CHAPTER XVI
The English in the Persian Gulf
Portuguese supremacy in the Gulf challenged—Goa, the Portuguese capital in the East—Sir Robert Shirley, the Shah of Persia's ambassador—English open a trading factory in Persia—Shah Abbas's hatred of the Portuguese—His gift of Jask to the English—Ruy Freire de Andrade, the Portuguese commander, conducts a fleet to the Gulf—Portuguese ultimatum to the Shah—Action between the Portuguese and the English off Jask—English fleet under Captain Shilling drives off the Portuguese—English fleet under Captains Blyth and Weddell, assisted by a Persian land force, attacks and defeats Portuguese at Kishm—Baffin, the Arctic explorer, killed in the fight—Surrender of Ruy Freire—Ormuz attacked and occupied—Downfall of the Portuguese power in the Gulf
ALL the time that English and Dutch were contending in deadly rivalry in the Eastern Islands, the historic fight against the Portuguese had been proceeding practically without interruption. Though heavily beaten, with some of her best centres of trade captured, her commerce crippled and her prestige shattered, Portugal fought on with all the energy of despair. Driven out of the Eastern seas by Dutch ships she concentrated her resources on the defence of her possessions in India. These were still a splendid heritage worthy of a mighty effort. The capital, Goa, on the West coast, was "no mean city." It sheltered a large and opulent population drawn from every part of the East. The great Cathedral
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