Preliminary thoughts upon the policies of the Ottoman State in the 16th century Indian Ocean

Abstract

This article aims to sketch concisely about the relationships between the Ottomans and the Portuguese pertaining to the developments in the Indian Ocean in the first half of the 16th century. The purpose of the Portuguese Kingdom to establish hegemony in the eastern seas occurred in an era when Ottoman State’s borders reached nearly the central Europe. After annexing the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottomans expanded its borders and became adjacent to the Indian Ocean. After having great efforts to be a vigorous power in the Black, Aegean and Mediterrenean Seas from the mid of the 15th century onwards, the Ottomans gave prominence on the advancement of the navy which was considered as complementary to the conventional army in the expansion of the state. Nonetheless, there are disputed accounts among the academicians pertaining to assessment of the Ottoman sea-power against its challenge to the Portuguese sea power in terms of the developments in the Indian Ocean.