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The Fort Aguada, built by the Portuguese in 1612, is located in:
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Answer: Option C — Goa
Detailed Solution
Fort Aguada is a well-preserved Portuguese fort located at Candolim, in North Goa, on the coast of the Arabian Sea at the mouth of the Mandovi river.
About Fort Aguada:
It was built by the Portuguese in 1612 to protect Goa from attacks by the Dutch and the Marathas.
It is named after the Portuguese word "agua" (water), because the fort had a large freshwater spring. Ships stopping at Goa took on fresh water here ("aguada" means "watering place").
The fort had a huge underground reservoir that could hold about 2.4 million gallons of water, one of the largest in Asia at the time.
It is divided into two parts: the upper part, a fortress with a moat and a water tank, and the lower part, which served as a safe harbour for Portuguese ships.
It has a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, built in 1864. It is among the oldest lighthouses of its kind in Asia. A newer lighthouse was built nearby in 1976.
The Portuguese used part of the fort as a prison.
After the liberation of Goa, the Aguada Jail housed prisoners until 2015. It has now been converted into a museum, the "Aguada Jail Museum", which tells the story of Goa's freedom struggle and its fighters, such as Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, who started the Goa freedom movement in 1946.
Other forts of Goa:
- Reis Magos Fort: across the Mandovi river from Panaji; built in 1551.
- Chapora Fort: famous from the Hindi film "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001).
- Tiracol Fort: at the northern tip of Goa.
- Cabo de Rama Fort: in South Goa.
About Goa's history:
- The Portuguese, under Afonso de Albuquerque, captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate in 1510.
- Goa was liberated by the Indian Army in "Operation Vijay" on 19 December 1961.
- It became the 25th state of India on 30 May 1987.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Daman has the Moti Daman and Nani Daman forts.
Kerala has the Bekal and St. Angelo forts.
Maharashtra has the Janjira and Sindhudurg sea forts.
Quick tip
Remember: Fort Aguada = Candolim, North Goa (Portuguese, 1612; freshwater spring for ships; lighthouse 1864; Aguada Jail museum); Chapora Fort = "Dil Chahta Hai"; Goa liberated on 19 December 1961.
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This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.