Fort Tiracol, is a Portuguese era fort near the village of

Tiracol Tiracol is a village on the river right mouth of the Tiracol River and part of the Pernem Sub-Division of North Goa. Due to its location, it is geographically separated from Goa by land making it a Goan exclave in Maharashtra. It also happens ...

, in the

North Goa North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka t ...

district 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. At the mouth of the

Terekhol River The Terekhol or Tiracol River is a river in western India. In its upper reaches it is known as the Banda River and in the lower reaches as the Tiracol. It forms the boundary between Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra state and North Goa distri ...

, the fort can be reached by a ferry from

Querim Querim or Keri is a village on the river mouth of the Tiracol River, part of the Pernem sub-division of North Goa, India. It is the northwesternmost point of the state, known for Querim Beach, the historic Church of St. Francis Xavier and a nea ...

, north of

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

History

It is believed that the fort was originally crudely built by Khem Sawant Bhonsle, the Raja of

Sawantwadi Sawantwadi an aesthetic land of artists, is an integral part of the Konkan region which is in the mid-western coast of India. The western coast of India since 1510 A.D. has assumed great importance in Indian history and history of internationa ...

, in the 17th century. The site chosen was a hillock on the Northern (right) bank of the river, which gave a commanding view of the Arabian sea. The Bhonsles of Sawantwadi kept a sizeable fleet of navy vessels which sheltered in the Tiracol River. The fort initially consisted of 12 guns, a barrack and a chapel. In 1746, the Portuguese under the 44th Viceroy of Goa,

Pedro Miguel de Almeida Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

waged war against the Raja of Sawantwadi, as a retaliation to constant border raids. On 16 November 1746, de Almeida brought the Portuguese fleet up to the River, waged a fierce maritime engagement against the naval forces of the Raja of Sawantwadi in which the Portuguese defeated the Sawantwadi forces utterly. Several skirmishes on land followed and Fort Tiracol was finally surrendered on 23 November 1746 to the Portuguese. The fort became an important part of Portuguese maritime defences; being extensively revamped in 1764. It remained in Portuguese control till December 1961 when the last of Portuguese territorial positions in the subcontinent were forcibly annexed by India. On 17 February 1819, following the defeat of the Marathas, a treaty was signed by Raja Bhonsle Khem Sawunt of

who recognised British suzerainty. This treaty effectively abolished the strategic importance of the fort, as it became an enclave in territory controlled by British allies. During the

Portuguese Civil War The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1 ...

, the fort served as a rebel stronghold during an uprising in 1825 against the Portuguese led by Dr. Bernardo Peres da Silva, the first Goan born Viceroy of Goa. It was greatly damaged but the fort and the chapel were later rebuilt. A ruthless Commandant, "Tiger-killer" da Cunha entered the fort and ordered the beheading of the entire garrison and the placing of the heads on stakes. Fort Tiracol was a symbolic location where freedom fighters from Goa demonstrated from time to time. On 15 August 1954, Satyagrahis protesting Portuguese rule entered Goa from three different directions - one of which was from the North to Fort Tiracol, which was occupied and flew the Indian flag for a day before they were captured and imprisoned. Now, Fort Tiracol has been converted into a hotel, called th
Fort Tiracol Heritage

Igreja de Santo Antônio

A Chapel for the Holy Trinity was constructed in the fort courtyard by de Almeida after its capture. This later became the century-old Church of St. Anthony. The church is not open to the general public except on certain occasions, such as the annual feast that is usually held in May.

References

External links

Fort Tiracol
- spherical panorama 360°. {{Coord, 15.7306, N, 73.682, E, display=title, source:Google Earth

Colonial Goa 1749 establishments in India 1740s in Portuguese India