Chap. VIII.
ORMUZ CAPTURED.
18;")
Aden. — Bruii et Hogenburg, 1574.
valour of its defenders, and was obliged to retire with a loss too severe to leave a.d isu. him any inclination to renew the attempt. He compensated himself in some degree by entering the Red Sea, which then, for the first time, saw an European vessel on its bosom, and made several valuable prizes. After re- maining; for some time at the island „ of Kamaran, he returned and again looked in upon Aden, but found that in the interval its fortifica- tions had been so much improved that it would have been madness to attack it. He therefore passed on, and continued his voyage to India. On reaching Gujerat he made an ineffectual application for permission to build a fort at Diu, but did not attempt to enforce it, as he was intent on ^^^^ °^ another project, on which his heart had long been set, and all the more ear- nestly that his attempts to accomplish it had hitherto been frustrated. This project was the command of the Persian Gulf by the capture of Ormuz. His third attempt upon it was made in March, 1514. The circumstances were opportune; and when he demanded permission to complete the fort, the gover- nor, though disposed to resist, felt he had not the means, and was obhged to comply. The name of Albuquerque was now famous all over the East; and even Ismael, the I'ounder of the famous Persian dynasty of Sophi, sent him an ambassador with valuable presents, and concluded a treaty with him. Before leaving Ormuz, Albuquerque not only finished his fort, but succeeded in inducing or forcing the king to lodge all his cannon within it. In this way Portuguese supremacy was completely established.
Under Albuquerque the Portuguese ])ower extended more widely, and was Porttieuese more firmly seated, tiian before or since. It cannot, however, be with any pro- tha kuh. [)riety styled an empire, as it was not composed of contiguous teiTitories, but rather consisted of a vast niunber of isolated forts, scattered over an immense extent of coast, and situated at wide distances from each other. The sites were for the most part admirably chosen, and gave a complete control over all the gi-eat maritime thoroughfares from the East Indies to Eurojie. In some respects this mode of rule lias its advantages over territorial possession. It is more easily acquired, and admits of being maintained at a cheaper rate; but its stability is very precarious. The moment the command at sea is lost, it is necessarily extinguished. This, however, was an event of which, during Albu- (juerque's regency, there were no s^Tn})tonis; and the fact that they began to be manifested not long after he disappeared from the scene, serves to impress us with a higher idea of the wisdom and vigour of his government. When his countrymen hailed him as " Great." all impartial observers of his exploits were
Vol. I.
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