Aspects of Portuguese Rule in the Arabian Gulf, 152 1-1622

292 Pages·2008·15.11 MB·English

List of Illustrations (Plates, Maps and Tables)

Table 2.1. Customs Revenues of Hormuz in the 1 540s 90

Table 2.2. The Kingdom of Hormuz's Revenues in 1500 94

Table 2.3. Coins in the Gulf during the Portuguese Period 97

Table 2.4. Hormuz: Annual Revenues, 15 15-1588 (in ashrafis) 126
Table 2.5. The Expenses and Balance of A(fdndega at Hormuz in

the Seventeenth Century 130

Table 2.6. Annual Arrivals at Honnuz from the East c.1620 131

Table 3.1. Pay Scales for Officials at the fortress of Hormuz 146

Table 3.2. Officers and Dependents at Hormuz fortress, 1581-1610 170

The original nucleus of the kingdom of Portugal 271

Map of the Gulf and the Arabian Coast in the Sixteenth Century 272

Map of Hormuz and the entrance of the Gulf 273

Plate of Hormuz fortress 274

Map of Portuguese fortresses in the Gulf and Omani coast 275

Map of Persian coast in the sixteenth century 276

Wind systems in the Gulf and Arabian Sea in winter and summer 277
S
Abbreviations
AHR American Historical Review
AHU Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino
ANTT Arquivo Nacional da Tone de Tombo (Lisbon)
APO Archivo Portuguez Oriental
BNL-FG Fundo Geral Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa
C C Corpo Cronológico (in the ANTT)
Cart. Ormuz Cartas de Ormuz a D. João de Castro
Doe. Document
DRI
Documentos Remetidos da India ou Livros das
Monçôes
D UP
Documentacdo Ultramarina Portuguesa
El
Encyclopedia of Islam, New edition
fi., fls. Folio(s)
GEPB
Grande Enciclooédia Portuguesa e Brasleira
EcHR Economic History Review
IESHR
The Indian Economic and Social History Review
JAOS
Journal of the American Oriental Society
JOS
Journal of Omani Studies
JEH
Journal of Economic History
JRAS
Journal of the Royal Asiatic society
liv.
Book
SEHME
Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East
6
Glossary
A icaide Portuguese official; 'chief of the sea'
Bab A narrow strait; a gate
Bahar
Persian unit of weight; in different parts of Asia,
it was worth about 210-30 kg
Caffila Caravan
Cámara municipal Municipal chamber of a city or town
Cap itdo-mór Captain-Major
Carreira da India Cape route or trade route via the Cape of Good Hope
Cartaz A passport or safe-conduct for a ship, given in exchange
for a fee or as a diplomatic privilege
Casa da India The 'India House' in Lisbon, at which goods arriving
from Asia were unloaded and auctioned, and customs-
duties collected
Casado Literally a married settler, and in fact used as a juridical
category to denote a permanent resident of a settlement
at times sub-divided into 'white' (branco) and 'black'
(preto)
Coja Or Khwaja in Persian, a respected person
Cruzado Portuguese coin, worth 360 reis and 2.00 ashrafis in
the sixteenth century, and 400 reis in the seventeenth
century
Dhow Largest lateen-rigged Arab or Indian ship
of the time
Dom A title of the Portuguese nobility, from the Latin
dominus, abbreviated as D. The feminine is Dona
Ducat A gold coin, originally Venetian but used also in
the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe
Estado da India Portuguese 'State of India'
Faramãn Arabic (in Persian farman), an order or decree from the
Shah of Persia
Fazenda Real Portuguese Royal Treasury
Feitor Factor, Crown or private trading agent
Feitoria Factory, Crown trading post
Fidalgo Literallyfilho de algo, 'son of a somebody'; a member of
the upper nobility, corresponds to Spanish hidalgo
Fusta A small ship with Latin shape
Grab Arabic: ghurab (crow), a coasting vessel ranging up to
300 tons, with one or two lateen-rigged masts according
to size: smaller ones also carried oars
Imám Religious leader
Jabal Hill or mountain
JazIrat An island; sometimes a peninsula
Khulas Type of date famous in the Gulf
Khür Bay or creek; a deep channel between shoals
7
Lascar Arabic: askar, most commonly a native sailor but, at that
time, also a native soldier or artilleryman
Mouros Moors, Portuguese expression for the Muslims
Mrziban Type of date famous in the Gulf
Muqarrarryas Persian expression for a fixed tribute
Nakhoda Persian: nãkhudã, the skipper of any native or country
craft in the Gulf
Naveta Small ocean-going vessel
Nua Large Portuguese ship or carrack
Pataca Silver Portuguese coin worth 1.22 ashrafi
Quintal Unit of weight, the Portuguese hundred weight of
130 lb.; the light quintal weighed 51.405 kg and the
heavy quintal 58.7 kg
Reis The basic accounting unit in the Portuguese monetary
system (singular real)
Shahbandãr Persian: harbour-master or chief of customs
