Fort of Aguada and Goa from the anchorage - 1831

Water-colour painting of Fort Aguada by William Miller (1795-1836) c.1831.

Aguada Fort was built on the Mandovi estuary in Goa by the Portuguese between 1609 and 1612 to protect Old Goa from attacks by the Dutch Navy. It was the strongest of the Portuguese coastal forts, constructed of laterite with walls 5 metres high and 1.3 metres thick. The name ‘aguada’ meaning water in Portuguese came about as there are several freshwater springs on the site which provided drinking water for the fort and ships that docked in the harbour. A lighthouse 13m high was added sometime in the 18th century.

Copyright © The British Library Board