Portuguese–Safavid War (1621–1630)

At the beginning of the 17th century, Shah Abbas I began moving closer to Portuguese strongholds in the Persian Gulf. Allahverdi Khan conquered Lar in 1601–1602 and Bahrain in 1602, a Portuguese protectorate. The Portuguese viewed this as an act of aggression, which strained diplomatic relations. With the return of the first mission to Goa in 1603, another Augustinian mission departed for Persia that same year. They were accompanied by Hosayn Ali Beg and Luís Pereira de Lacerda, who had been appointed ambassador to Shah Abbas I to recover Bahrain and pacify Portuguese–Safavid relations. In 1615, the Safavids signed an offensive alliance with the English East India Company, and by 1619, negotiations between the Persians and Portuguese–Spanish authorities had ended. After the Safavid seizure of Bahrain, Bandar Abbas, and Qeshm, Philip II of Portugal dispatched two naval squadrons to preserve Iberian supremacy in the Persian Gulf. One sailed from Goa under Francisco de Lima, and the other from Lisbon under Rui Freire de Andrade to Hormuz in 1618. Andrade's orders were to "trace and destroy any foreign European ships that tried to establish trade connections with Persia… [and] patrol the Hormuz Straits and the mouth of the Red Sea… in order to seize ships sailing with forbidden goods or ships not in possession of Portuguese cartazes". Philip II was very explicit when he ordered Andrade to carefully manage their deteriorating relations, and that he should only fight with European rivals and not with the Shah or his vassals. Later, on 15 January 1619, he was also instructed to erect a fort on Qeshm, an island held by the Persians since 1614. Rui Freire eventually arrived at Hormuz on 20 June 1620 after a disastrous voyage. After dealing with affairs at Hormuz and fighting a costly naval battle against the English at Jask, Rui Freire turned his attention to Qeshm. The Portuguese captain of Hormuz fort, Dom Francisco de Sousa, opposed the construction of a fort, warning that it would end peaceful relations with Persia. The Shah of Hormuz, in contrast, supported the plan and even offered men and funds. Overriding the captain's objections, Rui Freire proceeded. On 7 May 1621, a fleet of 1,000 Portuguese arquebusiers, 500 Portuguese musketeers and 1,000 Hormuzi men sailed from Hormuz to Qeshm. 1,000 Persian cavalry on the beach were driven back by naval bombardment, allowing construction of the fortress to begin immediately. ==Course of hostilities==

