Hameed Al-Salman, Mohammed

	"Basra in the period of Portuguese control over the Gulf". (Study of the sources)
مجلة آداب البصرة
Article 1, Volume 14, Issue 84, 2018, Pages 629-648 PDF (0 K)
Author
Mohammed Hameed Al-Salman
Abstract
Portugal, a small kingdom on the fringes of Europe, in just a few years established an empire in the East, from East Africa and the Arabian Gulf to the Indonesian archipelago and China Sea. Portuguese motives centred essentially on the economic potential of seeking out the places of origin of spices, and they used their modern European naval power and political sytems to carry out these aims. From an early stage in their voyages to the Indian Ocean they unilaterally declared that all spice trade was to be conducted by themselves or their allies. In addition, the Portuguese strove to enhance their image in history by encouraging their chroniclers to write and publish works on the heroism of "Os Lusíadas" in the age of discovery. In fact, the period of Portuguese influence in the Gulf has been generally regarded as one of the most important periods in the region’s history. In addition, Portuguese invaded successfully the Gulf by their modern ships called (Naus, Caravelas, e Galés), and other. On the other hand, there was a lack for modern ships, for war or commerce, in the Gulf at that time. A satisfactory historical approach has not yet been established regarding the reality of Portugal’s role in the Gulf. Conferences held about the Portuguese in the Gulf region, have gone no further than repeat what we know about Portuguese conquests in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, and the objectives of the Portuguese at the beginning of the sixteenth century. This paper deals with Basra in the period of Portuguese control over the Gulf during XVI century. With Display the original Portuguese documents, it will examine and discuss Portuguese activities near and in Basra during the XVI century depends on Portuguese Archives. The core function of this paper, is to discover the kind of the relations between the Portuguese and the local powers in Basra, such as the Al- Muntafiq tribe, during that century. More focus on the Turkish occupation of Basra in 1546, and the conflict between both strong power, the Portuguese and the Ottomans at Basra. It should be noted, that most of the Portuguese documents have not been translated into English or Arabic, and many of them are still unpublished. There was also difficulty in locating certain sources, because some documents brought from India to Lisbon during the period in question were lost, whether at sea or in fighting with other Europeans. In spite of these problems, extant Portuguese sources are very valuable about history of the Gulf, and in particular, on Basra. The most useful contemporary eyewitness sources from the discovery period are in the Portuguese archives, especially the oldest and the most important of the Portuguese collections, the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (ANTT), which was established in Lisbon in 1378. The (ANTT) also has several smaller collections of documents which are important for the events of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. One of them is ‘Cartas de Ormuz a Dom João de Castro’ – the letters from Hormuz to João de Castro, who was Viceroy of India in the period 1545-48. Recently, two Portuguese historians have published a selection of these letters. They contain some important information about the Ottoman occupation of Basra and relations between the Portuguese and Basra’s Tribes, as well as, Hormuz and Basra relations during that time. In addition to all these manuscript administrative sources, there is also a rich chronicle literature that relates, often in detail, the achievements of the Portuguese in Asia and Africa. The principal chroniclers are Barros, Couto, Castanheda, Correia, and Bocarro, who each held the position of ‘Keeper of Records’. Some of these historians were relatives of the royal household or under royal patronage and direction in both Portugal and Spain.
Keywords
Basra in the period of Portuguese control over the Gulf; Study of the sources

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"Basra in the period of Portuguese control over the Gulf". (Study of the sources)