Maubara is a village in Maubara Administrative Post ( Liquiçá Municipality,

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

), just west of the city of Liquiçá. Most of the inhabitants speak Tocodede. It lies near the Maubara Important Bird Area, encompassing the small coastal Lake Maubara.

History

During the beginning of the Portuguese occupation, it was taken by the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. There is a historic Dutch

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

, Fort Maubara, located at the entrance to the village on the seaside overlooking the bay. Later,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

negotiated with Holland and regained the site in a trade for

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

in 1851, which was occupied by the Portuguese at that time. The village is also the location in which the infamous Besi Merah Putih militia was created. In 2000, on the western outskirts of the village, the UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment conducted sixteen

exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

s in two days, most being victims of the Manuel Carrascalão House Massacre in

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

Infrastructure

Maubara is linked to Dili by a good road. It has a market place with a small market hall and a health centre. Maubara is the administrative centre of suco de Vaviquinia.

Buildings

Maubara is famous for its

which was built by the Dutch around 1756. The fort with its two gates still contains the original cannon and is quite well-preserved. The building inside the fort was built in the second half of the 20th century. The Parish Church of Maubara is a small rectangular building built in a neoclassic style. The construction was organized by Padre Medeiros, the leading priest of the Timor Mission from 1877 to 1897. The Customs' house (''Posto de Alfândega'') was built in 1920 opposite the fort on the main road. Today it is used as a cultural centre with a library and a tourist information. ''Escola de Padre Medeiros'', a former school built in the first half of the 19th century, was torn down by the Diocese of Maliana and rebuilt in the original style as a residential building.
Patrimonio architectónico de origem portuguesa de Liquiçá, p. 102 08.04.14 Igreja Maubara 1.jpg, Parish Church of Maubara 18.04.14 Forte de Maubara 1.jpg, Maubara Fort Portuguese Fort, Maubara, East Timor (312835030).jpg, Maubara Fort MaubaraAltesZollhaus.jpg, Customs' House 18.04.2014 Escola Padre Medeiros Maubara 1.jpg, Former School ''Escola de Padre Medeiros'' MaubaraMarkthalle.jpg, Market Place MaubaraCentroSaúde.jpg, Health Centre Sede de Suco Vaviquinia.jpg, Administration building of the ''Suco de Vaviquinia''

History

Infrastructure

Buildings

References

Further reading