Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History / The Portuguese in Hormuz: Gateway of the Persian Gulf
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about Diu and Kilwa, but there's one place that really shows how Portugal's empire worked in the Indian Ocean — Hormuz. It's that rocky island at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and it controlled everything passing between the Gulf and the open sea. Lucas: In the early 1500s, Hormuz was one of the richest trading hubs in the world. Ships from Persia, Arabia, India, even China, came through. And whoever held Hormuz, held the key to the spice routes and the silk trade. So of course, the Portuguese wanted it. Luna: Was it Albuquerque who took it? Lucas: Yeah, Afonso de Albuquerque — the same guy who conquered Goa and Malacca. He was the second governor of Portuguese India, and he had this grand vision of controlling the choke points of the Indian Ocean. He called them the 'keys' to the sea. Hormuz was one of them. In 1507, he sailed there with a small fleet, after sacking Muscat on the way. Lucas: At that time, Hormuz was a vassal of the Persian Safavid Empire, but the local king — actually a prince, a kid named Mubarak Shah — had a regent who really ran things, a guy named Cogeatar. Cogeatar was not impressed by the Portuguese. He thought he could play tough and maybe ally with the Mamluks instead. Luna: So Albuquerque had to convince him otherwise? Lucas: He did. He blockaded the island, cut off all trade, and then bombarded the city. The Hormuzis had a big army on the mainland, but the Portuguese had firepower. After a few days, Cogeatar surrendered. Albuquerque forced him to accept Portuguese overlordship, pay a huge tribute, and allow a fortress to be built. But here's the twist — right after that, his captains mutinied. Luna: Mutinied? Why? Lucas: Partly because Albuquerque was ruthless and demanding, partly because they thought he was going beyond his orders. They wanted to go after the spice trade directly, not build fortresses. So they left, and Albuquerque had to abandon Hormuz. He retreated to Socotra, and it took him eight years to come back. Lucas: In 1515, he returned with a bigger fleet. This time, Hormuz had a new king, a young man named Turan Shah, and the regent was again Cogeatar — he was still around, but he was trying to play the Portuguese against the Persians. Albuquerque wasn't having it. He captured the city, executed Cogeatar, and forced the king to become a vassal of Portugal. They built the Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição — the Fortress of Our Lady of the Conception — right on the northern tip of the island. Luna: That's the one that's still standing today, right? Lucas: Exactly. The Portuguese held Hormuz for over a century, until 1622. During that time, they used it as a base to control shipping in the Gulf, issuing cartazes — those naval passes we talked about in an earlier episode — and taxing every ship that passed. Hormuz became a cornerstone of the Estado da Índia. Lucas: But it wasn't just about trade. Hormuz was also a strategic counter to the Ottomans, who were pushing into the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese even helped the Persians against the Ottomans at times, but the alliance was always shaky. Eventually, the Safavid king, Abbas the Great, allied with the English East India Company, and they captured Hormuz in 1622, ending the Portuguese era there. Luna: Wow, so it all came crashing down. Lucas: Yeah, but by then, the Portuguese had already reaped the benefits for a hundred years. And the fortress still stands, a testament to that era. It's one of those places where you can see the physical remains of the Portuguese maritime empire. Lucas: What I find interesting is how Albuquerque's vision was so ahead of its time. He understood that controlling the sea lanes was more important than controlling land. That's a modern idea. He was also incredibly brutal — he didn't hesitate to massacre or enslave. But he was also a brilliant administrator and a military genius. Luna: It's a complicated legacy. Lucas: It is. And it's a reminder that the Portuguese empire was built on both commerce and violence. Hormuz was a microcosm of that. It was a hub of multicultural trade, with Persians, Arabs, Indians, Jews, and Portuguese all living side by side, yet it was founded on conquest and exploitation. Lucas: You know, this kind of deep-dive into a single place really shows how history is not just about dates and battles, but about the lives of ordinary people and the networks they built. And we can only do that because of your support. If you've been getting something out of these conversations, a couple of bucks a month at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo really helps keep the lights on and the archives open. Luna: Yeah, it makes a real difference, even if it's small. Lucas: And it lets us keep exploring these corners of history that don't always make the textbooks. So, back to Hormuz — the fortress, by the way, had a chapel and a cistern, and the Portuguese even brought in their own style of architecture, with these Manueline touches. It's a weird sight on that barren island. Luna: I bet it is. So what happened to the city after the Portuguese left? Lucas: The English and Persians sacked it, and the city just decayed. It was eventually eclipsed by Bandar Abbas on the mainland. Today, Hormuz is a quiet island, and the fortress is a tourist site. But you can still see the outline of the Portuguese town and the walls. It's a haunting place, I've read. Lucas: So, one last thought. Albuquerque died in Goa in 1515, the same year he took Hormuz. He's buried in Goa, and his epitaph says something like 'Here lies the Great, the Little, the Conqueror of the East.' But I think Hormuz was his greatest conquest — because it wasn't just about taking a city, it was about securing an entire sea. Luna: That's a powerful way to think about it. Lucas: And it's a story that echoes down the centuries. Every time we talk about the Strait of Hormuz in the news today, we're talking about that same narrow waterway that Albuquerque knew was the pivot of the world.