English
Military Architecture
Thane [Taná/Tane], Mumbai Metropolitan Area (Bombay), India
Military Architecture
The creek separating Salsette from the mainland to the east narrowed considerably in front of Thane. This was where the port structures that the Portuguese occupied and developed were located. In the early days of the Portuguese presence Thane’s defence was neglected. But it evolved over time and eventually comprised an extensive network of small structures and, in the Província do Norte’s last years, even an imposing and regularly lined fort. The various military actions of the Portuguese and other enemies had destroyed Thane’s defences. In 1539 came the first alarm over the invasion of Salsette Island by Indian forces. On this occasion the Portuguese residents were practically defenceless; there was only one fortification, located about 2 km north of Thane’s centre and consisting of a fortified house equipped with light artillery – the Passo Cansado (Tired Pass) Bastion. Another redoubt was then built on an island in the middle of the river, closer to the city, and equipped with four artillery pieces – the Passo Seco (Dry Pass) or Middle Bastion. It resisted the attack in question, although Thane’s situation remained precarious. A third fortification was consequently built, also on an island immediately south of the aforementioned position – the Sea or Three Kings Bastion. This structure was bigger and more solid than the previous bastion. For many years the three structures constituted Thane’s defences. They were depicted in the drawing by Pedro Barreto Resende (c. 1635) and are mentioned in the Estado da Índia’s correspondence at the same time that the city’s military weakness, and consequently that of all of Salsette Island, was noted. The two positions in the river were also used as landmarks to help ships navigate the dangerous low tides of Thane Creek. At night they were lit by signal beacons. In 1654 the Bastion of Saint Jerome is mentioned; it was probably the reworked Passo Cansado Bastion. A defensive tower in the village of Colvale on the other side of Thane Creek also most likely existed at this time. As the English settled in Mumbai, Thane Creek was subject to disputes between the two European powers. At stake were the fees the Portuguese charged vessels for passage to Mumbai. This measure was imposed at the same time the English were attracting Thane’s textile industry to their territory. In 1683 a war began with the Marathas, then engaged in open territorial expansion along the whole coast of India between Goa and the Província do Norte. Given this situation, the fortifications were repaired and it is probable that three small additional bastions were built along the creek (Saint John’s, Saint Anthony’s and Saint Joseph’s) between the Passo Seco and Saint Jerome’s Bastions. A hill known as Pareica, about 4 km east of Thane, was also fortified with two bastions. Even though the Província do Norte was able to withstand the 1683-85 war, the military situation was worrisome. From 1720 on there were repeated incursions with looting and ambushes in border areas of the Vasai district. The actions by Angre’s ships based at Culabo Fort (Alibhag, 30 km south of Mumbai) and by Arab mariners from Oman and Muscat weakened Portuguese military power. Mumbai’s growth simultaneously diminished productivity on Salsette Island. After yet another attempted invasion of Salsette Island in 1730 the Estado da Índia decided to build a solid fortification in Thane, a project long demanded by the Portuguese of the Província do Norte. In 1733 the engineer André Ribeiro Coutinho designed the new defensive structure, which included a pentagonal fort (the citadel) in the northeast corner and an extensive bastioned perimeter around the city’s central zone (the line). The Dominican Convent and the captain’s residence were located inside the citadel, while the line encompassed a large urban area including the parish church, Misericórdia charity institution and the Jesuit house. Some structures along Thane’s shore were also used to close the line on the east side. The work began in 1735, beginning with the three citadel bastions that faced west and their respective curtain walls. A general tax was imposed on all inhabitants of Salsette Island to pay for the project and large numbers of workers from various parts of the Província do Norte converged on the construction yard. The plan of the pentagonal fort with prominent bastions included a land gate with drawbridge and a river gate. Its design reflected architectural innovations to account for the widespread use of artillery and rifles. The profile of the thick low walls included a broad parapet and also a counterscarp. The whole fort must have been surrounded by a moat. Five bastions of similar size were envisaged, but due to high costs the two bastions facing the river were made smaller per the solution indicated by the engineer José Lopes de Sá, who had replaced Ribeiro Coutinho as construction supervisor. The work continued at a good pace ahead of the imminent Maratha invasion and was frequently inspected by the northern general, Luís Botelho. The riverfront and moat nevertheless remained to be completed. Work on the city’s line or bastioned perimeter had barely begun, near the Jesuit house. In the pre-dawn hours of 6 April 1737 the northern general was entrenched in Thane’s unfinished fort with a large detachment of native and European troops. The Maratha invasion began at Saint Jerome’s Bastion and then surrounded the new Thane Fort, while other forces occupied Salsette Island with no resistance. The speed with which the northern general and the Portuguese forces abandoned the fort, escaping over water to Karanja, indicates that the troops of Indian origin, or at least the local population, may have rebelled in concert with the attacking force. The Marathas finished the fort’s construction, building two round bastions on the vertices of the riverfront bastions. After serving as headquarters for the campaign that led to the fall of Vasai in May 1739, Thane Fort remained in Maratha hands until 1774, when it was conquered by the English after a hardfought siege. The latter in turn restored the bastions and equipped the fort with about a hundred cannons. They also razed the surrounding houses and gardens remaining from the Maratha occupation. In 1838 they transformed the fortification into a prison. A visit to the fort’s interior in May 2008 revealed that practically no vestiges remained from the time of the Portuguese. The other fortifications disappeared completely, except for the two bastions on Pareica hill.