Mormugao or Marmagao (formerly Mormugão in Portuguese) is a city and a
municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is
Goa's main port. It was featured in the 1980 film The Sea Wolves and the
Bollywood film Bhootnath.
Geography
Mormugao is located at 15°15′N 73°59′E. It has an average elevation of 2
metres (7 feet).
History
When the Portuguese colonised part of Goa in the sixteenth century, they
based their operations in the central district of Tiswadi, notably in the
international emporium 'City of Goa', now Old Goa. As threats to their
maritime supremacy increased, they built forts on various hillocks,
especially along the coast. In 1624, they began to build their fortified
town on the headland overlooking Mormugao harbour.
The sultans of Bijapur, who had colonised Goa before the Portuguese, did not
give up easily. There were several invasions. From the sea came the Dutch,
who eventually took over from the Portuguese most of the coastal
settlements: the Moluccas, Batticaloa, Trincomali, Galle, Malacca, Manar,
Jaffna, Quilon, Cochin and Cannanore. From 1640 to 1643, the Dutch tried
their best to capture Mormugao but were finally driven away.
In 1683, the Portuguese in Goa were in grave danger from the Marathas.
Almost certain defeat was averted when Sambhaji suddenly lifted siege and
rushed to defend his own kingdom from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The
narrow escape, no less than the decline of the City of Goa, convinced the
Portuguese viceroy, Dom Francisco de Távora, that he should shift the
capital of the Portuguese holdings in India to Mormugao's formidable
fortress.
In 1685, the new city's principal edifices were under construction, with the
Jesuit priest Father Teotónio Rebelo in charge. The Jesuit architects made a
consistent effort to avoid the ornate style of the time. The austere
viceregal palace still stands, having been used, after its short stint as a
palace, in various capacities, including as the hotel which housed the
British agents who in 1943 destroyed German ships anchored in Mormugao's
neutral waters. Viceroys after Távora found Mormugao too secluded for their
liking. The administrative headquarters were moved to the new city of Panjim
which is till today Goa's chief city.
Mormugao Port
Ever since it was accorded the status of a Major Port in 1963, the Mormugao
port has contributed immensely to growth of maritime trade in India. It is
the leading iron ore exporting port of India with an annual throughput of
around 27.33 million tonnes of iron ore traffic.
Transport Links
Epidemics devastated Mormugao during the eighteenth century, but after that
its fortunes turned. As the importance of one of India's best natural
harbours grew more apparent, Mormugao, which the British called Marmagoa,
became a key trading point. It was chosen for the terminus of the new metre
gauge railway linking the Portuguese colony to British India. For a fabulous
price, the Western India Portuguese Guaranteed Railways Company, a British
enterprise, modernised the port and built the railway. Both were opened to
the public in July 1886.
Mormugao's city of Vasco da Gama was planned and built in the early years of
the twentieth century. A colourful city of officials, traders and migrant
labourers, it had its Portuguese academies and British club life for several
decades. Now rather scarred, Mormugao district continues to be unique in Goa
With Goa's airport at Dabolim, the railway terminus at Vasco da Gama, and the busy port, Mormugao is many visitors' first experience of Goa.
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