Shähi Persian currency, 200 shãhis usually worth 1 toman
Shaikh Chief, or old man
Shatt Fresh water river; large river
Suhaili South-westerly wind
Tanga Silver coin worth 60 reis, from the Indo-Muslim tan/ca
Toman Still the currency of Iran. During the period of this study
its value declined from about £3 to about £1
Ushur An Arabic expression of port duties
Veador Comptroller
Vedor da Fazenda Financial superintendent
XeraJIm (Ashrafi) Silver coin worth 300 reis, from the Egyptian ashrafi
8
Introduction
Portugal, a small kingdom on the fringes of Europe, in just a few years established an
empire in the East, from East Africa and the Arabian Gulf' to the Indonesian
archipelago and China Sea.
Portuguese motives centred essentially on the economic potential of seeking out
the places of origin of spices, and they used their modern European naval power and
political sytems to carry out these aims. From an early stage in their voyages to the
Indian Ocean they unilaterally declared that all spice trade was to be conducted by
themselves or their allies. In addition, the Portuguese strove to enhance their image in
history by encouraging their chroniclers to write and publish works on the heroism of
Os Lusladas in the age of discovery.2
This study deals with the period of Portuguese control over the Gulf, from 1521
after they occupied the kingdom of Hormuz, Bahrain and Qatif on the Arabian coast, to
1622. The period covered by this thesis was a critical one in the history of the Gulf,
beginning with the rise of Portuguese power and ending with its decline. The year 1521
saw the first revolt in the Gulf against the Portuguese, less than four months after the
capture of Bahrain and Portugal's claim that it controlled the entire region. The terminal
date, 1622, marked the end of Portuguese supremacy in the Gulf: after the capture of
Hormuz by English and Persian forces, the Portuguese lost it forever. It was therefore
the year in which the major concentration of Portuguese power in the Gulf collapsed.
The period of Portuguese influence in the Gulf has been generally regarded as
one of the most important periods in the region's history. When the Portuguese invaded
Since the early 1960s the Arab states have substituted 'Arabian Gulf for 'Persian'. The usage has not
been commonly adopted in English. In this thesis the neutral term 'Gulf will be used to avoid
confusion.
2 See below, pp. 20-25.
9
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Gulf underwent a significant number of
events and processes which changed its political and social life. Within this context, the
arrival of the Portuguese in the East and the occupation of Hormuz are no longer viewed
as uncritically as they once were. This study will examine and discuss Portuguese
activities in both the economic and political spheres. One of the purposes of this work is
not merely to supply historical materials but also to add pertinent interpretation of those
materials. It is an attempt to lay the foundations for an economic and political history of
the Gulf during the Portuguese period. The core function of this study is to assess
whether these activities affected relations between the Portuguese and other local
powers in the Gulf, and the Persians in particular and, by extension, if these
relationships were responsible for the fall of Hormuz in 1622. Some writers believe that
the facts always speak for themselves. Nevertheless, as most people know from their
own experience, 'facts' often speak with conflicting voices.
A belief persists that the Portuguese were able to control trade routes by keeping
their hands tightly on the strategic positions and the important islands and straits. All of
this enabled them to monitor trade between Europe and Asia, and also that which took
place among Asian ports themselves - the 'country trades'. They therefore changed the
face of commerce by diverting it from traditional networks to the oceanic Cape route.3
In addition, by claiming sovereignty over the ocean, the Portuguese claimed to be able
to control maritime trade and its taxes, because it is well known that the vast bulk of
their revenue came from the sea, not from the land. 4 These activities, in fact, had the
financial support of the great merchant princes of Antwerp, who, realising the
revolutionary change in trade that the Portuguese discoveries involved, hastened to
enjoy the benefits. With Antwerp's aid, the Portuguese fleets in the east were kept
M. A. P. Meilink-Roelofez, Asian Trade and European influence in the Indonesian Archzpelago
