Afonso de Albuquerque compelled Hormuz to accept Portuguese terms and tribute, initiating a short-lived first occupation and an attempted fort-building effort that soon unraveled due to unrest among his forces.
Albuquerque landed at Hormuz in support of Turan Shah during an internal power struggle, positioning Portugal to turn influence into direct control over the kingdom’s politics and customs revenue.
To consolidate control, the Portuguese began construction of a major stone fortification on Hormuz Island (later known as Fort Nossa Senhora da Conceição), anchoring their military presence at the Strait of Hormuz.
A Portuguese-Hormuzi expedition captured Bahrain from the Jabrids, extending the Hormuz-centered Portuguese defense-and-tribute system into the pearl-rich islands of the Gulf.
A major Portuguese attempt to suppress a Bahrain revolt ended disastrously, demonstrating the limits of Portuguese power when local resistance and logistics undermined expeditionary operations.
Portuguese and Hormuzi forces expelled an Ottoman foothold at Qatif, then demolished the captured fort—an example of Portuguese strategy to deny the Ottomans fixed positions in the Gulf.
An Ottoman attempt to capture Bahrain and its trade—part of wider Ottoman–Portuguese rivalry—was defeated after Portuguese-linked reinforcements arrived from Hormuz.
Safavid forces conquered Bahrain and removed the Portuguese presence there, marking a major contraction of Portuguese control in the central Persian Gulf.
Portuguese squadrons under Rui Freire de Andrade fought English East India Company ships off Jask; the English victory helped secure English access to Gulf trade and foreshadowed later Anglo-Safavid cooperation.
Safavid forces, supported by English shipping, besieged and captured the Portuguese position at Qeshm, a critical water-and-staging point near Hormuz; the fall of Qeshm directly pressured Portuguese defenses on Hormuz Island.
Safavid troops under Imam Quli Khan, coordinated with English East India Company ships, opened a sustained siege of the Portuguese fortress complex on Hormuz, targeting the strategic chokepoint of the strait.
After weeks of combined land siege and naval pressure, the Portuguese garrison surrendered, ending more than a century of Portuguese dominance centered on Hormuz and shifting regional trade and security dynamics.
Portuguese capture of Hormuz and Persian Gulf operations (1515–1622)
