Upper Fort, Aguada

Upper Fort, Aguada. . , In 1510, Affonso de Albuquerque conquered the city of Goa (Old Goa) with its natural harbours and navigable rivers by driving away the forces of Ismall Adilshah [1510-1534] Sultan of Bijapur. After their firm establishment in Goa, the Portuguese faced much opposition from other European invaders like the French, the Dutch and the English. The Dutch, who started coming to India in the year 1599 became the major threat to the Portuguese colony in Goa. That necessitated the construction of a fort on the mouth of river Mandovi for keeping a strict vigil. Therefore, a fort with an extensive circumference around the Aguada plateau was constructed in the year 1612 during the tenure of governor Ray Lourenco de Tavora (1609-1612). It was named "Aguada", meaning place of water in Portuguese. Constructed in two segments viz. the upper and lower the upper fort Aquada known as "Fortaleza Real” [i.e. [the royal fort, while the lower fort Aguada was called as "Praca da Santa Catharina.”, Shaped like a star, the upper fort Aguada stands at the height of 260 ft. above sea level. Covering an area of 95,768 sq. mts., this fort is located at a prominent geographic location forming a triangle with the promontory of the forts at Cabo and Mormugao respectively. The fort is surrounded by a dry moat from three sides which are attached to the main land measuring 6.5 mts in width, 5.20 mts in depth and is cut directly into the laterite hillock and the laterite removed from it was used for the construction of the upper fort Aguada. The fort consists of structures like the gunpowder room, the house of the captain of fort, the water tank and the lighthouse, which are covered with cell parapet wall. The two long stairways originating from the seaside of the upper fort Aguada connect it to the fortification of the lower fort Aguada., Devanagari script not transcribed