Corjuem Fort

Fort Assunção^[1] or Corjuem Fort is a fortress situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the village of Aldona on the river island of Corjuem, Goa. It was a military fortress for the defense of Portuguese India. It is smaller than the other forts in Goa, but it gives a good view of the surrounding river and land. It is a protected monument under the Goa, Daman and Diu Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.^[2]

Corjuem Fort
Forte da Assunção de Corjuem
Part of Goa
Bardez, Goa
Site information
Type	Fortress battery
Controlled by	Portuguese India(1705–1961) India(1961–present)
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partial Ruin
Location
Corjuem Fort Location of Corjuem Fort in Goa
Coordinates	15.5968°N 73.8928°E / 15.5968; 73.8928
Site history
Built	1705 (1705)
Built by	Caetano de Melo e Castro
In use	Abandoned in 1894
Demolished	no

Fort Corjuem

Corjuem Fort is 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Panjim.

Location

The Fort of Corjuem (Portuguese: Forte de Corjuem) is situated on an island with the same name in Bardez, to the east of the village of Aldona, from which it is separated by the Mapuçá River (a tributary of the Mandovi). It is one of the only two inland forts that are surviving that are made of pitted laterite.

History

The original occupiers of the island around the fort were the Bammons of Sancoale, but it was raided by Marathas (in the late 1600s) who later transferred control to Sawant-Bhonsle of Sawantwadi. Under the Portuguese Viceroy Caetano de Mello e Castro, the control of the island came back under Portuguese India's administration.^[3][4] This fort built in 1705, by the Portuguese, as a defense against Maratha aggression, and was subsequently rebuilt and reinforced by them to boost up defenses along Panjim. In the eighteenth century, this fort successfully protected the Portuguese from the Bhonsles and the Ranes, who were camped just beyond the Mandovi River.

Ferreira family at Corjuem

In the early 1800s, the fort was used as a Military School and had in its defenses a battery of four guns. The fortress defended the town of Corjuem and also has a chapel under the parochial church of Aldona. The fort fell into disuse after the success of Novas Conquistas, as it had lost its purpose as a border defense.^[5] Since 1835 the custodian of the island and Fort have been Joao Filippe Ferreira and his descendants^[6] who turned the island from a barren border outpost into a full fledged village in which 2,725 people reside as per the 2011 census.^[7] Joao Filippe Ferreira constructed the Mae de Deus chapel in Corjuem^[8] and installed the altar of St. Anthony in the Fort. His family was influential in the construction of the 5 chapels and 3 temples in the village as well as being the benefactors of the Corjuem Gymkhana.^[9] The Fort is currently under restoration by the Directorate of Archaeology Govt of Goa with backing from the Ferreira family.^[10]

Incidents

The fort also has an interesting incident in which an ambitious Portuguese woman named Ursula e Lancastre, who determined to see the man's world, dressed as a male and took up navigation and military roles. She landed up at Corjuem as a soldier and many years later, voluntarily revealed her gender as she wished to marry a man.^[11]

Santuário de Santo António de Lisboa

There is a Shrine dedicated to St. Anthony within the walls of the fort, at its entrance. It is under the ownership of the Parish of Aldona and is regularly patronized and renovated. This was installed by the benefactor of the Island Dr. Joao Filippe Ferreira, a lawyer and Minister of Finance for Tiswadi.