Afonso de Albuquerque — Socotra, Oman, and Hormuz, 1506–08

Afonso de Albuquerque · Lisbon – Mozambique Island – Madagascar – Malindi – Brava – Socotra – Qalhat – Muscat – Khor Fakkan – Hormuz – Socotra – Cannanore · April 1506 – December 1508

In 1506, Afonso de Albuquerque sailed east again, now with orders to take Socotra and block the Red Sea.

The fleet of 14 ships left Lisbon in April under his cousin Tristão da Cunha; Albuquerque commanded 5. On the way an island in the far South Atlantic was named Tristan da Cunha. At Mozambique Island they took on the carrack Flor de la Mar, laid up there for repairs, and Cunha charted the north-west coast of Madagascar. At the request of the king of Malindi, Portugal's ally, they sacked the rival towns of Oja and Brava (Barawa), and Lamu submitted.

In April 1507 they stormed the fort at Suq, on Socotra, and rebuilt it as São Miguel. In August Cunha sailed on to India. Albuquerque took 6 ships and about 460 men to the coast of Oman. Qalhat sent food. Quriyat resisted and was burned. Muscat's garrison refused its governor's surrender, and the town was sacked. Sohar submitted. Khor Fakkan was sacked on 22 September.

On 25 September he reached Hormuz. The next day his ships defeated the king's war fleet, and the young king Seyf ad-Din agreed to pay tribute. Work began on a fort. In January 1508 three captains, Afonso Lopes da Costa, António do Campo, and Manuel Teles Barreto, deserted to India with their ships, and João da Nova took the Flor de la Mar there too. Albuquerque left Hormuz on 8 February with 2 ships. In August he tried again and found the city fortified against him.

In December 1508 he reached Cannanore, in India, and opened a sealed letter from King Manuel naming him governor. The viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, refused to hand over until November 1509.

Why it matters: the Socotra fort was given up in 1511, but Hormuz had paid tribute once. Albuquerque came back in 1515 and took it, and Portugal held the island until 1622.

#afonsodealbuquerque #hormuz #oman #history #maps

Sources and data

• The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, translated by Walter de Gray Birch (Hakluyt Society, 1875–84), vol. 1: the Oman towns, Hormuz, the desertion.
• Castanheda's history as translated in Robert Kerr, A General History and Collection of Voyages, vol. 6, and H. Morse Stephens, Albuquerque (Rulers of India, 1892): departure 5 or 6 April 1506; Cunha leaving Socotra on 1 August 1507.
• Wikipedia, "Portuguese conquest of Hormuz": Albuquerque's 6 ships (Cirne, Flor de la Mar, Rei Grande, Rei Pequeno, Taforea, and a smaller one) and about 460 men; the Kuria Muria islands 14 August; Qalhat 22 August; Khor Fakkan 22 September; Hormuz 25–26 September; the treaty of 10 October; the desertion in January 1508; Albuquerque away on 8 February; the Rei Grande sent to Malindi for food; Hormuz fortified when he came back in August 1508. Morse Stephens gives later dates for Hormuz (10 October) and the departure (April 1508).
• Wikipedia, "Portuguese Socotra" (14 ships; Suq taken in April 1507; Cunha away 10 August; about 100 left in the fort), "Battle of Socotra", "Tristão da Cunha", "Flor de la Mar", "Capture of Muscat (1507)", "Portuguese conquest of the East African coast" (Malindi, Oja, Lamu, Brava), and "Afonso de Albuquerque" (Cannanore, December 1508; the fleet "reduced to two ships").
• Head-count: about 1,300 in the whole fleet is an estimate (14 ships at about 90 men; no source gives a total). About 460 from Socotra is sourced. About 200 in his 2 remaining ships is an estimate.
• Sound: Freesound recordings: "sea gulls" by Snapper4298 (CC0); "Mu Ko Lanta National Marine Park - Thailand" by RTB45 (CC BY 4.0); "Crashing Waves into Rocks 1" by amholma (CC0); "Cannon fire" by t-man95 (CC0); "Desert binaural Wind" by Benbojangles (CC0); "Fire - Crackling, Spitting, Roaring" by jamesdrake89 (CC0); "Fowlsheugh Nature clifftop seabird colony" by inchadney (CC BY 4.0); "Evening Bazaar Ambience at Souq Al Bashorah, Ramallah – Palestine" by soundsfrompalestine (CC0); "Harbor Ambience 1" by clif_creates (CC0). Wave wash, ship's bell, and music synthesized in-repo.
• Map data: Natural Earth (public domain). Shaded relief and hypsometric tint produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-90 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved. The organisations in charge of the Copernicus programme by law or by delegation do not incur any liability for any use of the Copernicus WorldDEM-90. Bathymetry from GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group 2026 (2026), The GEBCO_2026 Grid, doi:10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa. Coastline from © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under the ODbL (openstreetmap.org/copyright). Rivers and lakes from HydroSHEDS (WWF), CC BY 4.0.

Waypoints between the recorded places are approximate and drawn for illustration, including the track along the Madagascar coast; the day-by-day itinerary is not reproduced.