Sentinels of the Past

Compared to Indian standards, Goan forts are very small in size. Nonetheless, these are historic specimens of immense military, political and economic importance in a land crisscrossed by rivers and canals and bordered by sea on the west. The old monuments, now in ruins are mute testimony to the joys and sorrows, and colourful and dark events of a bygone era. Some are awesome in sheer size like the Ruins of the St. Augustine's Tower, while others are marvellous pieces of architecture, such as the Gate of the Adil Shah's Palace at Old Goa.

There are quite a few old Portuguese forts dotted around Goa, most of them on the coast. Most of them are in reasonable state of preservation and are worth a visit if you have the time. The one at Chapora is particularly recommended. The one at Terekhol has been converted into hotel accommodation.

GOA has several imposing forts, though most of them lie in ruins today. One marvels at the massive effort which was involved when the huge laterite stones were lifted to the top of inaccessible hills, to erect the forts. Sans cement, steel or mortar, the giant walls have stood the vagaries of nature for centuries, and would have gone on to last for several centuries more were they to be looked after properly.

The Portuguese found the need to raise the fortresses at several strategic points facing the river mouths to defend their new acquisitions in the East. Of course, they also acquired forts built by the neighbouring chieftains, when the latter's lands were annexed by the Conquistadores. However, once the defence priorities receded, the forts too were abandoned by the Portuguese.

Goa had 20 listed forts but only Aguada and Mormugao fortress enjoyed a pride of place due to their strategic importance. The Fortress of Aguada, erected in 1612, encircles the entire peninsula at the south-western extremity of the Bardez taluka in North Goa.

The walls of the fort skirt the sea shore and ascends the summit of the bare and rocky headland called the Agoada Point, 260 feet above the level of the sea. On this points stands a castle the tower-like Agoada lighthouse, about 36 ½ feet in diameter and 42 feet in height. It once showed a light revolving once in seven minutes, and supported a huge clock with a bell, the largest in Goa, once belonging to the Convent of St Augustine.

Contiguous to this lighthouse was a flagstaff and semaphore. Within the citadel lies a massive square cistern measuring 115 ½ feet across, and capable of containing about 2,376,000 gallons of water. It is divided into five compartments by sixteen columns supporting its vaults.

This fortress had two powder-rooms, two magazines, two prisons, four barracks, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Good Voyage, and several buildings for the residence of the commandant, the chaplain, the surgeon and other officers. The British troops occupied the fortress in 1808 for a short period.

Within its precincts were several fountains and wells, which supplied potable water to the incoming ships; hence the name of Agoada, or watering place, from agoa (water). Nearby stands the small Church of St Lawrence, facing the West, and commanding an enchantingly panoramic view. Its construction took off in 1630 and it was completed in 1643. Dom Miguel de Noronha, Count of Linhares, ordered the Chapel of St Lawrence to be built. There is no resident priest at the church anymore. However, towards the end of every monsoon the feast of St Lawrence is celebrated at the church with great pomp by the locals, who traditionally believe that after his feast the port can safely be opened for ships and country craft.

THE AGOADA LIGHTHOUSE

Being one of the most busiest ports in the world, Goa attracted a lot of sea-going vessels from all over the world. The fact necessitated the erection of the unique lighthouse of Aguada, which figures among the oldest lighthouses in the world. It was the principal navigational landmark at the entrance to Goa. The construction of the lighthouse, which is in the form of a circular tower, about 36 ½ feet in diameter and 42 feet in height, had begun in 1604.

In 1841, it fell to the lot of Goa's then governor Jose Joaquim Lopes de Lima to modernise the lighthouse, so that it could guide the ships not only on moonless, summer nights but even during the monsoons. By 1864, the lantern which rotated agonisingly with an eclipse of 15 minutes, began flashing every 30 seconds with gradual increase in intensity, which reduced and disappeared for an one-minute eclipse. The lighthouse belonged to a premier class with a luminous reach of 25 miles in normal weather conditions.

But today it has been replaced by a modern, nondescript structure. Of course, state-of-the-art navigational aids have replaced the age-old, quaint lighthouses, which can at the most remind us of the colonial era when battles must have been as frequent as the thundershowers.

