English
Fort And Chapel of Our Lady of Brotas And Our Lady of Pity
Angediva, Goa, India
Religious Architecture
The first defensive and religious structures built by the Portuguese in India were situated on the small island of Angediva, about 20 km south of the border between Goa and Karnataka states. But after the 1506 decision to focus on Kochi, the island remained practically abandoned until 1682. In September 1498, on the return voyage from India after visiting Kozhikode [Calicut], Vasco da Gama disembarked his sailors on Angediva Island. The Portuguese noted various water sources and a large carved stone tank linked to an aqueduct which routed water to a point close to the beach. In 1505 Viceroy Francisco de Almeida built a small fort on the island, comprising a central tower probably flanked by two redoubts and linked to same by couraças. These structures were dismantled in early 1506 when the Portuguese established themselves in Kochi and Kannur [Cananore]. The island was then practically abandoned, serving only as an occasional refuge for pirates or Hindu hermits. Angediva was reoccupied in 1682 at a time when the Marathas were expanding their naval forces and seeking to dominate the west coast of India. In this context, an extensive defence system was built along the beach on the north side of the island. It consisted of various curtain walls and bastions, as well as housing for the garrison and captain. Construction of the Chapel of Our Lady of Brotas also began at the northern end. In 1728 the viceroy ordered repair work done on this structure. Most of the chapel’s architecture essentially dates to this phase. It has a nave and chancel separated by a crossing arch flanked by two co-lateral altars. The façade is marked by a bell tower and an annex to the right. During the mandate of the last governor of Portuguese India, Vassalo e Silva, the chapel was restored. Southwest of that chapel is another small chapel or hermitage dedicated to Our Lady of Pity. This structure, once part of a bastion, was substantially altered during the final phase of the Portuguese presence. Local tradition holds that the chapel was built over an earlier hermitage where the first Franciscan friars used to celebrate mass. Note that a wooden cross was placed on the island in 1916 by British authorities to mark the place where various British soldiers died from 1663 to 1665. From the mid-19th century on the island declined in importance and population. Except for a small military contingent, it was virtually uninhabited when it was integrated into the Indian Union in December 1961. Angediva Island is currently part of a large Indian Navy base and is joined to the mainland by a bridge nearly two kilometres long.