demonstration of joy and a grand discharge of artillery. And when night fell, Afonso Dalboquerque, accompanied by D. Garcia, his nephew, and certain of the captains, proceeded to inspect the fortress, and at the entrance of the gate he fell down on his knees, and shedding many tears gave thanks to Our Lord for having given him his house without war and without loss of his men; …^[6]

 

The Portuguese Duarte Barbosa visited Hormuz in 1518 and wrote the following account^[7] of the conditions at Hormuz:

 

The city is not so great as it is fair, with lofty stone and mortar houses with flat roofs and many windows .... all built in such wise as to make the wind blow from the highest to the lowest storeys when they have need of it .... All ships which come to this city take in (salt) as ballast, for it is worth money at many places. The merchants of this isle and city are Persians and Arabs. The Persians .... are tall and well-looking, and a fine and upstanding-folk, both men and women; they are stout and comfortable. They hold the creed of Mafamede in great honour .... They are also musicians, and have instruments of divers kinds. The Arabs are blacker and swarthier than they.

In this city are many merchants of substance, and many very great ships. It has a right good harbour where many sorts of goods are handled, which come hither from many lands, and from here they barter them in many parts of India.

The Moors of Ormus go well-clad in very white cotton shirts, very thin and long, and under these they wear cotton drawers. They also wear many rich silk garments, and others of camlet and scarlet in-grain. They are girt about with almejares (cummerbunds) in which they carry their daggers finely decorated with gold and silver according to the quality of the wearers. They also carry broad round bucklers covered with fine silk, and in their hands their Turkish bows painted in excellent colours (with silken bowstrings) which make very long shots. The bows are of varnished wood and of buffalo horn. They are very good archers, and their arrows well-made and sharp pointed. Others carry small axes^[8]and iron maces of divers shapes, excellently wrought in fine damascened work.

These men are rich, polished and gallant; they give great care to their clothing and their food, which they have well-spiced, and everything in great plenty, scilicet flesh-meat, wheaten bread, very good rice, and divers conserves and fresh fruits, apples, pomegranates, peaches, great plenty of apricots, figs, almonds, grapes, melons, also radishes and divers salads and everything else there is in Spain; dates of divers kind, and fruits of other kinds not found in Spain. They drink wine of the grape in secret as it is forbidden by their law. The water they drink is mixed with a little mastich, and set in a cool place, and they employ many methods of cooling and keeping it cold.

These noblemen and principal merchants take with them whithersoever they go, on roads, public places or streets, a page who carries by way of parade a keg of water, or a water bottle garnished with silver, which they have for parade and show, and for the needs of their luxurious way of living. All these Moors of position have country houses on the mainland whither they go to divert themselves mostly in the summer.

The city of Ormus, notwithstanding that it is exceeding rich and well furnished with victuals of every kind, is yet very dear, for the reason that everything comes to it from outside; .... save salt only. Even the water comes from outside, from the main and from neighbouring isles for their drinking, in certain small boats which they call teradas. And all open places are constantly full of all this food and wood (which also they bring from outside) in great abundance, and everything is sold by weight at fixed rates, with strict regulation; and any person who gives short weight or departs from the fixed rate and the orders given to him, is punished with great severity. Flesh they sell cooked, either boiled or roasted, by weight, and other articles of diet in the same way, and all properly set out and clean, so much so that many persons do not have their food prepared in their houses, but eat the food of the bazaars.^[9]

 

An illustration of ‘Ormuz, the departure point from the Persian Gulf for the East’ indicates the unloading of a ship containing camels and an elephant and the commercial exchange at the gates to a castle or fort.^[10]