Battle of Bab al-Mandab
| Battle of Bab al-Mandab | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Portuguese Empire |
 Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Luiz Figueira † | Sefer Reis | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1 oared fusta 4 sailing ships | 4 galliots | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Bab al-Mandab occurred in 1551 and was a conflict between the Portuguese and the Ottomans in the Red Sea.[1][2]
In 1550 a large Portuguese squadron commanded by Luiz Figueira spotted four large Ottoman galliots and with them Sefer Reis who had the intention of sacking Muscat and raiding the ships that leave from Hormuz to Goa and other Indian coastal ports.[2] Sefer Reis turned back and headed in the direction from which he had come, moving fast and avoiding an open sea confrontation with the more heavily armed Portuguese forces.[2] Figueira attempted to give chase but realised that the Ottoman galleys were too fast.[2] Luiz Figueira stopped his pursuit of Sefer Reis and set course for India to report his observations to his superiors.[2] Once Figueira had made his report the Portuguese viceroy Afonso de Noronha rearmed his fleet and ordered Figueira to sail directly to the Red Sea, make a punitive counter attack and destroy the galleys of Sefer Reis.[2]
Figueira and the Portuguese forces, composed of four sailing ships and one oared fusta arrived at Bab al-Mandab in January 1551.[2] Sefer Reis had expected his arrival and was waiting in a carefully chosen location.[2] The Portuguese squadron soon caught sight of the four galliots of Sefer Reis and Figueira recklessly engaged all four enemy vessels with his own oared fusta, however he quickly found himself surrounded.[2][1] His escort of sailing ships made an attempt to move in to help him but realised that it was too late, as a result they were unable to do anything but fire an ineffective barrage of artillery from a distance.[2][1] The fusta of Figueira was overrun, Figueira was killed and all of his men were taken captive forcing the remaining Portuguese ships to flee in disgrace.[2][1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Roy, Kaushik. Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Casale, G. (2008). Ottoman Guerre de Course and the Indian Ocean Spice Trade: The Career of Sefer Reis. Itinerario, 32(1), 59-79. doi:10.1017/S0165115300001704
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