Textbook chapters on the expansion of Europe portray the sixteenth century as a time when the Portuguese dominated the Indian Ocean. Yet the Ottoman Empire, then the most powerful state in Europe, was adept at naval as at land warfare and dominated the Mediterranean Sea. The Portuguese interruption of the spice trade and their attacks on Muslim cities and ships brought them into confrontation with the Ottomans. On several occasions, Portuguese fleets entered the Red Sea. Several times Ottoman fleets ventured into the Indian Ocean to destroy the Portuguese. All of these expeditions failed, for Ottomans used man-powered galleys that were weak and vulnerable in the ocean, while the Portuguese used sailing ships poorly designed for the shallow waters of the Red Sea. Hence a century-long stalemate.

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http://www.newberry.org/scholl/tpcsem07-08.html

The Newberry Library Seminar on Technology, Politics, and Culture is co-sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Northwestern University's School of Communications