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15th century to 17th century AD
In 1498 the Portuguese confirmed a direct sea route to India by rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and they set out to create a new maritime empire.Their aim was to divert the rich trade from India and the Far East to Europe via the Cape, away from the Red Sea and the Gulf.Amid scenes of extraordinary brutality on the part of the conquerors, one by one the Arab ports fell to the Portuguese.
| Related heritage sites |
| Al-Jassasiya Al-Zubarah town Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani Museum Qatar National Museum |
In 1515 Hormuz was captured by Admiral Albuquerque and, shortly afterwards, Bahrain. In 1520 Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia was sacked. Throughout the 16th century, Hormuz remained the base from which the Portuguese controlled the Gulf as far as Bahrain.
Meanwhile, in the northern Gulf, the Ottomans from Turkey had established power, taking over Basra in Iraq between 1534 and 1546 and making several unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the Portuguese from their strongholds. But eventually the task of maintaining control over the Indian Ocean routes, so far from home, proved beyond the resources of the Portuguese. In 1622 the Safavi ruler Shah Abbas 1 of Persia, allied with Britain, ousted the Portuguese from Hormuz.
Fort after fort fell to the allies, and the Portuguese were finally expelled from Muscat in 1650. They continued to trade in the Gulf, as did the Venetians, but their days of power were over.
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