[5] Thus, in April 1506, two fleets totaling 16 ships, under the overall command of Tristão da Cunha, were dispatched from Lisbon to capture Socotra and establish on it a fort.

Muscat was then governed by a eunuch and former slave of the king of Hormuz, who surrendered to Albuquerque, but the garrison overruled his decision, for which the town was likewise sacked.

The town was spared, gifts were exchanged, and in return for a pledge of vassalage, its governor was entrusted with a Portuguese flag to hoist, and allowed keep the annual tribute for himself and his troops ahead of the fort.

He declared to have come with orders from King Manuel of Portugal to vassalize Hormuz and take it under his protection, but he offered the city the chance to capitulate bloodlessly.

[17] Hormuz was then ruled not by its sovereign, the young twelve year-old king Seyf Ad-Din, but by its powerful vizier, the Bengali eunuch Cogeatar (Hwaga Ata), who proved unintimidated by the comparatively small fleet.

Albuquerque made no attempts to escape this encirclement; he would instead take advantage of the excessive number of enemy vessels specifically to allow the artillery to fire for greater effect.

Volleys were exchanged between the Hormuzi fleet and the Portuguese, with a clear advantage to the latter, and large clouds of smoke formed around the ships, greatly impairing visibility.

The Hormuzi light-oar ships, carrying a great number of mercenary Persian bowmen, maneuvered to attack the Portuguese fleet en masse.

[20] As confusion and discoordination set in amongst the Hormuzis, the Portuguese passed on the offensive: Albuquerque had his ship grapple the great carrack of Gujarat, which was boarded and rendered submissive after a stiff fight.

After long negotiations, on October 10, Afonso de Albuquerque met with the King of Hormuz Seyf Ad-Din, the vizier Cogeatar, and his right-hand man Rais Nureddin Fali, to sign the terms of capitulation: They consisted of a tribute worth 15,000 ashrafi (a Persian coin), Portuguese exemption from paying customs dues, and the right to erect a fortress on the island, in exchange for allowing the king to keep his position under Portuguese military protection, while the merchants had the vessels captured in the battle returned to them.

[28] Eventually, at the end of January 1508, three of Albuquerque's captains - Afonso Lopes da Costa, António do Campo, and Manuel Teles[29] - deserted to Cochin, in India, with their respective vessels.

[31] From there, Francisco de Távora on the Rei Grande was sent to Malindi in east-Africa to fetch for more supplies, while Albuquerque remained with his Cirne in the Gulf of Aden, contacting the Somalis of the Horn and raiding merchant ships.

[33] In August, Albuquerque again set sail to Hormuz to scout its situation, and on the way sacked Qalhat, for having given spoilt foodstuffs the previous year.

[37] Indeed, important changes had taken place in Hormuz between 1507 and 1515 that motivated Albuquerque to make a move as soon as possible: Coge Atar had been murdered and the new vizier, his right-hand man Rais Nureddin Fali, had King Seyf Ad-Din poisoned, and replaced on the throne with his eighteen-year-old brother Turan Shah.

[42] Thus, on April 1, King Turan Shah allowed Albuquerque to land his forces and formally re-take possession of Hormuz without bloodshed, and so, the flag of Portugal was finally hoisted over the island.

I in his name, as well as all these knights and fidalgos, shall serve you to our deaths; and so, order the heads of any whom you deem deserving cut off, and fear no one as long as you are a friend of milord the king.

[44] With Hormuz secured, Albuquerque resumed building the fortress, employing his men and hired local labour, a work in which he participated personally.

[45] The site at the northern tip of the tear-drop shaped island of Hormuz, strategically overlooking the city and both harbours on either side, was selected for its construction.

The old state of violent intrigue between the various court factions at Hormuz and the brutal repression by Rais Ahmed had dissuaded many merchants from seeking the city in recent years, causing trade to decline; such a tendency was only reversed by the Portuguese takeover.

An account of the history of Hormuz was first published in Europe in 1569, when the Portuguese friar Gaspar da Cruz published in Évora the "Chronicle of the Kingdom of Hormuz", likely translated from original documents during his stay in the city; he included it in his Tratado das Cousas da China, the first European book with an exclusive focus on China.