Melaka A Famosa

by derkommander0916 - uploaded on May 1, 2015, 11:12 am

Also known as "Porta de Santiago" or simply "Fortress Gate" during British rule, the A Famosa gate was part of a larger fortification built in 1512 by the Portuguese who were in charge of Malacca then. It was built to defend the Portuguese colony from natives and later, the Dutch.



In 1807 the fortification complex was demolished by the British, save for the gate, thanks to the timely intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.



"A Famosa" means "famous" in Portuguese. People often confuse it with "Formosa", the former name of Taiwan, which is another Portuguese word meaning "beautiful".