Capture of Qeshm (1621–1622) By late June Shah Abbas I learned of the fort's construction. According to English reports, the Shah regarded the fort as a casus belli and declared his intention to expel the Portuguese from Hormuz and Qeshm. Although he initially attempted to avoid war by sending an Augustinian envoy to Hormuz, Shah Abbas eventually dispatched a force of 10,000 men under Abdullah Khan to Qeshm. Initially, the siege caused the Portuguese no major issues, they were free to sail the waters around Hormuz and even conducted a raid on the Safavid fort at Laft. The situation changed, however, upon the arrival of the English squadron. After negotiations between Rui Freire de Andrade and Commander Edward Monnox failed, the English bombarded the fort, forcing the Portuguese to surrender. Freire was arrested, having been delayed by his own hesitation to capitulate. The escape of Rui Freire de Andrade After the fortress of Qeshm had surrendered, Rui Freire de Andrade was taken by the English East India Company into captivity aboard one of their ships, possibly the Jonas, along with a number of other POWs. He was later transferred to the Lion, which then set sail to Surat, where Andrade and the Portuguese were to be shipped off to England. Some sailors detected the Portuguese as they fled and sounded off the alarm, but although the crews of the other vessels set out in pursuit in their longboats, but they were unable to recapture Andrade and his party before they jumped overboard and swam ashore under cover of the darkness, though one drowned. However, it did not lead to the collapse of the Estado da Índia, Even before its fall, contemporaries were already questioning the strategic importance of Hormuz. In a memorandum dated 10 February 1623, João Corte Real claimed that the island had outlived its usefulness. Once Persia had conquered the surrounding coast, Hormuz could no longer sustain itself, and Muscat offered a far safer base for navigation. Hormuz, according to Corte Real, was no longer worth reconquering. Nevertheless, authorities in Goa responded with warships led by Rui Freire de Andrade and Nuno Álvares Botelho to "scour" the Persian Gulf, where they raided Persian shipping and burned coastal ports which the Persians were unable to defend because they lacked a fleet. Despite the willingness of Spain, Portugal and the Estado da Índia to assemble a joint Luso-Castilian fleet to reclaim Hormuz, the enterprise was never carried out. In the subsequent attempts to recover the fort, Portugal and the Estado da Índia had to finance the effort alone. Siege of Muscat (1622–1623) In the winter of 1622–23, Imam Quli Khan attempted to attack Muscat, seeking to follow up on the previous year's success. Despite being denied English naval support, the Khan moved forward with the help of Arab allies, but his force was quickly repelled upon the arrival of commander Rui Freire de Andrade. Rui Freire immediately transitioned to the offensive, raiding coastal towns that supported the Persians before initiating a siege of Hormuz. Portuguese "Arabian War" (1623–1624) In 1622, the Safavids successfully seized Khor Fakkan, but their success was short lived. In May 1623, D. Gonçalo da Silveira was dispatched with nine ships to run the coast of Arabia. After Easter, he and his fleet left Muscat and encountered the Safavid fleet at Khor Fakkan. The Portuguese were on the verge of winning the ensuing battle when an accident occurred aboard the commander's ship, allowing the Safavid ships to withdraw. Nevertheless, the Safavids were successfully driven from the region, who sent five galliots under Dom Gonçalo da Silveira. The Portuguese fleet bombarded the Safavid camp from the Karun River and forced the Safavids to retreat. Simultaneously, Rui Freire de Andrade allied with the local Sheikh of Qatif in an attempt to subjugate Bahrain. Although he successfully disrupted pearl trade, the Portuguese failed to capture the port. By spring 1625, the Safavids launched another invasion with 30,000 men. But before a battle could take place, the Safavids retreated to attend other conflicts elsewhere. Gonçalo da Silveira remained in Basra until November 1625, when Andrade ordered him to rejoin the main fleet at Hormuz. Blockade of Hormuz (1625) Upon arrival in Hormuz, Andrade immediately dispatched 10 galliots under command of Luis Martins Chicorro, ordering them to remain off the point of Cauru. Meanwhile, six terranquins accompanying him were to run up and down that side of the island, while the galleons remained anchored off shore out of range of Persian muskets. The General proceeded with the rest of the fleet to the promontory of Our Lady of Hope, leaving four terranquins off Turumbaque. In this way, the General kept the city and fortress of Hormuz under such a tight siege for three months that not a single thing from Persia managed to get in. One morning, the General saw an English ship flying its flag near Bandar Abbas. Following a fierce defense, the ship was destroyed by fire and explosion, and all but one of her crew were executed. Despite the three-month blockade and the Safavid inability to supply the island, since no reinforcements arrived from Goa, Andrade was forced to lift the siege when an Anglo-Dutch fleet arrived at the end of 1625. Nevertheless, Andrade returned to Muscat "satisfied that if he had not neutralized the Safavid threat at least had bloodied the nose of Shah Abbas I". Ultimately, the Portuguese were unable to retake Hormuz, and all attempts to recapture it had ended by then. 1627–1630 campaigns & raids After asserting control over Muscat and several smaller coastal ports in Oman, Andrade attempted another unauthorized attack against Bahrain in 1627. Using reinforcements from Goa intended to defend Muscat from the English and Dutch, he dispatched Gonçalo da Silveira with twelve galleys and several smaller ships. In September of the same year, five fustas and one war tarranquim under Silveira were deployed to rescue the Sheikh of Qatif from Safavid threats. The fleet remained in the region until April 1628, burning settlements along the coast of Qatar and attacking boats, but no major gains were made. At the same time, Ali Basha maintained his loyalty to Portugal, openly waging war against Persia by damaging what he could in Bahrain, while António Ferrão was sent to the Strait of Mecca as captain of five galliots to "wage therein the most ruthless war that he could" against ships without permit. Later, the Portuguese attacked and plundered Qeshm during the winter of 1627–1628 or 1629–1630. This final major raid pushed Imam Quli Khan to begin ceasefire discussions. Between 1629 and 1630, the Portuguese also captured Gwadar, Julfar, Rames and Cate, and vassalized As Seed and Barka. ==Peace and aftermath==

Rui Freire's destructive raids gradually exhausted the Persians, so much so that by 1628, Imam Quli Khan had already begun negotiating truces with Rui Freire without Abbas's knowledge. and a peace agreement was settled in 1629–1630. Under its terms, the Portuguese agreed to end their "reign of terror" against the Safavid coast and shipping, while the Safavids were compelled to accept Portuguese maritime supremacy and the cartazes system established for free circulation. In return, they were granted permission to establish a factory at Kong, receiving half of the port's customs revenue and the right to trade there on the same terms as the English at Bandar Abbas. Imam Quli Khan also agreed to pay tribute to the Portuguese for the continued use of Qeshm, though these payments allegedly stopped after the Khan's execution. With peace established, hostilities temporarily ceased, and the Hormuz question was frozen for a time. The new viceroy, the Count of Linhares, felt that Andrade's presence in the Gulf was no longer necessary. Consequently, he recalled him to Goa, departing in October 1630. By 1633, the Portuguese had 1,739 men active in the Persian Gulf. Hostilities would commence once again in 1650. ==See also==