In 1585, when Portugal was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, the viceroy of the Portuguese State of India took Solor under his jurisdiction, a fort there having been built and maintained by the Dominicans.

In this way, the island of Timor, a missionary dependency of the Dominicans from Solor, entered the sphere of interest of the Crown of Portugal in the Far East.

Attempts to establish a government were thwarted by the action of Domingos da Costa, who expelled the first Portuguese governor in 1697, and imprisoned the second, sending him back to Macau.

[7] Lifau was attacked in 1751 by rebellious Timorese chiefs, and only the arrival of a new governor with military reinforcements in 1734 postponed the planned abandonment of the fort.

[3][5][8] By the order to evacuate the stronghold on August 11, 1769, Governor António José Teles de Meneses determined to raze the fort.