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St.
Angelo
Fort
(also
known
as
Kannur
Fort
or
Kannur
Kotta)
is
a
fort
facing
the
Arabian
Sea,
situated
3
km
from
Kannur,
a
city
in
Kerala
state,
south
India.
In
1498,
during
Vasco
da
Gama's
visit
to
India,
the
local
Kolathiri
king
granted
the
land
to
Portuguese
to
build
a
settlement
in
present-day
Kerala.
On
23
October
1505,
he
gave
the
Portuguese
leader
Francisco
de
Almeida
the
permission
to
build
a
fort
at
the
site.
The
construction
activity
began
the
very
next
day,
on
24
October
1505,
when
Goncalo
Gil
Barbosa
-
the
Portuguese
factor
of
Cannanore
(Kannur)
-
laid
the
foundation
stone.
The
construction
of
the
wooden
fort
was
completed
on
30
October
1505:
its
first
Captain
was
Lourenco
Britto,
who
led
a
garrison
of
150
Portuguese
men,
and
controlled
two
ships
in
the
sea.
After
the
fort
was
completed,
Almeida
began
using
the
title
"Viceroy",
and
in
1507,
he
started
the
construction
of
a
stone
fort
at
the
site.
The
fort
was
later
attacked
in
vain
by
the
local
Indian
ruler
Zamorin
and
Kolathiri
in
the
Siege
of
Cannanore
(1507).
In
August
1509
Almeida,
refusing
to
recognize
Afonso
de
Albuquerque's
as
the
new
Portuguese
governor
to
supersede
himself,
arrested
him
in
this
fortress
after
having
fought
the
naval
Battle
of
Diu.
Afonso
de
Albuquerque
was
released
after
six
months'
confinement,
and
become
governor
on
the
arrival
of
the
grand-marshal
of
Portugal
with
a
large
fleet,
in
October
1509.
The
fort
provided
naval
supplies
for
the
Portuguese
conquest
of
Goa
and
the
Portuguese
battles
against
Mamuluk.
As
the
local
Portuguese
settlement
at
Kannur
had
no
sources
of
revenue,
the
fort's
expenses
were
met
with
funding
from
Goa,
the
seat
of
Portuguese
rule
in
India.
On
15
February
1663,
the
Dutch
captured
the
fort
from
the
Portuguese.
They
modernised
the
fort
and
built
the
bastions
Hollandia,
Zeelandia
and
Frieslandia
that
are
the
major
features
of
the
present
structure.
The
original
Portuguese
fort
was
pulled
down
later.
A
painting
of
this
fort
and
the
fishing
ferry
behind
it
can
be
seen
in
the
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam.
The
Dutch
sold
the
fort
to
king
Ali
Raja
of
Arakkal
in
1772.
In
1790
the
British
seized
it
and
used
it
as
their
chief
military
station
in
Malabar
until
1947.
The
fort
is
in
the
Cannanore
Cantonment
area.
It
is
fairly
well
preserved
as
a
protected
monument
under
the
Archaeological
Survey
of
India.
St
Angelo's
fort
is
a
most
important
historical
monument
and
a
popular
tourist
attraction.
Six
Tourism
Policeman
are
posted
here
for
protection
duty.
In
2015,
thousands
of
cannonballs
weighing
several
kilos
were
discovered
from
the
Fort
premises.
The
Archaeological
Survey
of
India,
which
led
the
excavation,
believes
these
were
buried
as
part
of
military
preparedness.
The
Moppila
Bay
Harbor
and
Arakkal
Mosque
are
near
the
fort.
The
fort
is
now
well-maintained
under
the
supervision
of
the
Archaeological
Survey
of
India.
Tourists
are
allowed
entry
to
the
fort
every
day
of
the
week
between
8
AM
to
6
PM.
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