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Baloch–Portuguese conflicts
Part of Portuguese presence in Asia
Portuguese illustration of Nautaques (Baloch pirates active in the Makran coast)
Date 1505–1688 Location Indian Ocean
Belligerents
Main: Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Hormuz Others:  Safavid Empire (1515)	Main: Baloch Nautaques Others: Niquelus (1615–1619)  Safavid Empire (1615–1619) Ottoman Empire (1649–1688) Imamate of Oman (1649–1688) Yarubid dynasty (1649–1688)
Commanders and leaders
Afonso de Albuquerque Luís Figueira Luís de Almeida Pedro Homem Pereira Rui Freire	Hammal Kalmati (POW) Malik of Makran

The Baloch–Portuguese conflicts were a series of military engagements between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Baloch people from 1505 to 1688.

Background

In the 1500s, under the leadership of Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese seized Hormuz and began campaigns against perceived threats along the Makran Coast.

The Makran Coast was home to economically significant ports, but also drew Portuguese attention due to the presence of Nautaques, groups labeled as pirates, who disrupted maritime trade.

Course of Hostilities

First raids, 1505

The Portuguese, under Afonso de Albuquerque, launched their initial raids on the Makran Coast in 1505, targeting settlements they accused of harboring pirates.

Nautaque attacks and Safavid–Portuguese operation, 1515

The Nautaques were often involved in persistent piracy, particularly after the 1550s. Despite efforts to suppress these pirate activities, including the king of Hormuz paying protection money to the Nautaques and sending naval expeditions with the help of Portugal, the Baloch forces continued their attacks. In 1515, Shah Ismail I of Persia sought Portuguese naval support to eradicate the Nautaques, but the joint operation was unsuccessful.

Nautaque attack, 1547

In 1547, Captain Manuel de Lima reported an attack on a Portuguese ship by the Nautaques, who captured the vessel, killed the crew, and looted its cargo. They also had attacked a Muslim vessel and had wounded those that resisted them.

Portuguese raids on Baloch settlements, 1549

In 1549, a Portuguese fleet under the command of Luís Figueira, at the request of the rulers of lower Sind, raided Baloch settlements along the Makran coast. During the campaign, one Portuguese ship ran aground, and the local inhabitants attacked, killing all the Portuguese on board and capturing the ship along with its artillery. Another Portuguese ship was lost on a sandbank, though its crew managed to escape.

Portuguese punitive expeditions, 1581, 1585, 1586

In 1581, the Portuguese sent their first punitive expedition. Under Dom Luís de Almeida, the Portuguese attacked and devastated the coastal towns of Gwadar, Pasni, Tiz, and Kalmat. The Portuguese were then evacuated from the coasts of Makran in a decisive battle.

The ballads recount a series of land skirmishes and naval engagements, where in the final battle, Hammal Kalmati (or Hammal Jîhand) was defeated, captured, and deported to either Goa or Portugal. The Portuguese persuaded Hammal to adopt European customs and marry within their culture, which he refused. Efforts to secure his release failed, and he ultimately died captive.

The other expeditions, taking place in 1585 and 1586, resulted in failure, particularly the 1585 expedition, led by Pedro Homem Pereira, ended in disaster.

Raid of Pasni, 1583

In 1583, forces led by the Malik of Makran successfully repelled a Portuguese raid on Pasni.

Safavid–Pirate attacks, 1615

Prior to the attacks, Abbas I had welcomed Portuguese diplomatic overtures, however, Safavid forces continued to put pressure on the Portuguese. In 1615, Safavid forces, using 300 terradas with the help of the Niquelus and Nautaques, launched attacks on Portuguese vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Rui Freire's punitive expeditions, 1619

In 1619, Rui Freire was sent to the Persian Gulf by Lisbon to reinforce Portuguese control over their territories, eliminate the Niquelus as well as coastal settlements on either side of the Persian Gulf and expel the English from Jask. On one of these expeditions, the Nautaques were practically exterminated.

Expulsion of the Portuguese from Muscat, Matrah, and Mombasa, 1649–1688

Between 1649 and 1688, the Baloch, in cooperation with the Ottomans during the reign of Imam Al-Yarabi Maltan bin Saif of Oman, expelled the Portuguese from Muscat, Matrah and Mombasa, which European historians mention Baloch control under the leadership of Al-Yaraba.

Aftermath

The fall of Hormuz marked the end of Portuguese dominance in the Persian Gulf and the start of English control over the entire region, which lasted for 300 years.

References

1. Dashti 2012, p. 153–154.
2. ^ Dashti 2012, p. 154.
3. Floor 2006, p. 43–44.
4. Floor 2006, p. 44.
5. Subrahmanyam 2024, p. 210.
6. ^ Floor 2006, p. 46.
7. ^ Subrahmanyam 2024, p. 211.
8. ^ Manhal 2014, p. 155.
9. "The ballads describe land skirmishes and naval engagements between the Portuguese and Baloch forces under Hammal, during many years. In a final battle (the central event of most ballads) Hammal was defeated and taken prisoner, and then deported captive either to Goa or to Portugal (ballads differ). Efforts to ransom him failed, and the Portuguese tried to persuade him to settle and take a European wife. Hammal refused, finally dying in prison." in Kreyenbroek, 2010
10. Couto 2008, p. 98.
11. Floor 2006, p. 222.
12. Couto 2008, p. 99.
13. Prestage 1971, p. 128.
14. Dashti 2012, p. 155.

• Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (March 19, 2024). Across the Green Sea: Histories from the Western Indian Ocean, 1440-1640. University of Texas Press. ISBN 1477328793.
• Dashti, Naseer (2012). The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State. ISBN 1466958960.
• Floor, Willem M. (2006). A political and economic history of five port cities, 1500-1730. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers. ISBN 1933823127.
• Couto, Dejanirah (2008). Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the Early Modern Period. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 3447057319.
• Prestage, Edgar (1971). Chapters in Anglo-Portuguese relations. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press.
• Kreyenbroek, Philip (May 19, 2010). Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Tajik: Companion Volume II. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780857732651.
• Manhal, Al (2014). الدور السياسي للأقليات في الشرق الأوسط (in Arabic). Al Manhal. ISBN 9796500145785.

• Baloch people
• Military history of Portugal
• History of Balochistan
• Wars involving Portugal
• Anti-piracy battles involving Portugal
• 16th century in the Portuguese Empire
• 17th century in the Portuguese Empire
• Portuguese colonisation in Asia
• Portuguese Empire