Portugal in the Persian Gulf: Maritime Power and Strategic Continuity

By Capt Manuel Amaral Mota (rtd)

Message from the Editor

In the 16th century, Portugal was a thalassocracy actively pursuing a strategy of maritime influence and control through the acquisition of strategic oceanic chokepoints – the kind Admiral Sir John Fisher would later describe as “the keys that lock up the world.”

A 10 minute read.

The current geopolitical environment in the Persian or Arabian Gulf, 1The historical and internationally recognised name by the UN is Persian Gulf. However, for political and national identity reasons, the Arab countries of the region frequently use the term Arabian Gulf. The dispute over the name reflects geopolitical tensions between Iran (ancient Persia) and the Arab nations. It should be noted that, for general knowledge, Persian Gulf is the historical name, used since Roman times (sinus persicos) and adopted by most maps and international institutions, while Arabian Gulf is the term adopt…

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