Goa, Damaon & Diu were one of Portugal's oldest colonies, being established in 1510. During the

Napoleonic War The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

s, the Portuguese were concerned at being unable to defend their empire from predatory French or her

allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

navies. Due to the historic

Anglo-Portuguese Alliance The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (or , "Luso-English Alliance") is the oldest alliance based on known history in the world that is still in force by politics. It was established by the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between the Kingdom of England ( ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

was keen to assist in Goa's security. Britain dispatched a Royal Naval squadron as well as an army of 10,000 soldiers. The British soldiers were posted at strategic locations like Aguada, Miramar,

Caranzalem Caranzalem (pronaunced Caranzale the alphabet m is silent) is a neighborhood located on the west side of the city of Panaji, capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is completely located on the island of Tiswadi, one of the talukas in the state ...

, Palacio do Cabo and Morumugão. The soldiers built huge fortifications in these areas to help defend them. (These fortifications were subsequently demolished after the British departed.) This amicable agreement ended in 1813 thanks largely to the massive defeat of the French and Spanish fleets at

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

in 1805. There are two distinct phases of the period, from 1797 to 1798 and from 1802 to 1813 (in 1814 Napoléon was exiled to the island of Elba). For the next century, no country was capable of challenging the power of the Royal Navy. Goa could benefit from

Pax Britannica ''Pax Britannica'' (Latin for "British Peace", modelled after ''Pax Romana'') was the period of relative peace between the great powers during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a "global polic ...

. During this time, the Portuguese were still in charge of the administration of the territory (the local government was headed by the Viscount of Mirandela from 1794 to 1806, then by the Count of Sarzedas from 1806 to 1816).

British cemetery

A military cemetery is the only evidence of the presence of British forces in Goa that was otherwise ruled by the Portuguese. There are a total of 108 tombs, the oldest of them dates to 1808 and the latest of them dates to 1912.

References

{{reflist 1797 establishments in India 1813 disestablishments in India History of Goa British India Portuguese India History of India