Vasai

Town in Maharashtra state, west-central India, 45 km/27 mi north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay); population (1991) 83,600. It was ceded to the Portuguese, who renamed it Vasai, by the ruler of Gujarat in 1534; it remained in their possession until taken by the Marathas in 1739, and subsequently by the British in 1818. Of interest are the remains of the Portuguese fort, and of many fine buildings of the 16th and 17th centuries.