Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts (1586–1589)

Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts
Part of the Ottoman–Portuguese confrontations
16th century depiction of Mombasa.
Date 1586–1589 (3 years) Location East African Coast Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Portuguese Empire supported by Malindi Zimbas	Ottoman Empire supported by Mogadishu Barawa Lamu Pate Faza Mombasa Pemba
Commanders and leaders
Dom Duarte de Meneses Martim Afonso de Melo Manuel de Sousa Coutinho Tomé de Sousa Coutinho Mateus de Vasconcelos	Mir Ali Beg (POW)

The Ottoman–Portuguese Conflicts (1586–1589) were armed military engagements which took place between the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire along the coast of eastern Africa. The conflict resulted from the expansion of the Portuguese Empire into territory controlled by the Adal Sultanate.

Expedition of Mir Ali Beg to East Africa, 1586[]

In January 1586, a Turkish privateer named Mir Ali Beg sailed from Mocha in Yemen to the Horn of Africa, intending to disrupt Portuguese shipping in the region. He began informing the Sultan that the naval forces of the Ottoman Empire in the Indian Ocean were unable to protect against Portuguese expansion. Consequently, sent Mir Ali down with two other ships that were tasked with defending the Swahili coast.^[1] Additionally, Mir Ali Beg convinced the inhabitants of Mogadishu to rebel against the Portuguese, and thus was joined by a few local vessels in support of his endeavors. The people of Barawa and Faza also declared their allegiance to the Ottoman Empire and, in the end, Mir Ali Beg had about 15 vessels.^[2] At Pate, Mir Ali Beg captured a Portuguese merchant carrack. At Lamu, Mir Ali Beg captured a small galley belonging to Roque de Brito Falcão, while the king of Lamu delivered his city's Portuguese refugees to the Turks. Mir Ali Beg also established a fort at Mombasa.^[2]

Setting sail back to Mocha, Mir Ali Beg captured another Portuguese carrack in Pate that had just arrived from Chaul, promising their passengers their freedom in exchange for their cargo—a promise which Mir Ali Beg did not keep, resulting in the passengers' enslavement.^[3] Mir Ali Beg returned to Mocha with about 20 vessels and 100 Portuguese refugees, who were later ransomed.^[3]

Portuguese expedition 1587[]

When news reached Goa that a Turkish fleet was in East Africa inciting cities to rebel and raid Portuguese ships with Ottoman support, the Portuguese reacted swiftly. In January of 1587, the Portuguese viceroy, Dom Duarte de Meneses, dispatched a fleet of 2 galleons, 3 galleys, 13 light-galleys, and 650 soldiers under the command of Martim Afonso de Melo to expel the Turks and reestablish Portuguese authority along the coast.^[4]

The Portuguese subsequently sacked the city of Faza, and extracted an indemnity of 4,000 cruzados from Mombasa in exchange for not destroying the city. At the same time, Martim Afonso de Melo arrived at Malindi, whose king had remained loyal to the Portuguese, and reinforced their diplomatic ties.^[4]

Ultimately finding no sign of Mir Ali Beg, the Portuguese fleet returned to Goa via Socotra and Ormus.

Battle of Mombasa 1589[]

Turkish galleys, 17th century

In 1589, Mir Ali Beg returned from Mocha with a fleet of 5 galleys.^[5] Calling first at Mogadishu, Mir Ali Beg now extracted a heavy tribute from the cities along the coast in exchange for protection, in the name of the Ottoman Empire. From there he proceeded to Malindi, a loyal vassal of the Portuguese, hoping to sack it.

