At the beginning of the 16th century, Hormuz was already known as the pearl of Persian commerce. Although forced to confess to Portugal from the west, it still retains the framework of regional hegemony and a large number of hereditary elites who rely on it to enrich themselves. They relied on the protection of their new suzerains and managed to avoid being annexed by Safavid Persia or Ottoman Turkey.
In the end, because the basic market was threatened, he brazenly launched a devastating uprising.
1507 Albuquer forces Hormuz into submission with only six ships
As early as 1507, the first Portuguese fleet of six galleons arrived in Hormuz, hoping to turn it into an advance base for control of the Persian Gulf. At this time, King Saif Adin was only 12 years old and ruled mainly with the help of Kogitar, a eunuch from Bengal. The latter immediately mobilized all the resources at its disposal and prepared to annihilate the enemy with up to 250 armed merchant ships. Unexpectedly, Albuquer the Great Conqueror acted decisively and preemptively ordered the use of superior artillery fire. After hours of fierce fighting, the Hormuz fleet was destroyed, and the rights and interests such as the establishment of fortresses, docks, and exemption from customs duties were obtained.
The Kingdom of Hormuz actually controls numerous territories on both sides of the strait
However, most of the conquerors refused to stay in the area, and soon all of them boarded ships and left. As a result, a powerful vassal named Nur al-Din staged a coup d'état and put the new king Turansha on the throne. At this time, Persia across the sea was all under the control of the Safavid dynasty, and was even preparing to control all the islands in the south. But the local Sunni Muslims, unwilling to submit to Shia rule, were ready to take advantage of every opportunity to counterattack, so when the second Portuguese fleet of 27 ships returned to Hormuz, they secretly negotiated with it. Eventually, Nur al-Din was counter-killed for the assassination plan leaked, and the entire island and even the kingdom surrendered to Albuquerque.
The importance of Hormuz made the Persians in the north always try to get involved
For some time thereafter, the Portuguese worked happily with the local elite of Hormuz. The former built fortresses and hospitals on the island, and sent 300 soldiers and a small number of ships to guard the town for a long time. The latter also continued to maintain suzerainty over Bahrain, Kish Island, Qatar, and even Basra. If necessary, the two sides would also jointly send troops against foreign enemies, including the Turks, who had just seized the valley of the two rivers, or the Persians, who had long been reluctant to do so.
The city of Hormuz with the Portuguese fortress on the outskirts
However, the relationship soon cracked. The governor of the Portuguese fort gradually realized that the Hormuz aristocracy, who was in charge of customs and revenue, was too greedy to almost maximize the proportion of their own pockets. Therefore, he decided to replace him with a new person appointed by himself, but it aroused the rebellious mentality of many traditional allies. After enlisting the support of King Turanshah, these elites set out to plan a major uprising to expel the Yangyi. To this end, they concentrated a large number of ships under the nose of the other party, and quietly armed the militia in the city. It was not until the governor of the garrison went to India to report on his duties that a full-scale rebellion was launched in an orderly manner.
Portuguese aristocratic family life on the island of Hormuz
At the end of October 1521, the Hormuz rebels first attacked three Portuguese ships anchored on the shore. The largest of these, the Karak, was unprepared and was quickly burned down by the insurgents of eight light galleys. The Caravel on the side, however, was more alert and barely survived the siege of the four galleys. When the crew unleashed their devastating cannons, they immediately scattered in a frightening manner. But the firelight at the harbor has illuminated the whole city, like a signal to draw out many long-hidden native soldiers. They began a frenzied attack on customs, hospitals, and other houses inhabited by the Portuguese, successfully killing 20 lone men and capturing about 40 prisoners. However, the rest of the people fled into the fortress in panic, and with the help of the dawn ready to open fire, this allowed the rebels who had already risen to calm down temporarily.
Arab musketeers and their wives in the Persian Gulf
Later, similar massacres occurred in several other settlements belonging to the Kingdom of Hormuz. But as long as the fortress is not captured, then the actions of the rebels will not be victorious. They imposed a land and sea blockade on the periphery, denying all supplies or the flow of information. During this time, a small carrak ship loaded with rations arrived from India and got into a scuffle for unknown reasons. Later, due to the difficulty of two fists and four hands, it became the second ship to be burned by Hormuz soldiers. The Portuguese, too, took the initiative to abandon and burn a small ship in consideration of the shortage of manpower, leaving themselves in an embarrassing situation where there were no ships available. Fortunately, there was also the Caravel galleon that broke out of the siege and delivered the bad news of 100,000 to India. As for how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive, it is a difficult question that I dare not think about at all.
