224 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



they had tributaries and allies, and no Arabian prince dared 

 confess himself their enemy. They exercised an influence in 

 the Red Sea : and upon the eastern coast of Africa, they were 

 the masters of Quiloa, Sofala, Mozambique, and Melinda. 



As Albuquerque had foreseen, Ormuz — from its fortunate 

 situation, as an emporium of trade, at the mouth of the Persian 

 Gulf — became the most important of the Portuguese conquests. 

 The island was by nature little more than a barren rock, and was 

 entirely destitute of water. Its wealth and splendor, however, 

 during the period of its commercial supremacy, gave the world 

 an example of the power of trade which had never yet been 

 witnessed. The trading season lasted from January to March 

 and from August to November: during these months, the houses 

 fronting on the streets were opened like shops, and decorated with 

 piles of porcelain and Indian curiosities, and perfumed with 

 fragrant dwarf shrubs set in gilded vases. Camels laden with 

 skins of water stood at the corners of the streets. The richest 

 wines of Persia and the most costly odors of Asia were offered 

 in profusion to those who visited the city to trade. Thick awn- 

 ings stretched from roof to roof across the promenades, ex- 

 cluding the ra} r s of the sun. The luxury and magnificence 

 of the place seemed to flow rather from the lavish extravagance 

 of an idle prince than from the legitimate pomp of a stirring 

 and active commercial population. 



In 1580, Portugal was conquered and annexed to Spain, and 

 the Portuguese Empire in the East at once declined, and the 

 Dutch Empire sprang up upon its ruins. Ormuz was plundered 

 / the Persians and English united in 1662 : the very stones of 

 which its edifices were built were carried away as ballast, and 

 it speedily sank back into its primitive state — a barren and 

 desolate rock. Hardly a vestige of the proud city now remains 

 to vindicate history in its record that here once stood one of 

 the most famous emporiums of commerce and most frequented 

 resorts of man. 