However, the Portuguese captain of the east-African coast Mateus Mendes de Vasconcelos, was at Malindi with a small force, and was already well aware of the approach of Mir Ali Beg: a network of spies and informants within the Red Sea itself kept the Portuguese up to date on Turkish movements, and before Mir Ali Beg had even set sail, already Vasconcelos had dispatched a vessel to Goa informing the viceroy that the Turks were about to leave the Red Sea.^[5] Approaching Malindi by night, the flotilla of Mir Ali Beg was bombarded by a Portuguese artillery battery, and so it sailed away to Mombasa.^[5]

From India, governor Manuel de Sousa Coutinho dispatched an armada of 2 galleons, 5 galleys, 6 half-galleys, and 6 light-galleys with 900 Portuguese soldiers, commanded by Tomé de Sousa Coutinho.^[6] In late February 1589 the fleet reached the east-African coast, and calling at Lamu, they learnt from an envoy of Mateus Mendes de Vasconcelos that Mir Ali Beg had established a stronghold at Mombasa. At Malindi, they were joined by Mateus Mendes de Vasconcelos with another half-galley and two light-galleys of Malindi.^[6]

Battle of Mombasa[]

On March 5, the Portuguese fleet reached the island of Mombasa. Mir Ali Beg had erected a small fort by the shoreline, close to the city, and armed it with artillery pieces to close off the entrance to the harbor. Nonetheless, the Portuguese pushed through under fire. Three Turkish galleys in the harbor were captured, the fort was bombarded from the sea by the galleys, and in face of superior firepower, the Turks abandoned the fort.^[7] On March 7, the Portuguese landed 500 troops, only to learn that Mombasa had been evacuated, and its inhabitants had taken shelter in a nearby wood, along with the Turks.^[8]

At that time, by pure chance, a marauding cannibalistic tribe called the Zimbas was migrating north and had set up a camp just across the channel. The last two of Mir Ali Beg's galleys prevented them from crossing onto the island.^[9] They were attacked and captured by the Portuguese.^[10] Wishing to capture Mir Ali Beg and the rest of the Turks, Tomé de Sousa Coutinho gave permission to the Zimbas to cross over - once the people of Mombasa realized the Zimbas had invaded the island, they promptly rushed to the beaches in desperation to be taken aboard the ships. Many drowned, but among the people the Portuguese captured was Mir Ali Beg.^[11]

Aftermath[]

On March 24, the Portuguese fleet reached Malindi, where they were triumphantly met with celebrations and long festivities.^[12]

With Mir Ali Beg captured, all that remained was to reestablish Portuguese suzerainty over the entire coast, through diplomacy or force of arms. The King of Malindi was amply rewarded for his valiant loyalty to the Portuguese Crown. The Portuguese captain of the East African coast, Mateus Mendes de Vasconcelos, was detached with a squadron to remain at Malindi and defend it from the marauding Zimbas.^[12] The King of Pemba, who was loyal to the Portuguese but was ousted by Ottoman-backed rebels, was reestablished on his throne. The King of Lamu, on the other hand, was captured and publicly beheaded.^[12] Pate was sacked.^[13]

Mir Ali Beg was taken prisoner, but treated with honor and sent to meet the Portuguese viceroy of India, Manuel de Sousa Coutinho. Later, he was sent to Portugal where he converted to Christianity.^[14]

Analyzing the conflict in detail, Czech historian Svat Soucek argued against the exaggeration of the capacity of the Ottoman Empire to expand their influence in the Indian Ocean by certain authors: Mir Ali Beg only managed to pass undetected by the Portuguese intelligence network due to the insignificance of his initial single galley; once he was detected, a Portuguese war fleet was swiftly dispatched to neutralize the threat.^[14]

The Swahili coast remained well within the Portuguese sphere of influence until the late 17th century.

Without Portuguese intervention in these skirmishes along the Horn of Africa, the Ottoman Empire's hold on the region might have tightened dramatically. ^[1]

Notes[]

References[]

• Attila and Balázs Weiszhár: Lexicon of War (Háborúk lexikona), Athenaum publisher, Budapest 2004.
• Britannica Hungarica, Hungarian encyclopedia, Hungarian World publisher, Budapest 1994.
• Dejanirah Couto, Rui Loureiro, Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the Early Modern Period (2008) ISBN 9783447057318

See also[]

• Abyssinian-Adal War
• Swahili Coast
• History of Portugal
• History of the Ottoman Empire
• Military history of Portugal
• Military of the Ottoman Empire