between 1500 and about 1630 (The Hague, 1962).
M. Pearson, The Indian Ocean (London, 2003), p. 118.
10
reinforced by the home government. Armada followed armada, and the Portuguese
dominated Indian waters.5 Within about eight years, the Portuguese were able to make
further progress in their plans to occupy the two trade arms of the Indian Ocean; first the
Gulf, attacked by Afonso da Albuquerque, and second the Red Sea.
When the Portuguese arrived, the Gulf was not heavily populated. Most of the
inhabitants lived on the coast and earned their livelihoods through trade. There were
limited ways of living off the land, nomadic cattle breeding being one, and also sources
of income connected with the transportation of merchandise by caffilas (caravans) and
the sale of Arabian and Persian horses. However, of much greater importance in
monetary terms were the products of the sea. There were three sources of income
connected with the sea - transit trade, fishing and pearling. The inhabitants of the Gulf
who lived on the coasts could derive income in several ways from transit trade,
especially from Indian goods. Hormuz is an outstanding example. The port established a
kingdom from this, the main source of its wealth, from the beginning of the fourteenth
century. Hormuz was engaged in many wars in the Gulf and on the coast of Oman as a
result of the attempts of certain rulers to force shipping to pass by its harbours and to
pay customs there, avoiding the harbours of its opponents in that area.
1. Organisation of the Study
This thesis is divided into an introduction, five chapters and a conclusion. The
remainder of the introduction will provide a summary of the primary Portuguese
sources, and other English, Arabic, and Turkish sources which pertain to the Portuguese
For important discussions of connections between Antwerp and Portugal see: P. Musgrave, The Early
Modern European Economy (London, 1999), chapter 7; R. Davis, The Rise of the Atlantic Economies
(London, 1973); C. Verlinden, 'From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Aspects of an economic
shift', Journal of European Economic History, 1 (1972), pp. 625-46; R. H. Tawney, Religion and the
Rise of Capitalism (London, 1990); I. Wallerstein, The Modern World-System (London, 1971-80), 2
vols; K. Maxwell, 'Portugal, Europe, and the origins of the Atlantic commercial system, 1415-1520',
Portuguese Studies, 8 (1992), pp. 3-16.
11
occupation of the Gulf. There then follows a short description of the Gulf's geography
to orientate readers unfamiliar with the region.
Chapter One is devoted to Portuguese expansion in the East, starting with the
historical background from the early foundation of the kingdom and the objectives of
the Portuguese discoveries. In addition, the chapter discusses commercial contacts
between India and the Gulf before the Portuguese arrived. Particular attention is paid to
the political and social structure of Hormuz and the relationships between the kingdom
and its neighbours in the Gulf, particularly with Kirmãn on the Persian mainland. The
rise to power of Hormuz during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is analysed. By
the early years of the sixteenth century, Hormuz had become one of the most important
commercial, political and intellectual centres of the East.
Chapter Two deals with the economic life and seaborne trade of the Gulf during
the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This chapter examines the commercial
experience and influences that the Portuguese brought to the people of the Gulf during
their domination and the economic aspects of the regime, especially its interest in the
a(fándega (or 'customs house'). There is also a discussion of the cartaz system, the
famous licences issued by the Portuguese authorities to non-Portuguese shipping. This
chapter will attempt to find clear answers to a number of more specific questions. For
example, did the Portuguese establish new routes and markets and introduce new
products into the trade network of the Gulf? Did they have the experience to raise taxes
efficiently in support of their presence in the region? Did they increase the value of
internal trade between the Gulf ports? How did they treat other foreign powers in the
Gulf?
Chapter Three discusses the structure and effectiveness of Portuguese political
administration in the East in general and in the Gulf in particular, with some
comparative analysis between Goa and Hormuz: the Portuguese established a hierarchy
12
