British troops in 18th century Portuguese Goa
Tucked away in a small corner outside the Raj Bhavan complex (Governor House), in my home town of Dona Paula in Goa, is a small cemetery. A short white wall surrounds the 103 graves which appear to be spread in non-geometric pattern. It appears indifferent to anyone walking past, considering every village in Goa will have it's own church and an attached cemetery until one looks closely and reads the information plaque about this being a cemetery to British soldiers. Now why would you bother considering Britain ruled India for almost 200 years. The major difference here being this is Goa - which was a Portuguese colony until 1961. So why do we have a British cemetery in Goa and what were British soldiers doing in Goa? The answer lies in the Napoleonic wars of 18th century Europe, and the struggle between 2 European powers to get a stronghold in the Indian sub-continent. Cemetery as visible from some distance due to road construction View of the graves from the entranc