a famosa resort

A FAMOSA A Famosa, also known as The Famous in Portuguese, is a prominent fort built in the late 1511 for the purpose of both protecting and dominating. It is one of the oldest remnants of the European architecture in South East Asia The fort was built by one of the greatest naval commander of that age, Afonso de Albuquerque. It started in 1511 when the Portuguese commander led his forces to battle and defeat the Melaka sultanate led by Sultan Mahmud Shah. Once Malacca was taken, Afonso instructed a slave force of more than 1000 people to construct the great fort which overlooks the Malacca straits and it served as a stronghold to defend against foreign attacks. The basic structure of the fort consists of long ramparts and four major towers. One was a fortified keep while others housed the ammunition room, storage room and the residence of captain and army barracks. The whole fort surrounded the villages and as Malacca grows so did the fort. The fort changed hand in 1641 when the Dutch took over Malacca from the Portuguese rule and they did major renovation works and added more structures including the ANNO 1670 inscription on the forts arch. The downfall of the fort came in 1806 when the Dutch hand over Malacca to the British Empire. The British afraid the fort could be used against them start the demolishing works in 1806 and would have completely destroyed the fort if it was not for Sir Stamford Raffles who loved history and persuaded the government to leave the only part of the fort at that time standing, the Porte De Santiago.