Trump’s Hormuz blockade seeks to weaponize a chokepoint that history shows is far easier to disrupt than to control. Across centuries, for rulers and states alike, to command a narrow strait has been to wield power far out of proportion to its geography. From the Hellespont of antiquity to the Danish Sound, chokepoints have tempted them with the promise of effortless leverage. The Strait of Hormuz is the latest test of that enduring illusion. If the latest stream of conflicti