where Lisbon issued orders to the viceroy at Goa, and Goa controlled all the far-flung
outposts in the East. Consideration is given to relations between the Portuguese and the
local governors and the Arab tribes, who suffered from the Portuguese and Turks alike.
It will be seen that the Portuguese found it difficult to build a power base in the Gulf, as
they were unable to subvert the hereditary rule established by the Hormuzians in the
thirteenth century, long before their arrival. Some aspects of the situation, however, are
still unclear: more research needs to be carried out on the impact of the Portuguese on
the kings of Hormuz, and the political system that the Portuguese adopted from Hormuz
to rule the Gulf, as well as the real reasons for the decay of Portuguese policy there.
Chapter Four analyses the reactions of the inhabitants to the Portuguese and
local resistance against them in the Gulf, including an evaluation of the effects of this
resistance on Portuguese control in the first three decades of the sixteenth century. Here
we will deal, as well, with the arrival of the Ottomans in the Gulf after Basra came
under their control in 1546. From there, the Ottoman navy struggled to extend its
influence, which predictably brought the Turks into conflict with the Portuguese. The
chapter also discusses political relations with Persia during the reign of Shah Abbas,
and the problems of the Portuguese in the Gulf caused by the afándega in Hormuz and
Bahrain which led to war between the two powers.
Finally, Chapter Five concentrates on the decline of Portuguese control of the
Gulf and its effects on the region. It is not intended to discuss in depth the early
histories of the European India Companies in the East, because they are well-known.
Rather, the focus will be on the relationship between 'profit' and 'power' in European
conflicts to control the maritime routes, especially in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf.
This chapter also examines the end of Portugal's domination in the Gulf, and the
reasons for this. Was the decline of Portuguese power related to its structural, political,
economic and ideological weaknesses, and in what measure? Why did the royal-public
13
sector of Portugal fail to administer the Gulf efficiently, while the English private
sector, in the form of the East India Company, was successful? Did local resistance in
the Gulf bring about the end of Portuguese supremacy? More specifically, why did the
inhabitants of Hormuz not join with their king and the Portuguese in defending their
island? These are some of the questions to be addressed in the chapter.
2. Review of Sources
A satisfactory historical approach has not yet been established in either Portugal or the
Gulf states6 regarding the reality of Portugal's role in the Gulf. Conferences held about
the Portuguese in the Gulf region,7 some of which I have attended, have gone no further
than repeat what we know about Portuguese conquests in the Indian Ocean and the
Gulf, and the objectives of the Portuguese at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Over the last twenty years, a few studies have been published in Portugal about
the Gulf, such as the work of Antonio Dias Farinha.8 He provides useful details
concerning the Portuguese presence there during the first half of the sixteenth century.
Farinha rightly notes the difficulties and vast scope of the subject, in view of Portugal's
extensive networks of commercial interchange, regional and international trade. An
article by Maria Cruz relates to the Portuguese-Ottoman struggle in Basra between 1557
and 1 568, and the information quoted from reports written by the Portuguese governors
in India. It is an important study, but it is focused on Portuguese-Ottoman diplomacy
more than anything else. As another example, Jean Aubin and his study group have
revealed through their Mare-Luso Indicum a wealth of Portuguese and other sources
The Gulf group (GCC), established in 1981, contains six Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Bahrain, Qatar, Emirates and Kuwait.
Conferences were held at Oman in 1980 (Nadwet AL-derasat Al Omaniah), at Bahrain in 1983
(Mua7amar Tarekh Al-Bahrain), and at Ras A1-khaimah (U.A.E.) in 1987 ('Nadwel Ras Al-khaimah
Al- Tarekheiah). None of them produced any really significant contributions.
8 A. D. Farinha, Os Portugueses no Golfo Pérsico, 1507-1538 (Lisbon, 1991).
M. Cruz, 'A < Questão de Bacorá > na menoridade de D. SebastiAo (1557-1568)', Revista da
Faculdade de Lettras, University of Lisbon, 6 (1986) pp.49-64.
14