The Ponda Fort is located near Ponda, in the state of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

on the west coast of India. The present structure is a modern reconstruction on this location and converted into a park. In 2017 the lower walls of the fort had collapsed, due to neglect and also due to the use of poor quality materials during a previous (1977) renovation. The original structure was constructed of stone and mud, and left bare, the new structure contains stone, concrete and is plastered and painted red.

History

Muslim Era

In the early 16th century, the region around Ponda was ruled by the Adil Shahi Kingdom. They wanted a defense against the ever-expanding

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

to the west, and had built a fortification on a hillside at Farmagudi. In 1665 AD, a

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

rebel leader within Bijapur -

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

, led a failed raid on the fort. The Sultan's forces due to their recent skirmishes with the Portuguese were weakened and the fort was badly damaged due to the artillery bombardment. Shivaji tried again, this time successfully, to capture the fort on later conquest in 1675.

Maratha Era

After Shivaji's death, his son

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

took a strong control over the Maratha Kingdom. In 1683, he launched a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...

on the Konkan territories of Portugal. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the Portuguese offered to pay off the local Maratha governor named Naik to take control over Ponda Fort. This peace offer was refused, since Naik was expecting the arrival of Sambaji's reinforcements from Rajapur. He had, along with him an army of 11,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry. The Portuguese Viceroy, Francisco de Tavora de Conde de Alvor led an artillery attack on the fort to weaken it. In this battle, Ponda Fort was badly damaged and led to high Maratha casualties, but the fort stayed in Maratha hands. The war ended with a general retreat of the Maratha forces from Portuguese territories. After Sambhaji's execution at

Tulapur Tulapur is a village in Pune district, Maharashtra, India, associated with the last moments of Sambhaji Maharaj, second Chatrapati of Hindavi Swarajya and son of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. History Tulapur has great significance in Mara ...

in 1689, the

Peshwas The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

gained control over the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

which also included Ponda Fort.

Portuguese Era

In 1783, the fort, along with the rest of the ''Novas Conquistas'' regions was ceded to the Portuguese by the Maratha Kingdom of Savantvadi under Ramachandra Savant I Bhonsle, as they needed assistance against their rival

Sambhaji II Sambhaji II or Sambhaji I of Kolhapur (1698 - 18 December 1760) was a Raja of Kolhapur from Bhonsle dynasty. He was a grandson of Shivaji and the second son of Chhatrapati Rajaram with his second wife, Rajasbai. After defeat by Shahu, Sambh ...

of the Kingdom of Kolhapur. It stayed under Portuguese control for more than 175 years until the

Invasion of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the India, Republic of India annexed ', the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In ...

by India. During this time, it fell into disuse and crumbled off due to neglect, as there was no hostile forces left, to defend against.

Indian Era

The Indian government took control of the fort after 1961, and renovated it into a park in 1977. During this time, a statue of

was erected by

Shashikala Kakodkar Shashikala Kakodkar (7 January 1935 – 28 October 2016), popularly known as ''Tai'' ( mr, ताई; ), was a prominent leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). She served as the Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu on two occasio ...

of the pro-Marathi

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ( MGP) was Goa's first ruling party after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa in 1961. In the first elections held after the Annexation of Goa by India, it ascended to power in December 1963 and stayed in power t ...

References

External links

Shivaji Fort, Ponda by IndiaVideodotOrg
Forts in Goa Colonial Goa Maratha Empire Adil Shahi dynasty Shivaji 16th-century fortifications Ruins {{goa-geo-stub