Colvale Fort | Goa Forts and History

This fortification was built in 1635 on the orders of the then Viceroy of the Estado Português da Índia, D. Miguel de Noronha, conde de Linhares. The fortifications were completed in the year 1681 by the Count of Alvor as a barrier to safeguard the Bardez frontier against first the Bahamanis and later the Marathas. The fortifications consisted of a canal with a high wall on its western bank which served as a moat. It also consisted of a series of guard houses at least three of which are still identifiable ruins. In 1683, a invasion by the Marathas led by Chh. Sambhaji Maharaj, caused some damage to the building. In 1739, it was again occupied by the Marathas, but for 2 years until it was recaptured by Luís Carlos Inácio Xavier de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Louriçal. The fortification was garrisoned by Portuguese troops until they were withdrawn in 1841 when they were moved to they nearby town of Mapuça. Mapuça The fortification gradually lost its strategic importance; it had for a few years been abandoned and neglected. It is now being restored under the auspices of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology in Goa.
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