In September 1507 the Portuguese conquistador Afonso de Albuquerque sailed his small fleet to a point off the coast of Hormuz Island, in the narrow bottleneck that provides access to the Persian Gulf. Negotiations between the Portuguese and the independent Kingdom of Hormuz broke down quickly, and the small tributary state of Persia sent hundreds of oar vessels and dhows to attack the intruders. In the ensuing naval battle, Albuquerque’s advantage in heavy artillery enabled his fleet to sink most of the opposing ships. When the white flag was flown over Hormuz, its teenaged king, Seyf Ad-Din, promised the Portuguese a large tribute and permitted them to construct a fort on his island. For the Hormuzians, submission to the military protection of a distant maritime power was the price to pay for continued prosperity. For Portugal, Hormuz was the latest node in the global empire of maritime transit that it was establishing from the Strait of Gibraltar to Malacca.…