Fort of São Tiago of Banastarim 1.73

The Fort of São Tiago of Banastarim in India, also known as Fort St. James Banastarim or Benastari Castle, is located at on the right bank of Cumbarjua Canal, on the eastern tip of Old Goa, North Goa district in the state of Goa on the west coast of India.HistoryErected by the local rulers, this fort was conquered by the Viceroy of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque on 2 April 1512. Occupied by the Portuguese forces, it was named as Fortaleza de São Tiago (the Fortress of St James).In 1512, knowing that de Albuquerque was not in Goa, the minister of the young Sultan of Bijapur sent an army against Goa, under the command of Fulad Khan whom the Portuguese called Pulatecao. This general invaded the island of Goa, and established himself in the fortress of Benastarim. The fort was later recaptured by a force led by Albuquerque on his return to Goa from Cochin.In the eighteenth century, under the instructions of Jose I of Portugal, to the Governor and Captain-General of the State of India in 1774, the Marquis of Pombal said: "There are in the fortress of S. Thiago sixteen pieces, and one of them is a cannon of an unusual dimension." Also with regards to this piece of artillery, the Secretary General of the State of India, Cláudio Lagrange Monteiro de Barbuda, in the nineteenth century, said: