Anjediva Island

About

Anjediva Island (also Anjadip Island) (Goan Konkani: Anjadiv; Portuguese: Ilha de Angediva) is an island in the Arabian Sea. It sits off the coast of Karwar, Karnataka. It is politically part of Goa state, geographically the nearest mainland is the Kanara subregion of Karnataka. The island is about 1.8 kilometres (1 mile) south of Goa, and extends over 1.5 square kilometres (1 square mile). It was part of the Portuguese Indian settlements until 1961. Following the annexation of Goa and Damaon the place was turned into a military base, after which the civilian population was resettled on the Indian mainland or returned to Portugal. The island is home to the Portuguese-built Anjediva fortress, which houses the shrines of Our Lady of Brotas and São Francisco de Assis. The island is connected to the mainland by a breakwater. Anjediva is part of the INS Kadamba base of the Indian Navy, near the city of Karwar.

The island lies approximately 1.8 km from the district of Uttar Kannada. It is 4 km south of Karwar (once Baticala, or the kingdom of Garsopa, in Portuguese times) and about 87 km south of what once was called the city of Goa. Covering only 1.5 square kilometers, the island is 1.3 km long and 300 meters wide, on average. The only regular presence is members of the Indian Navy. Occasionally, other visitors and fishermen come across the island. In the nineteenth century, some 200 people had permanent settlements there.

The Anjidiv Island or the Anjediva is the largest island in an archipelago of five islands just off the Karwar coast, the other four being Kurmagad, Madlingad, Devgad and Devragad. There are two theories about how it got its name. The first is that ‘Anjediva’ is derived from ‘Anji’ (five) and ‘div’ (island), while the other is that its name is derived from the temple of ‘Anjadurga’ which once stood there, worshipped since ancient times. being a halt for ancient Roman traders at the turn of the 1st millennium CE, the Romans called the island "Aigidioum" (land of Agi Goddess). The earliest reference to the island can be found in the ancient Roman trade manual Peripulus Of The Erythraean Sea by Geographer Ptolemy (150 CE), which speaks of the Island of ‘Aegidii’ just off the western coast of India. The text mentions how the island served as a halt for Roman traders who sailed with the monsoon winds between the Red Sea and the Malabar coast. Between the 5th and 7th CE, the island was ruled by the Kadambas of Goa. Archaeological excavations have revealed pillars of a temple, probably dedicated to Goddess Anjadurga or Aryadurga. It is believed that some time in the 9th CE, the deity was moved to Ankola village in Karnataka, probably due to political turmoil. During this time, the island was used by Arab traders as a harbour during monsoon and to repair their ships. Vasco da Gama claimed the island as Portuguese crown territory on September 24, 1498 during his first trip to India.

The Portuguese presence on the island began with the landing of D. Francisco de Almeida on September 13, 1505, who ordered the building of a fortress, which was destroyed seven months later. The Afonso de Albuquerque attack, which culminated in the conquest of Goa in 1510, was launched from Anjediva. The island was unoccupied until 1661 when the English settled there, waiting for the treaty of July 23 to be complied. This treaty eventually yielded them Bombay, which was transferred among the colonial powers in 1665.

The English presence came when Viceroy Antonio de Melo e Castro refused to hand Bombay to the British following the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza, in which the city formed part of her dowry. Ships transported the English troops, commanded by the Earl of Marlborough and accompanied by future Governor-general Sir Abraham Shipman, sought shelter from the monsoons. Shipman, along with many officers and soldiers, eventually died due to the climate and poor housing, so harsh that of the initial force of over 500 men who arrived in 1662, only 191 men survived to leave the island. With the departure of the British in 1665, the island was vacant until the Marathas raids (led by Sambhaji in 1682) forced the Portuguese to rebuild the fort. The work was ordered by viceroy Francisco de Távora, Count of Alvor, as recorded by a plaque placed on the fortress. In addition to the Anjediva Fort, the island was defended by other forts. Military barracks were constructed. A church dedicated to Our Lady of Brotas was built, along with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows (Nossa Senhora das Dores) and St. Francis of Assisi. A large tank for drinking water supplied water to the barracks and ships. The present church of Our Lady of Brotas was built in 1729 at the site where Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on August 22, 1500. He was then in command of the second Portuguese expedition of India and attended a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Friar Henrique de Coimbra, in the presence of eight Franciscan friars. It was the first mass celebrated by the Portuguese in India.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.