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fernando · 16th August 2016, 06:23 PM

The arrival in Ormuz and the challenge:

Albuquerque arrived in Ormuz with several casualties in the crew, due to diseases; only 470 were men left, from which one half were sick or debilitated; with only six ships in very bad conditions and great dissension between him and his captains. But he was a consummate actor and a master in the art of psychologic war. He ended up creating in his adversaries a complex of inferiority and fear. He started by sending a message to the captain of the largest ship in the harbor, a huge carrack belonging to the King of Cambaia, a ship of 800 tons and a crew of 1000, close from where he had set anchor, for him to come immediately aboard his ship, or he would sink his carrack. The captain was freightened and decided to present himself. A great staging was set up, Albuquerque dressed with luxury and surrounded by Gentlemen and armed rank, covered by shining armour and holding lances and swords, in the middle of flags, drapes and and silk cushions, mixed with gross ammunition, crossbows and boarding axes. All this surrounded with a scenery of 400 sails, among which were 60 ships much larger than his own, and well provided with war men.

The construction of the fortress

The resistence of the wall structure of Ormuz was largely weakened by the non building of a moat, in order to separate it from firm land, which made it easy for the Persians, helped by the English, to conquer it in 1622 (Rafael Moreira). Chronicler Gaspar Correia, who wrote Lendas da India circa 1550, must have witnessed the start of the Fortress works, judging by the detailed and live manner in which he describes what happened and also for the great fidelity of his drawing to the existing archaeologic evidence.
Albuquerque organized the construction site, defining tasks, detaching 5 embarcations to go and fetch stone, to then offload it in the beach and another two for the carrying of plaster into Ormuz, to make lime in the ovens he had meanwhile instructed to build. The governor split the stone masters who started surveying the foundations, soon to be built. It was the military who were in charge of this task, which was not easy, as some of the walls were to be built into water. These had to be made with compressed clay, sifted and cooked which, introduced into sea water would not dissolve but instead becoming hard as rock, which represented a great advantage ( Chroniclar João de Barros in his Décadas da Asia (1553) speaks of a mix of smashed plaster with another mix of manure, composed in a manner of bitumen, which they use in that land, mainly in the works that are founded in water ). In this case a large number of local man power was used, given their experience with such technique. In only three months the fortress initial form was almost ready; this being made in way that, the reduced number of men that Albuquerque disposed was a fact hidden from the locals, who presumed his had some 2000 men aboard his ships. Every morning they came ashore they varied their appearance, now with some kind of waepons, the next day with other.

The desertion

The inclusion of the military in the fortress works increased the dissension with the captains, as already complainant of his options, and three of them, Manuel Teles, Afonso Lopes da Costa and Antonio do Campo decided to desert. Soon another captain, João da Nova, having had allowance to go and hibernate in Socotorá, due to his nau Frol de la Mar being in very bad condtions, soon rushed to India, before the date planned. I have turned my chronic and historic books upside down and find no narration in which the dissent captains helped the locals to fight Albuquerque; they have only gone to the extent of neglecting some of his instructions in hot ocasions.

The fortress evolution

The expansion works in the fortress complex continued for several years. Some Malabares are recorded, headed by by Master Antonio Canarim. Besides Hindustanis, also are recorded Moors of all crafts, namely stone masons, the leading figure being Master Amet. It is known that, in January 1526, worked in the fortress 1180 labourers; 96 stone masons, 380 native auxiliary and 700 carriers.

Attached are a sketch of the battle, a drawing of the fortress by Gaspar Correia in 1539 and a sketch illustrating the various phases of the fotress complex evolution, by João de Campos.

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16th August 2016, 06:23 PM	#93
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,638	The arrival in Ormuz and the challenge: Albuquerque arrived in Ormuz with several casualties in the crew, due to diseases; only 470 were men left, from which one half were sick or debilitated; with only six ships in very bad conditions and great dissension between him and his captains. But he was a consummate actor and a master in the art of psychologic war. He ended up creating in his adversaries a complex of inferiority and fear. He started by sending a message to the captain of the largest ship in the harbor, a huge carrack belonging to the King of Cambaia, a ship of 800 tons and a crew of 1000, close from where he had set anchor, for him to come immediately aboard his ship, or he would sink his carrack. The captain was freightened and decided to present himself. A great staging was set up, Albuquerque dressed with luxury and surrounded by Gentlemen and armed rank, covered by shining armour and holding lances and swords, in the middle of flags, drapes and and silk cushions, mixed with gross ammunition, crossbows and boarding axes. All this surrounded with a scenery of 400 sails, among which were 60 ships much larger than his own, and well provided with war men. The construction of the fortress The resistence of the wall structure of Ormuz was largely weakened by the non building of a moat, in order to separate it from firm land, which made it easy for the Persians, helped by the English, to conquer it in 1622 (Rafael Moreira). Chronicler Gaspar Correia, who wrote Lendas da India circa 1550, must have witnessed the start of the Fortress works, judging by the detailed and live manner in which he describes what happened and also for the great fidelity of his drawing to the existing archaeologic evidence. Albuquerque organized the construction site, defining tasks, detaching 5 embarcations to go and fetch stone, to then offload it in the beach and another two for the carrying of plaster into Ormuz, to make lime in the ovens he had meanwhile instructed to build. The governor split the stone masters who started surveying the foundations, soon to be built. It was the military who were in charge of this task, which was not easy, as some of the walls were to be built into water. These had to be made with compressed clay, sifted and cooked which, introduced into sea water would not dissolve but instead becoming hard as rock, which represented a great advantage ( Chroniclar João de Barros in his Décadas da Asia (1553) speaks of a mix of smashed plaster with another mix of manure, composed in a manner of bitumen, which they use in that land, mainly in the works that are founded in water ). In this case a large number of local man power was used, given their experience with such technique. In only three months the fortress initial form was almost ready; this being made in way that, the reduced number of men that Albuquerque disposed was a fact hidden from the locals, who presumed his had some 2000 men aboard his ships. Every morning they came ashore they varied their appearance, now with some kind of waepons, the next day with other. The desertion The inclusion of the military in the fortress works increased the dissension with the captains, as already complainant of his options, and three of them, Manuel Teles, Afonso Lopes da Costa and Antonio do Campo decided to desert. Soon another captain, João da Nova, having had allowance to go and hibernate in Socotorá, due to his nau Frol de la Mar being in very bad condtions, soon rushed to India, before the date planned. I have turned my chronic and historic books upside down and find no narration in which the dissent captains helped the locals to fight Albuquerque; they have only gone to the extent of neglecting some of his instructions in hot ocasions. The fortress evolution The expansion works in the fortress complex continued for several years. Some Malabares are recorded, headed by by Master Antonio Canarim. Besides Hindustanis, also are recorded Moors of all crafts, namely stone masons, the leading figure being Master Amet. It is known that, in January 1526, worked in the fortress 1180 labourers; 96 stone masons, 380 native auxiliary and 700 carriers. Attached are a sketch of the battle, a drawing of the fortress by Gaspar Correia in 1539 and a sketch illustrating the various phases of the fotress complex evolution, by João de Campos. . Attached Images Last edited by fernando; 16th August 2016 at 06:44 PM.