Toponomy The city, in the former
Portuguese territory of Goa, is named after the famous
Portuguese explorer and navigator
Vasco da Gama, who held the title of
Governor of Portuguese India. The city was named so by then Governor Ferreira de Amaral in 1886 when the
Mormugao Port was being developed. Vasco da Gama, 1st
Count of Vidigueira was the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the
Atlantic and the
Indian oceans and, in this way, the
West and the
East. He reached Goa on 11 September 1524 but died at
Kochi three months later. His remains were eventually returned to Portugal and interred at
St Jeronimos monastery.
Alternate name: Sambhaji Nagar After the
Liberation of Goa in 1961, reports suggest that the city was renamed to Sambhaji Nagar, after
Sambhaji, in 1971 and this is reflected in a few government records. This has long been cited as a political move by right-wing parties such as the
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party in the 1960s and the other members of the
Sangh Parivar, in 1997 and the
Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015. Some sources also claim Sambhaji as the original name of the city, before the Portuguese. The renovation work was completed in 2017 with funding provided by the Rajaram and Tarabai Bandekar Charitable Trust, and the clock was brought in from
Nashik. ==Climate==