Colvale Fort

O Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Colvale, also called the Colvale fort (after the village where it is located) and the Middle Fort or Fortress Colvale, is located in the village of Colvale, in the State of Goa, on the west coast of India. Currently, it is in ruins.HistoryThis fort was built in 1635 on the orders of the then Viceroy of the Estado Português da Índia, D. Miguel de Noronha, conde de Linhares. The fortress was completed in the year 1681 by the count of Alvor as a barrier to safeguard the Bardez frontier against the Marathas and Bhonsles.In the year 1739 it was annexed by the Maratha warriors and after 2 years it was recaptured by Luís Carlos Inácio Xavier de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Louriçal. The fort had a small garrison, besides a regiment. In the year 1841, the regiment was moved to Mapusa and the fortress gradually lost its importance; it had for a few years been abandoned and neglected.InscriptionOn its gates, an epigraphic inscription read: "REINANDO O CATHOLICO REI DÕ FILLIPE X3X GOVERNANDO ESTE ESTADO O VIGILÃTISSIMO DÕ MIGUEL DE NORONHA CONDE DE LINHARES SE FEZ ESTA OBRA 1635." ("In the reign of the Catholic king Filipe XIIIX, the Governor of this State Miguel de Noronha, Count of Linhares, undertook this work. 1635.")