Mormugao Bay

Mormugao Bay lies on the Goan coast, where the Zuari River reaches the Arabian Sea. After Portuguese forces took Goa from Bijapur in 1510, the region became a centre of Portugal's Asian maritime empire. Its harbours and river mouths connected the capital with shipping across the Indian Ocean.

Dutch blockades exposed the vulnerability of the sea approaches. A royal order in 1620 called for a fortification at Mormugao, and construction began in 1624 on the headland overlooking the harbour. Later in the seventeenth century Portuguese authorities considered moving the capital from Old Goa to Mormugao, prompting further construction. The bay was therefore both a route for commerce and a place whose entrance attracted military attention.