Portuguese fort of Qeschm
The Portuguese Fort of Qeschm ( Persian قلعه پرتغاليهاى قشم Ghal'eh-ye Portoghāli-hā-ye Gheshm ; Portuguese Forte de Queixome ) was a fort on the island of Qeschm in the Strait of Hormuz . It was built in 1621 under Ruy Freire de Andrade († 1633) to support Portugal's economic activities in the area, but above all on the neighboring island of Hormuz . Its ruins are an important testimony to the Portuguese presence in the Persian Gulf during the 16th and 17th centuries. Two ramparts and two towers of the fort can still be seen today. There are several old cannons inside the ruin.
prehistory
From 1301 Qeschm was an important protected area of the Kingdom of Hormuz , which supplied the island of Hormuz with drinking water, and from 1417 it became its main trading center.
In 1507 some islands in the Persian Gulf, including Hormus and Qeschm, were conquered by the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque and Vasco da Gama . At that time Persia was under the rule of the Safavids (1501–1722). In 1621 the Portuguese built a fort on the island, which fell into different hands several times over the next 200 years, until the island was finally recaptured by Sheikh Soltan Sadr in 1807.
The Fort
In January 1619, Ruy Freire de Andrade left Lisbon to expel the English, who had established a trading post in Bandar-e Jask at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in 1619 , and to simultaneously put pressure on the Persians. In May 1621, 2,000 Portuguese soldiers landed on the island together with troops from Hormuz and built a mighty fort there within the next five and a half months.
From winter 1621/22 the blocked ski racers Emam Qoli Khan for nine months the Portuguese garrison on Qeshm. With the arrival of a squadron of the British East India Company in Bandar-e Jask in 1621, which was picking up a silk shipment for export, Emam-qoli Khan managed to win partners for the expulsion of the Portuguese. (The English had already defeated a Portuguese squadron under Ruy Freire in a naval battle near Jask in December 1620. ) In return, he granted the English extended trading privileges and control of the fort on Hormuz, which, however, had yet to be conquered.
After fruitless negotiations with Ruy Freire, the English bombed the fort in early February 1622. The garrison surrendered, Ruy Freire was captured and a Persian force established itself on the island. (The fort on Hormuz was also captured in April.)
In the winter of 1629/30 there was another Portuguese attack on the island and Portuguese trade flourished again. The enormous success of the Portuguese led to the fact that the Persians agreed to make payments in return for the permanent use of the island.
The death of Shah Abbas I, followed by the execution of Emam-qoli Khan, led to an end to payments. In the meantime, the Dutch struggled to conclude a trade agreement with the Persians, and so in 1645 attacked the Persian garrison on Qeschm. Although they failed to take the fort, they still managed to put pressure on the Shah, which significantly improved their position in trade. The Portuguese continued to demand payments for the use of Qeschm until 1673. Nevertheless, the island fell into the hands of the Dutch again.
In 1741 Nadir Shah had the fort renovated in his fight against Oman .
In 1806 Qeschm was attacked again by the Omanis, who had since become allies of the English. Mollah Hossein, a local sheikh, was arrested by Omani forces in 1807 despite a deal, and the East India Company's Alert ship was dispatched to take the island. In a counterattack under Sheikh Soltan Saqr, however, he managed to regain the fort and repel the British attack.
today
In 1999 and 2000, archaeologists under Ehsan Yaghmayi exposed three of the fort's four walls. The finds included porcelain from China and glass from Venice .
On November 27, 2005, an earthquake struck the island and destroyed part of the Portuguese fortress before the investigation could be completed.
literature
- Boxer, CR Commentaries of Ruy Freyre de Andrada. Routledge, 2004 ISBN 0415344697
- Slot, BJ The Arabs of the Gulf, 1602-1784 . Leidschendamm, 1993
- Steensgaard, N. The Asian trade revolution of the seventeenth century: The East India Companies and the decline of the caravan trade . Chicago and London 1973
- Wilson, AT The Persian Gulf . Oxford, 1928
Web links
- Daniel T. Potts: QESHM ISLAND . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
- Brief description of the Iran Tourism and Touring website
- Photos with historical representation
Individual evidence
- ↑ In 1618 he was appointed “General of the Sea of Hormuz and the coast of Persia and Arabia” (“General do Mar de Ormuz e costa da Pérsia e Arábia”).
- ↑ Brief description of the Iran Tourism and Touring website
Coordinates: 26 ° 57 ′ 37.3 " N , 56 ° 16 ′ 38.3" E