Albuquerque Captures Hormuz
Alfonso de Albuquerque's seizure of Hormuz in 1515 completed the Portuguese strategy of controlling the Indian Ocean's three principal chokepoints: Aden (attempted, failed), Hormuz (Persian Gulf entrance), and Malacca (Strait of Malacca). Hormuz controlled all trade between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, including the overland trade routes from Persia and Iraq to the sea. The fortress Albuquerque constructed on the island dominated the strait; the Safavid Persians, who nominally held suzerainty over Hormuz, accepted Portuguese presence because it gave them access to the trade revenues they could not capture themselves.
- Year: 1515 CE
