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Mormugao

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Mormugao

Mormugao is a coastal town situated in the eponymous subdistrict of Southern Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port.

Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 1917, thirty-one settlements were carved out of the Salcette territory, to form Mormugao with Mormugao seaport as its headquarters. The remaining thirty-five settlements were retained in Salcette which encompass the present-day Salcete taluka with Margao as its headquarters.

Mormugao is located at 15°15′N 73°59′E / 15.25°N 73.98°E / 15.25; 73.98. It has an average elevation of 2 metres (7 feet).

As of 2001 India census, Mormugao had a population of 97,085. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Mormugao has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 70%. In Mormugão, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Konkani being the state language, Marathi, Kannada, Hindi and English are also spoken.

The Directorate of health services Goa ( DHS) provides secondary level of healthcare to the people of mormugao and nearby places through the erstwhile Chicalim Cottage Hospital at Alto Chicalim now upgraded to the level of Sub District Hospital with 120 beds. The DHS also provides Primary Health Care to the taluka through PHC Casaulim, PHC Cortalim and UHC Vasco. A number of private nursing homes, clinics, panchkarma centers, gyms and physiotherapy centers can also be found in the subdistrict.

When the Portuguese colonised parts 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 ruled 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 Mormugão 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 the 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.

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