António Correia (c. 1487 – 1566) was a Portuguese commander who in 1521 conquered Bahrain, beginning eighty years of Portuguese rule in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...

. Correia was the son of merchant and explorer Airés Correia, who had gained notoriety during the Portuguese bombardment of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

a generation earlier. Like his father, António Correia sought adventure and political intrigue in Portugal’s expanding empire in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. In the early 15th century, the territory of Bahrain covered both the present day state and

Qatif Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in th ...

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, U ...

, and was ruled by King Muqrin ibn Zamil, one of three Jabrid brothers who controlled the eastern seaboard of the Gulf. King Muqrin was the nominal vassal of the Portuguese vassals, the

Huwala Huwala ( ar, الهولة, sing. Huwali هولي) also collectively referred to as Bani Huwala, is a blanket term usually used to refer to Iranian Arabs who originate from the Arabian Peninsula, initially migrating in the 13th and 14th century fro ...

Kingdom of Hormuz, to whom Muqrin paid tribute from the lucrative pearl fisheries that had made Bahrain prosperous. Having subdued the Hormuzis in 1515 and installed friendly leaders in the Kingdom, the Portuguese admiral, Afonso de Albuquerque, identified the Jabrids as the main obstacle to Portuguese control of the Gulf. In 1521, Muqrin stopped the payments to the Hormuzis prompting the Portuguese to appoint António Correia to head a naval force to subdue Bahrain. With their Hormuzi allies, the Portuguese force landed on 27 June 1521 and fought the Jabrids at a battle near present-day

Karbabad Karbabad ( ar, كرباباد) is a village situated in the northern part of the Kingdom of Bahrain, along the northern coastline bordering the Persian Gulf. The village is famously known for being close to the location of the UNESCO World Heritage ...

. The Bahraini force was beaten and Muqrin captured and, after his death from a wound to the thigh sustained in the battle, beheaded by the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

admiral of the Hormuzis, who sent the head back to Hormuz. Correia later depicted King Muqrin's decapitated head on his family's coat of arms. The severed head is still a feature on the coat of arms of the Count of

Lousã Lousã () is a town and municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,604, in an area of 138.40 km2. History The oldest evidence provides an indication of a human presence in this te ...

, Correia's descendants.Charles Belgrave (1966), ''The Pirate Coast'', G. Bell & Sons, p.8. The Portuguese immediately started building a huge fort complex at

Qalat Al Bahrain The Qal'at al-Bahrain ( ar, قلعة البحرين; pt, Forte de Barém), also known as the Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site located in Bahrain. Archaeological excavations carried out since 1954 have unearthed antiqui ...

in order to control their new possession. The fort still stands as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. But perhaps a more important legacy is that King Muqrin’s rule was the last time that “Bahrain” would refer to the historic region of Bahrain rather than to the archipelago of islands that constitutes the present state. António Correia’s invasion in effect set the boundaries of the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Correia, Antonio 1480s births 1566 deaths Portuguese admirals Portuguese generals Maritime history of Portugal 16th-century Portuguese people History of Bahrain 16th-century Portuguese military personnel