HISTORY: THE ALMOST RISE OF GWADAR |
When Shah Abbas I ascended the throne of the Safavid Empire in 1588, the political geography of Western and South Asia was undergoing a profound transformation. Sixteenth-century colonial expansionism was one of several realignments in the region, and maritime trade through the Arabian Sea was fast gaining new importance.
For more than a century, the Portuguese Empire exercised formidable control over this coastline. In 1515, they captured Hormuz from Shah Ismail I, and their hold stretched all the way to their colonial capital at Goa, which they had seized in 1510.
Through Vasco da Gama’s voyage at the close of the 15th century, the Portuguese had reached the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. By the 1600s, however, this dominance was beginning to weaken. New European rivals, such as the East India Company (EIC), were entering Asian waters, determined to claim a share of the lucrative trade.
The turning point came in 1612, when English ships defeated a Portuguese fleet in the Battle of Swally, fought off the coast of Gujarat. The Mughal emperor Jahangir, impressed by this naval victory, soon granted the EIC permission to establish a trading factory at Surat in 1613. Later, a British-Safavid operation regained control of Hormuz in 1622. These encounters significantly altered the balance of power in the region.
In 1613, the East India Company established its first major trading base in the Arabian Sea at Surat in Indian Gujarat. Another contender was Gwadar…
In 1613, the East India Company established its first major trading base in the Arabian Sea at Surat in Indian Gujarat. Another contender was Gwadar…
Decades prior, the Portuguese had already lost favour across the Makran coast with Baloch groups. In Asia Portuguesa, the Portuguese historian Manuel de Faria e Sousa writes that Gwadar was destroyed in 1581, along with Pasni.
Almost coincidental then, that our protagonist, Robert Sherley, was born that same year.
Born in Sussex, Sherley........