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By Frederick Noronha

PANJIM -- Half of the 20 odd forts built or maintained by the
Portuguese in Goa "remain in varying degrees of decay", says
scholar Henry Scholberg, in a paper he has written called
Fortress Portugal in India.

Some of these forts were already in ruins by the end of the
nineteenth century. "They are in worse shape now," says
Scholberg.

It's virtually a case of history written on stone in the case of
these forts. At one time, the forts of Goa were strongly
garrisoned, and mounted with 1,204 guns. These presented an
"imposing aspect" of the military strength of the Portuguese.

Scholberg gives an insight into some of the forts in Goa.

In the case of Aguada, he contests the view of the current-day
luxury hotel being inside the fort. Aguada encloses the whole
peninsular at the south-west extremity of the province of Bardez,
he says.

Aguada fort was built in 1612 and paid for by a one percent duty
charged to ships coming to this port. In 1808, Aguada was
occupied by the British.

Mormugao, the small fort once overlooking the harbour, was built
in 1624 and in its day had 53 guns and a garrison with four
officers. This small fort over the harbour and the wall in the
ravine were part of a larger fortress complex which once measured
"two leagues (six miles) in circumference".

Cabo Raj Nivas -- known as Nossa Senhora de Cabo in colonial
times -- has no fortified walls. Based on a cape, two of its
three sides are protected by the sea. The landward side has a
high fence.

Reis Magos ("Magi Kings") was built in 1551 and rebuilt in 1797.
Alorna or Halarn in Pernem is "one of the most charming forts in
Goa" built by the Bhonsles, take from them in 1746, restored in
1761 to the Bhonsles and later recaptured.

Today it is used mainly for cattle grazing. Unlike most forts
built on high ground, this one is built on a plain. Being on the
banks of the Chapora River, it was used for collecting Customs
duty from crafts using the river.

Chapora, on the Vagator beach at the western extremity of Bardez,
was built in 1717 and sits atop a hill. Its walls are in good
condition, but there are no buildings within the walls. At one
time, it had a chapel, a mandovim (customs house) and some
springs.

Tivim was once a fortification complex of three forts, points out
Scholberg. They were all connected to each other and with
Colvalle by a strong wall and a deep ditch. But "all that remains
of them now are a dilapidated gateway and a wall that seems to go
nowhere," says the study.

One of Goa's "very well preserved fort" is at Corjuem, or Khorje.
It was built by the Bhonsles and is located on the island. There
are no interior buildings, but it has a well in the center.

Tiracol is Goa's northernmost fort, has been renovated and now
houses a resort hotel and a series of terraced gardens. But
Tiracol has a "violent past" and was the scene of a bloody
military revolt which resulted in a massacre.

Goa's southernmost fort at Cabo de Rama was built by a Sunda
prince, and all its interior buildings except for a charming
little church are in ruins. It once had two natural springs, and
the hot one, said to be sulphureous, was used for bathing by
people suffering from cutaneous diseases.

Anjediva has been taken over by the Indian Navy "in its never-
ending battle against smugglers". One map by Lopes de Mendes
shows fortifications there in 1835.

Scholberg explains the relevance in history of the Portuguese
colonial presence in this part of the country.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans -- since Alexander -- to
come to India as conquerors, says Scholberg. At one time, they
possessed ten forts in Malabar, built between 1503 and 1568.

Of thee ten forts, only three remain, at Cannanore, Pallipuram,
and Cranganore. Others that exist only as a "memory" were at
Calicut, Quilon, Barcelor, Onor, Chaliyam, Mangalore and Cochin.

Says Scholberg, setting the context of the Portuguese presence in
pockets of India: "Six years after Christopher Columbus sailed
west and discovered what he thought was India, Vasco da Gama
sailed east and found the Malabar Coast. That was in May 1498."

This scholar, who earlier compiled a rich bibliography of the
Portuguese in India, quotes historian R.C.Majumdar as saying,
"Perhaps no event during the Middle Ages had such far-reaching
repercussions on the civilized world as the opening of a sea-
route to India." (ENDS)

See Also

    Beaches In Goa

    North Goa Beaches

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