Forts and Cannon of Oman.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

AS A FORM OF VISUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE ETHNOGRAPHIC SCENERY OF THE DAY AND IMAGINING BEING ABOARD SOME OF THESE SHIPS ETC I POST THE PICTURES BELOW..

The map is important as it illustrates the fabled land of Prester John (Dutch made by the Family Ortelius)) for the Portuguese who searched for three things in the Indian Ocean... in no particular order; Slaves, Gold and Silver, and Spices. The fourth thing they sought were mercenaries whom they thought existed in the Kingdom of Prester John which though it had existed several centuries earlier in Ethiopia it had disappeared by the time the Portuguese arrived by ship. Somewhat ironically a land based expedition arrived from Portugal at more or less the same time in Ethiopia and it is interesting to consider what would have transpired had the ships been unable to get there. One of the first choke points applied was to restrict Mamluke activity in the mouth of the Red Sea...This had a dramatic effect causing huge pressure on the Mamluke treasury starved of its Chinese trade and without funding virtually bankrupt thus vulnerable to the Ottoman Empire.

The longboat/ship with oars down each side is Venetian and since they were fighting against Portuguese you can see the immediate problem being so close to the waterline and armed primarily with bows and arrows...thus vulnerable to long range ships artillery as well as the danger of closing with the enemy ...making them very susceptible at all ranges to the 5 deck Portuguese ... apparently grenades caused them a lot of problems...

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Having set the scenery..I hope... It is now time to look at some of the Omani Forts in detail and I first chose Nizwa Fort.This is an interesting fortification being at the centre of the capital of the interior and on top of its own water supply...with as its main defence a gigantic round tower also acting as a dungeon. This enormous roundel gives it automatic all round defence and superb fields of fire and observation. It is reinforced not only to enable cannon to fire from its walls but also so that it can absorb fire . I have no evidence that cannon fired at or from the Fort however the weapon at one side of the gate below is apparently Portuguese ...Whereas some cannon were deployed from positions just outside the fort proper e.g. Barka they were on a secondary wall usually tri angular and massively built and able to retreat into the fort in the advent of a too powerful assault and fire from their secondary positions.

Nizwa Fort is examined at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizwa_Fort

Below is the pictorial...Please note that two cannon are displayed outside the door... The one on your left is Portuguese whilst on your right is an 18th C Swedish Iron "Finbanker" on a repro British carriage; Interesting that Finspang in Sweden made these mainly for export and purchased by the Dutch and Portuguese may have been captured by the British in Indian Ocean waters and sold to Oman....It was an 18 pounder.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

There is a vast selection of Cannon to view at http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/bronze-cannon.html

[estcrh]

Ibrahiim, thanks for putting this info together all in one place, this is a good history lesson.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Ibrahiim, thanks for putting this info together all in one place, this is a good history lesson.

I agree and hope the action in the Indian Ocean by the Portuguese, Dutch and English ...and the Indian, Omani and Persian etc etc may be viewed as vital history for all to refer to.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

I was thinking to broaden the scope slightly to net in the Jewel in the Crown which insofar as the Portuguese were concerned in these waters was Hormuz. A veritable treasure trove but difficult to find and a very strong fortified Island and a Naval Base capable of fielding considerable firepower and troops to the various Hormuz garrisons. In fact the Portuguese destroyed Sohar and in questioning their captives discovered one old man who under threat of death told them where Hormuz was and how to find it... Rumours of vast gold wealth slaves and spices as well as a strategic position were too much for the Portuguese who then set about taking it ...and from there it can be seenhow important a step in their quest for India this could be...as well as stations further up the Gulf like Bahrain...

So it came to pass...The Portuguese conqueror, Afonso de Albuquerque, captured the island in 1507 and it became a part of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese constructed a fortress on the island, the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception. In 1622 the island was captured from the Portuguese by a combined Anglo-Persian force.

That is too fast a paragraph since in slower time it looked more like this...From Wikepedia I Quote"The Capture of Ormuz in 1507 occurred when the Portuguese Afonso de Albuquerque attacked Hormuz Island to establish the Castle of Ormuz. This conquest gave the Portuguese full control of the trade between India and Europe passing through the Persian Gulf.

The capture of Ormuz was a result of a plan by the King of Portugal, Manuel I, who in 1505 had resolved to thwart Muslim trade in the Indian Ocean by capturing Aden, to block trade through Alexandria; Ormuz, to block trade through Beirut; and Malacca to control trade with China. A fleet under Tristão da Cunha was sent to capture the Muslim fort on Socotra in order to control the entrance to the Red Sea; this was accomplished in 1507. The main part of the fleet then left for India, with a few ships remaining under Albuquerque.

Albuquerque disobeyed orders and left to capture the island of Ormuz.[6] He obtained the submission of the local king to the king of Portugal, as well as the authorisation to build a fort using local labour.[7] He started to build a fort on 27 October 1507, and initially planned to man it with a garrison, but could not hold it because of local resistance and the defection to India of several of his Portuguese captains.

With the support of the sovereign of Ormuz, the rebellious captains fought the forces of Albuquerque in early January 1508. After a few days of battle, Albuquerque was forced to withdraw from the city, abandoned the fort under construction. He sailed away in April 1508 with the two remaining ships. He returned to Socotra where he found the Portuguese garrison starving. He remained in the Gulf of Aden to raid Muslim ships, and attacked and burnt the city of Kālhāt (Calayate). He again returned to Ormuz, and then set sail to India on board a merchant ship he had captured.

In March 1515, Albuquerque returned to Ormuz, leading a fleet of 27 vessels, with a strength of 1,500 soldiers and 700 malabaris, determined to regain it. He held the position of the ancient fortress on April 1, referring to the building, now under a new name: Fort of Our Lady of the Conception.

In 1622, a combined Anglo-Persian force combined to take over the Portuguese garrison at Hormuz Island in the Capture of Ormuz (1622), thus opening up Persian trade with England. "The capture of Ormuz by an Anglo-Persian force in 1622 entirely changed the balance of power and trade".Unquote.

For some excellent images of Hormuz please see http://www.dataxinfo.com/hormuz/Imag...f_Hormuz_7.htm

[fernando]

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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