The carrak and caravel sailing ships bound for Hormuz
At the critical moment, a small formation, led by Captain Manuel, happened to arrive in Muscat, north of Oman, to rest. He first learned of the terrible clashes in the north through the oral accounts of the local chieftain, and then came across the caravel that had escaped from Hormuz. So, after hastily replenishing ammunition, he led one Karak galleon, one Fausta galleys, and one Indian Paro mini-galleon to the front. On the way, a storm struck, causing all the ships to separate from each other, and it took great difficulty to reach the island of Hormuz separately.
The galleys of the Persian Gulf actually originated in medieval Europe
At this point, the remaining defenders were completely confined to the fortress. In addition to thousands of soldiers armed with arquebuses, light guns, crossbows and compound bows, 170 native-style galleys continue to cruising the seas. They took turns in several groups, and no foreign ships were allowed to approach. Ironically, these small warships were built in a style that came from Europe, probably imported from the Italian city-state of Genoa by the rulers of the Ilkhanate in the 13th century. Performing better than traditional Arabian sailing boats, it quickly became popular in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and northern India. By contrast, the Portuguese's small Indian boat was inconspicuous, able to use the cover of night to cut through the blockade and bring good news that reinforcements were on their way.
The fleet of the king of Hormuz had been blockading the fortress defenders
A few days later, the galleons and small galleys in the formation were long overdue. However, due to the windless weather, he was forced to anchor near Kisham Island on the west side first. Naturally, this move was well seen by the people of Hormuz. But before they could respond effectively, the Paro ship, which had sneaked into the encirclement, suddenly rushed out and rushed back to its own team under overwhelming firepower. Manuel simply asked his men to send a chain ship tactic, tying two smaller warships to the galleon. In addition, the bow of the ship with artillery is facing the rear to avoid blind spots in the event of a siege. In addition, he had all the noble knights in charge of melee combat on standby on the big ship, leaving only the remaining 2 ships with the marksmen of the civilian class.
Manuel chose to tie the three ships together to assist in the defense
As a result, Manuel's small fleet turned into a floating fortress and drifted towards the fortress of Hormuz when the wind and tide conditions improved. On the other hand, about 130 galleys stopped in front of them, but they were completely stunned by such a strange shape. Due to the small size of the guns they loaded, they had to endure the bombardment of Portuguese heavy artillery at medium and long distances. If hit, the entire ship will be torn to shreds, and if not sink, it will lose most of its mobility. In a very dense formation, any sudden and large-scale turn caused confusion, providing new targets for shooters at a distance. In the end, because the number was too large, I was able to gradually get closer and climb the boats on both sides. However, he had just dodged frontal fire, and it was not easy to avoid the gunfire of the galleon at a high place.
The better-equipped knights were also the main force in attacking the Portuguese seas
Soon, Portuguese knights hiding on galleons swarmed out. They either descended down the rope or jumped directly from the live overtime to the boats on either side. In just a few minutes, he used his powerful melee ability to kill all the Hormuz soldiers who boarded the ship. Seeing this, the rest of the galleys turned around and fled, as if they had once again been targeted by artillery. Due to the frantic increase in the number of dead and wounded, it was necessary to make way for three Portuguese ships bound to each other. Unconsciously, the entire naval battle battlefield slowly entered the range of shore artillery. As a result, the defenders of the fortress, who had been holding back for a long time, also opened fire, hastening the final collapse of the insurgent fleet. The ammunition they used was too light, and their arrows were not penetrating enough to do almost any damage other than tying the galleon from head to tail as a hedgehog.
After the failure of the siege, the entire inhabitants of the island of Hormuz fled to the island of Kishm for a time
In fact, the Hormuz people suffered little losses in this battle, which lasted 4-5 hours. Only 80 soldiers were killed, and most of the others were wounded to varying degrees. But as a fighting force, their role no longer exists. Despite this, the island's elite still tried to force the fortress into obedience with a blockade. The two sides went back and forth until mid-January 1522, but neither could decide the final victory. In the end, King Turansha broke down and decided to transfer his troops and entire population to the border island of Kishm. It is much larger than the island of Hormuz and provides room for further struggle. At the cost of preventive arson before running away, the once prosperous city was reduced to rubble after four days and four nights.
The ruins of today's Hormuz fortress
Subsequently, the Portuguese in pursuit of the victory began to blockade the island of Kishm, preventing any ships belonging to the kingdom from reaching the mainland to obtain supplies. The young Turansha realized that he was powerless and intended to end the dispute with diplomatic negotiations again. Unfortunately, before he could act, the other nobles had negotiated terms with the attackers and traded his lives for peace.
At this point, the Kingdom of Hormuz readmitted its conviction and did not renege on the agreement for a hundred years. The native-born elites, who had to pay reparations, retained vital control over the administration of tariffs......