Page 92 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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These data suggest that late medieval Bahrain was involved in a dynamic
interplay between the Arabian mainland and the maritime powers of the gulf. Only
the greater part of the fifteenth century appeared to have been relatively stable
politically, and this is perhaps no more so than it had been under the Uyunid
dynasty. The major difference between these periods was in the perception of the
potential use of the island. The inland capital of the Uyunids does not suggest
strong maritime trade motives or endeavors nor does their nomadic background.
The Hormuzi period suggests the opposite. In the latter case, Bahrain was
perceived in a maritime, mercantile frame of reference. Tibbet's (1977)
reconstruction of gulf trade routes during the fifteenth century adds support to this
interpretation. Bahrain was a major point in the sailing directions of this period.
It was at the end of this period, however, that major changes began to take place.

Late Islamic Bahrain (A.D. 1500-1700)

Prior to the fifteenth century, Bahrain was an element in a trade network linking
the Far East with the Mediterranean world. The sea routes to the Mediterranean
alternated between the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Sea routes provided a
means to bypass prohibitive duties in hostile territories. The position of maritime
trade in the gulf, and Bahrainfs part in it, fluctuated with the use of the Arabian
Gulf in relation to the Red Sea. The fifteenth century, however, marked a
transformation in world trade. By 1485, Portuguese ships had entered the gulf
(Barbosa 1866), and Hormuz was seen as the key to Portuguese control of the Gulf
trade network. It subsequently fell to a Portuguese fleet under Afonso de
Albuquerque in 1507. TTie rulers of Hormuz became Portuguese puppets. Political
control of Bahrain had been lost by Hormuz and regained by the princes of al-Hasa
since Barbosa described it in 1485. Consequently the Portuguese were anxious to
reincorporate it within their trade network as a source of pearls. Hormuz, with
Portuguese help, regained control of Bahrain only to lose it again in 1521 to the
princes of al-Hasa. The Portuguese countered by leading a force to Bahrain and the
Arabian coast where they subdued the prince of al-Hasa (Buckingham 1830,
Belgrave 1975). The major fort, Qala'at al-Bahrain, was rebuilt at this time and