RUINS OF CHAUL, REVDANDA Chaul has been populated since 300 B.C., its golden age traversing the reign of the Satavahanas from 2 B.C. to 3 A.D. "Chaul’s pre-eminence continued till the 17th century," says Prof. Vishwas Gogte of Pune’s Deccan College, who has spent the last two years trying to uncover the life and times of Satavahana Chaul. So fertile was this now forgotten kingdom that there were various names for it. The Arabs called it ‘Simur’ then names like ‘Semulla’ and ‘Chimolo’ came in. Speculations like, was it rice (chawal) that gave rise to the name Chaul, or was it the lovely Champa flower that gifted the place its name have come up time and again. Answers, most likely have been lost forever, with the dynasties lost in the sands of time. The Portuguese built the Revdanda Fort in 1524 here and girded it later. During that time, Chaul was five times the size it is today. These days, the chief thoroughfare of Revdanda cuts through the fort. Inside, coconut groves rise amidst the remains. Not too far on the horizon stands the Portuguese-built Korlai Fort.
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IMAGE COLLECTION João Lizardo, 2010 (CEAM) Ashwin Dias, 2010 (Flickr) Vshivprasad, 2010 (Panoramio) Pranit_CrystalMyth, 2010 (True Wanderer) António
Bocarro, 1635 (Biblioteca Pública de Évora) Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil, 1600’s (World Digital Library)
(Google Images) |
SOURCES OF INFORMATION Chaul is a former city of Portuguese India, now in ruins. It is located 60 km south of Mumbai, in Raigad District of Maharashtra state in western India. In 1508, the Egyptian Mamluks, allied with the Gujarat Sultanate vanquished the Portuguese in the Battle of Chaul. The first Portuguese settlement at Chaul took place in 1521 with the construction of the first fort on the south bank of the Kundalika River. In October 1531, the Portuguese erected a new square stone fortress, named Santa Maria do Castello, which contained a church and dwellings for 120 men. A town developed around the fortress, but a 1558 treaty precluded fortifying the town. The town was destroyed in a 1570-71 siege by the Nizam Shahi Sultan of Ahmadnagar, but a treaty was concluded which lifted the siege, and the town was rebuilt and surrounded by walls and bastions. A fort (Korlai fort) was built on the Morro de Chaul, a rocky promontory on the north side of the river opposite the town. The town withstood several further attacks, and its defense works were expanded in 1613. More... Formely known as Chaul Fort, it is now popularly
called as Revdandakot because the Revdanda village lies within the fort walls.
There are many names to this fort. Some say it falls in 'Revdanda-Agarkot-Chaul'
Complex. However, Chaul town is now situated 4km away from Revdanda and
villages in this proximity all share a common bazaar at Chaul. More...
Imagine the gate of a sixteenth-century church being used as the entrance to a new bungalow and memorial tablets from the archaeological treasure being ripped out of the floor for use as drain covers. These are just two of many appalling sites at Chaul Fort or Agarkot in Revdanda - just over 100 km south of Mumbai on the Konkan coast. More... The Portuguese town of Chaul lay about 350 Kilometers N. of Goa and 60 Kilometers S. of Bombay, at the mouth of the Kundalika river, near the village of Revdanda. Chaul was located on the low Northern bank, opposed to a promontory on the South bank, which was called "Morro de Chaul. Chaul was, from 1521, under the Portuguese, in the same year, they built the first fort. In October 1531, the Portuguese, erected a massive, square stone fortress at Chaul, which contained also a church and dwelling-houses for 120 men, the fortress was named "Santa Maria do Castello". Around this castle, the Portuguese town developed, but in 1558, a treaty, had precluded the town‘s fortification. More... Depois de 500 anos, a presença portuguesa na Ásia é mais visível, paradoxalmente, através de uma ausência sensível: nas ruínas das cidades e fortalezas costeiras que transformaram a história em arqueologia e a cultura em semiótica. Tal é a fortuna da cidade-fortaleza de Chaul, na costa ocidental da Índia, porto de grande antigüidade, conhecido aos gregos pelo nome de Symulla, que no século XVI foi uma das praças mais importantes da Índia portuguesa, muito antes de existir a povoação vizinha de Bombaim. Em estado de ruínas desde o século XVIII, Chaul representa um grande número de fortalezas, monumentos, construções e inscrições através da carreira da Índia, hoje ruínas, que testemunham silenciosamente a ausência sensível desse império marítimo português que com o tempo "nunca foi por ser existindo," dando a razão à definição enigmática do verso pessoano. More... |
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