History - Daman

The District of Daman of the earstwhile Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu is situated off Surat district of Gujarat. From 2nd Century B.C. to 13th Century A.D., it formed a part of the country known as Lata which was one of the Seven divisions of the Aparant or Konkan Vaishaya. Satrya Kshatrapas under the Kushana emperor seemed to have ruled over Daman District during the first century AD. Ushavadata, a son-in-law of Nahapan is said to have provided ferries on the rivers Dhanuha Damana, Parada and Tapi. This is the earliest reference to these rivers and the names of the places i.e. Dahanu, Daman and Pardi are named after them and seem to have remained unchanged for the last 2000 years.

Abhir king Ishvarasena of Nasik who had conquered the western part of the Daccan from the Satavahanas seems to have been held by Gautamiputra Yajnashri Satakarni during his campaigns against the Kshatrapaes from A. D. 180 to 200.

Daman was acquired by the Portuguese from the Shah of Gujarat. They noticed the port of Daman for the first time in 1523. They attacked in several times thereafter before it was finally obtained by them in 1559 by means of a treaty with the Shah. The first attack was 1529. The defenders were put to flight. The next attack came in 1531. In 1533, the Portuguese planned to attack Daman again but refrained from doing so as they found the defenders well prepared.

Two decades later the Portuguese began to regard the acquisition of Daman necessary for the security of their province of Bassein. In 1556, therefore, the Governor of Goa sent an envoy to the Shah of Gujarat seeking the cessation of Daman. The Shah was found willing to cede the place in return for one-half of the custom receipts of Diu. The Shah was a minor and the Abyssinian mentor refused to obey the orders. The political situation in Gujarat was indeed favourable to the Portuguese. There was virtual anarchy in the kingdom owing to the minority of the Shah and dissensions among the leading men of the kingdom.

Early in 1559,the Governor of Goa, Constantino de Braganza (1558-1561), sailed against Daman with a fleet of not more than 100 vessels with two or three thousands soldiers. The Abyssinian defense was well prepared. The defenders planned to hold the place against the Portuguese until May the monsoon would compel the latter to retreat. However, nothing stopped the Portuguese. They landed at Daman with virtually no resistance.The town was taken easily. The fortress too fell into their hands. No Portuguese life was lost in all this.

History - Diu

In the 16th century, Diu was an important trading port and naval base, important enough for the Portugese to cheat lie and murder for. And once they established their indisputable presence on this land they promptly started to give it step-daughterly treatment. They preferred to rule the enclave by proxy from Goa and keep the barest minimum of Portuguese personal posted here.

A few Portuguese Churches and the fort are legacies of their presence but their influence in Diu is less apparent than it is in Goa. The people here were spared the wrath of the and the religious farvour of their European master. The moment you enter the territory you can feel a difference centuries of isolation from the mainland has given Diu an identity of its own.

Even after its liberation from the Portuguese in 1961, Diu continued to remain in the shadow of Goa and Daman. It was only after Goa earned statehood in 1987 that Diu, flush with funds, courtesy the Union Territory Diu started to emerge from the backwaters. Its monuments like the fort and the two magnificent churches, St. Paul's and the St. Francis of Assis, have been restored and floodlit.

Probably the best manifestation of Diu's growing prosperity is the new bridge that gives it direct access to the mainland. Earlier one had to use the ferry crossing to reach the island. On the Diu side of the ferry stands the statue of a Parsi called Kala Baba. The Sculpture is not particularly artistic but the story that goes with it is endearing.

A fallout of the incident was that Kala Baba's monopoly over the liquor trade was revoked by the Portuguese rulers. So Kala Baba challenged the ruling in the civil court of Diu, moved the High Court in Goa and went as far as the Supreme Court in Foa Lisbon. In the end he lost more that just a verdict; the legal battle had cost him his wealth and fortune. But his courage and tenacity to take on the might of the foreign rulers won him the undying respect of the citizens of Diu who Commemorate his memory by erecting his statue at a point where it would welcome all coming to the island.

Another famous statue, and far more artistic than Kala Baba's, is that of the Portuguese governor of Diu, Nunho da Cunha, who played a significant role in colonizing the island. After their first attempt to capture it was beaten back in 1531 by the Sultan of Gujarat, , the Portuguese managed to gain control of Diu in exchange for some guns and 500 soldiers who would defend his northern border against Humayun's advancing army. The feared Mughal assault, however, did not take place and the Sultan wanted his island back.