FORT ST. THOMAS, KOLLAM

History records that the Portuguese originally approached the Rani of Quilon in 1517 to build a factory at Thangasseri for the purpose of trade, which was granted. The factory it is said was later burnt down by the natives, and permission was given to repair the factory. But the Portuguese under Commandant Rodrigues built a fort instead. Built in 1519, the gaunt fort, standing on a promontory overlooking the sea, is a mute witness to the rise and fall of colonial regimes on the West coast and is a relic of the colonial phase in the history of Kerala. It became later the Palace of the Governor bearing resemblances to the Fortress-Palace of the Vice-Roy in Goa. The building was declared a monument of national importance under the Archaeological Survey of India Act 1958 and is under the administration of the ASI, Thrissur Circle. As it appears today, it is just a fragment of the central tower. Built of laterite and lime-plaster, the wall measuring about four feet in thickness, is about 50 feet in height. Originally said to be two and a half furlong in length and a furlong in breadth, the Dutch it is said diminished the size of the fort.

 IMAGE COLLECTION

Abhilash Vallavilayil, 2011 (portkollam.blogspot.pt)

Pratheesh Prakash, 2009 (Wikimedia Commons)

Joachim Specht, 2000 (Wikimedia Commons)

Gaspar Correia, XVIth. Cent. (SciencePhotoLibrary)

 

More pictures...

(Google Images)

 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Thangassery was associated with the Chinese trade the first millennium A.D, and later, it was a bone of contention between the Portuguese, Dutch and the British. According to History captain Rodriguez came to Quilon and he was appointed as the captain of the Factory and trade. With the permission from the queen, St. Thomas Fort once known as Forte de São Tomé was built by the Portuguese as for the protection of the newly found trade. In 1505 the Portuguese established a trading port here, and in 1518 established its sovereignty through the construction of Fort St. Thomas. More...

Despontando no meio de uma vegetação luxuriante, marcada por esbeltas palmeiras, o antigo Palácio do Governador de Coulão reduzse, hoje, a um conjunto de altas paredes amuralhadas que testemunham a monumentalidade do projeto inicial. Na sua localização estratégica, o palácio, situado sobre a baía que se estende em frente, controlava o tráfico marítimo que entrava e saía do porto, afirmandose como elemento simbólico da presença portuguesa na região. More...

Thangasseri in South Kollam was of strategic importance to the colonial powers in the struggle for dominance of trade on the Malabar Coast. History records that the Portuguese originally approached the Rani of Quilon in 1517 to build a factory at Thangasseri for the purpose of trade, which was granted. The factory it is said was later burnt down by the natives, and permission was given to repair the factory. But the Portuguese under Commandant Rodrigues built a fort instead. More...