Vasai Fort |Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim | India
Fort Bassein/Vasai Fort/ Bacaim is a large fort in Vasai village, District of Palghar, Konkan Division, Maharashtra State, India.
The complete form of the Portuguese name is "Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim" or the Fort of St. Sebastian of Vasai. The Vasai fort is a monument of national importance and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The name "Bassein" is the English version of the Portuguese "Baçaim”, itself a version of an apparently native name that may have a connection to the Vasa Konkani tribals of the North Konkan region, extending from Mumbai into "South Gujarat." The Marathi name of the place is Vasai.
The Greek merchant visited the areas around Bassein in the 6th century, and the later by Chinese. During this time, Bassein and its surrounding areas appeared to have been ruled by the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka.Until the 11th century, several Arabian geographers had mentioned references to towns nearby Bassein, like Thana and Sopara, but no references had been made to Bassein. Bassein was later ruled by the Silhara dynasty of Konkan, and eventually passed to the Yadavas of Devagiri. It was head of district under Yadavas (1184-1318). Later being conquered by the Gujarat Sultanate,a few years later Barbosa (1514) described the city as Baxy as a town of Moors and Gentiles and a good sea port belonging to the king of Gujarat.
At the time, the cession of Mumbai (or Bombay) was of minor importance - but it gained a crucial importance when the place passed from the Portuguese to the English in 1661 as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, and became a major trade center. Bassein was the Portuguese northern capital from the time of their 16th century treaty with the Sultan. Under Portugal, the fort Bassein was the Northern Court or "Corte da Norte," second only to the City of Goa, functioning as the headquarters of the Captain of the North. For 150 odd years, the presence of the Portuguese made the surrounding area a vibrant and opulent city. As such it was the capital of Portuguese possessions on the coast north of Goa,
The ethnic community locally known in the Bombay region as the "East Indians" (sic) were called "Norteiro" (Northernmen) after the Court of the North functioning out of the fort.
In the 18th century, the fort was taken over by the Maratha army under Peshwa Baji Rao's brother Chimaji Appa, and fell in 1739 after a three-year-long campaign. (See-Battle of Vasai). The fort was taken by British in 1774 and returned back to Maratha in 1783 under the Treaty of Salbai. The British in 1818 attacked and took over the territory from the Marathas as the price for supporting one faction of the Marathas against another.The fort also played a strategic role in the First Anglo-Maratha War.
Three chapels inside the fort are still recognizable. They have façades typical of 17th-century Portuguese churches. The southernmost of these has a well-preserved barrel-vaulted ceiling.
The complete form of the Portuguese name is "Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim" or the Fort of St. Sebastian of Vasai. The Vasai fort is a monument of national importance and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The name "Bassein" is the English version of the Portuguese "Baçaim”, itself a version of an apparently native name that may have a connection to the Vasa Konkani tribals of the North Konkan region, extending from Mumbai into "South Gujarat." The Marathi name of the place is Vasai.
The Greek merchant visited the areas around Bassein in the 6th century, and the later by Chinese. During this time, Bassein and its surrounding areas appeared to have been ruled by the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka.Until the 11th century, several Arabian geographers had mentioned references to towns nearby Bassein, like Thana and Sopara, but no references had been made to Bassein. Bassein was later ruled by the Silhara dynasty of Konkan, and eventually passed to the Yadavas of Devagiri. It was head of district under Yadavas (1184-1318). Later being conquered by the Gujarat Sultanate,a few years later Barbosa (1514) described the city as Baxy as a town of Moors and Gentiles and a good sea port belonging to the king of Gujarat.
At the time, the cession of Mumbai (or Bombay) was of minor importance - but it gained a crucial importance when the place passed from the Portuguese to the English in 1661 as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, and became a major trade center. Bassein was the Portuguese northern capital from the time of their 16th century treaty with the Sultan. Under Portugal, the fort Bassein was the Northern Court or "Corte da Norte," second only to the City of Goa, functioning as the headquarters of the Captain of the North. For 150 odd years, the presence of the Portuguese made the surrounding area a vibrant and opulent city. As such it was the capital of Portuguese possessions on the coast north of Goa,
The ethnic community locally known in the Bombay region as the "East Indians" (sic) were called "Norteiro" (Northernmen) after the Court of the North functioning out of the fort.
In the 18th century, the fort was taken over by the Maratha army under Peshwa Baji Rao's brother Chimaji Appa, and fell in 1739 after a three-year-long campaign. (See-Battle of Vasai). The fort was taken by British in 1774 and returned back to Maratha in 1783 under the Treaty of Salbai. The British in 1818 attacked and took over the territory from the Marathas as the price for supporting one faction of the Marathas against another.The fort also played a strategic role in the First Anglo-Maratha War.
Three chapels inside the fort are still recognizable. They have façades typical of 17th-century Portuguese churches. The southernmost of these has a well-preserved barrel-vaulted ceiling.