Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)

Based on recently published literature, this article examines the relationship between Oman’s coastal towns and the Portuguese in the early decades of the 16th century. He takes as an example the port of Muscat, whose remarkable natural conditions had favored, from medieval times, its supremacy as a...

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Main Author: Dejanirah Couto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de Sanaa 2022-01-01
Series:Arabian Humanities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/6966
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author Dejanirah Couto
author_facet Dejanirah Couto
author_sort Dejanirah Couto
collection DOAJ
description Based on recently published literature, this article examines the relationship between Oman’s coastal towns and the Portuguese in the early decades of the 16th century. He takes as an example the port of Muscat, whose remarkable natural conditions had favored, from medieval times, its supremacy as a bridgehead for the hinterland regions and leader of the commercial networks of the West Indian Ocean, to the detriment of other Omani ports. This superiority, which also rest on its ability to orient its economy on several fronts, was reinforced by the presence of the Portuguese, who, following their attack in 1507, appointed Muscat as a stopover of their fleets and established there a factory. In addition, the progressive involvement of the Portuguese in the economic life of Muscat was accompanied by a growing political interference in the internal affairs of the city, symbolized by an implication in the conflicts which opposed the urban elites of Muscat to those of the other cities of Oman and also to Hormuz, which, while exercising its authority over the towns on the Omani side, had become, after the double conquest of Afonso de Albuquerque (1507 and 1515), protectorate of the Portuguese.
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spelling doaj-art-d6e678db869c4e1d996c3f5773f9d13e2025-08-20T02:26:45ZengCentre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de SanaaArabian Humanities2308-61222022-01-011510.4000/cy.6966Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)Dejanirah CoutoBased on recently published literature, this article examines the relationship between Oman’s coastal towns and the Portuguese in the early decades of the 16th century. He takes as an example the port of Muscat, whose remarkable natural conditions had favored, from medieval times, its supremacy as a bridgehead for the hinterland regions and leader of the commercial networks of the West Indian Ocean, to the detriment of other Omani ports. This superiority, which also rest on its ability to orient its economy on several fronts, was reinforced by the presence of the Portuguese, who, following their attack in 1507, appointed Muscat as a stopover of their fleets and established there a factory. In addition, the progressive involvement of the Portuguese in the economic life of Muscat was accompanied by a growing political interference in the internal affairs of the city, symbolized by an implication in the conflicts which opposed the urban elites of Muscat to those of the other cities of Oman and also to Hormuz, which, while exercising its authority over the towns on the Omani side, had become, after the double conquest of Afonso de Albuquerque (1507 and 1515), protectorate of the Portuguese.https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/6966MuscatCairohorse tradeshipbuildingQalhâtQuriyât
spellingShingle Dejanirah Couto
Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
Arabian Humanities
Muscat
Cairo
horse trade
shipbuilding
Qalhât
Quriyât
title Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
title_full Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
title_fullStr Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
title_full_unstemmed Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
title_short Muscat and the Portuguese: economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century (1507-1529)
title_sort muscat and the portuguese economic and political dynamics in the early 16th century 1507 1529
topic Muscat
Cairo
horse trade
shipbuilding
Qalhât
Quriyât
url https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/6966
work_keys_str_mv AT dejanirahcouto muscatandtheportugueseeconomicandpoliticaldynamicsintheearly16thcentury15071529