Long before the Strait of Hormuz became synonymous with energy tension, threat to navigation and global geopolitical risk, Portugal already knew well the strategic weight of that passage.
In the early sixteenth century, the Portuguese arrived at Hormuz and quickly perceived what the world continues to confirm in 2026: whoever controls that strait touches one of the central nerves of international maritime trade. Portuguese presence gained military expression with the conquest of Hormuz by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1507, consolidated again in 1515, in an effort to assert influence over the entrance to the Persian Gulf and over trade routes between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The importance of Hormuz was not merely regional. It was, even in that era, a key to maritime, fiscal and military circulation.
Portugal grasped this early and attempted to transform that position into effective power, including with the construction of the fortress of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, a symbol of Portuguese presence on that strategic island. Portuguese dominion would end in 1622, when Persian forces, supported by the English, put an end to that cycle. Five centuries later, the underlying logic remains nearly intact. The Strait of Hormuz continues to be one of the most decisive maritime chokepoints on the planet and is described by the U.S. Energy Information Administration as the world's most important point of oil transit. In 2024, approximately 20 million barrels per day passed through there, and the EIA itself underlines that a very significant portion of world oil and a meaningful share of global liquefied natural gas trade depend on that passage.
This is why any threat, military incident, partial blockade or mere verbal escalation at Hormuz immediately produces impact on markets, freight rates, marine insurance and the perception of global risk. Current events thus confirm what Portuguese history had already demonstrated more than 500 years ago: Hormuz is not merely a strait. It is a point where geography, naval power and world economy intersect in a brutal manner.
This publication was generated from information in the original feed. Credits and source reference were included at the end of the text.
Source: https://portaldomar.org/2026/03/22/ormuz-quando-portugal-ja-dominou-um-dos-pontos-sensiveis-do-comercio-mundial/
```
