| Mazagaon Fort | |
|---|---|
  Location within Mumbai | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fort |
| Location | Mazagaon,Mumbai |
| Coordinates | 18°57′56″N72°50′34″E / 18.965633°N 72.842703°E /18.965633; 72.842703 |
| Elevation | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Completed | 1680 |
| Demolished | 8 June 1690 |
| Client | British |
TheMazagaon Fort was a British fort inMazagaon,Bombay (present-day Mumbai), in theIndian state ofMaharashtra, built around 1680. The fort was razed by theMuslimKoli general,Yakut Khan in June 1690.[1][2][3][4] The fort was located at the present-day Joseph Baptista Gardens, atop Bhandarwada Hill outside theDockyard Road railway station.[5]
Up to the eighteenth century, Bombay consisted of several small islands. In 1661, seven of these islands were ceded by the Portuguese to the British as part of the dowry ofCatherine of Braganza when she marriedCharles II of England. The harbour proved eminently apposite, and the British planned to shift their base fromSurat. TheSiddis, who were of African descent and noted for their navies, had allied themselves with theMughals. The British, through theEast India Company, and the Mughals were constantly waging war on each other. As allies of the Mughals, the Siddis also viewed the British as enemies.[5]
Faced with relentless attacks by the Siddis in 1672, The British constructed several fortifications in the area, and in 1680 the Sewri fort was complete. It stood on the island of Mazagaon, on a hill overlooking the eastern seaboard.
In 1689, the Siddi general, Yakut Khan, with an army of 20,000 men, invaded Bombay. The fleet first captured theSewri Fort, then the Mazagon Fort, before sacking the town ofMahim. In April 1689, the Siddis laid siege to theBritish fortification to the south. The British governorSir John Child appealed to the MughalAurangzeb to reign in Sakat for a price. In February 1690, the Mughal emperor agreed, on the conditions that rupees 1.5 lakhs (150,000) (over one billion USD at 2008 conversion rates) be paid, and Child be sacked.[5] Child's untimely death in 1690, however, resulted in his escaping the ignominy of being sacked.
Enraged at barter, Sakat withdrew his forces on 8 June 1690, after razing the Mazagaon Fort.[5]
In 1884, the British developed Bhandarwada Hill as a major waterreservoir. It supplies water to South and Central Mumbai. A popular recreation ground, the ground is named afterJoseph Baptista, a freedom fighter and close aide of the Indian freedom movement activist,Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Yakub Khan koli.
