Bassein

Bassein, also known as Vasai, stands on the north Konkan coast near the mouth of Vasai Creek. The Portuguese established a trading post here in the early sixteenth century. In 1534 Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat ceded Bassein and neighbouring territory to Portugal, and a new fortified settlement grew around the port. A Portuguese inscription dates the building of the initial fortress to 1536. Bassein became an important centre of Portuguese power in the northern Konkan, with fortifications, churches and a naval base serving a wider coastal territory. Its position linked the sea with the settlements and cultivated lands behind the coast. In 1739, after a campaign against Portuguese possessions, Maratha forces under Chimaji Appa captured the fort. The town remained under Maratha rule until it passed to the British in the early nineteenth century. Its layered history reflects the competition for ports and coastal routes along western India.