The St Angelo's Fort

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Commonly known as the Kannur fort, this triangular shaped fort built with laterite has a view of the Mappila Bay on one side & the Dharmadam Island on the other side. The construction of the fort was started in 1505 by the 1st Portuguese governor Don Francesco Almeida. 

Malabar for many centuries had been trading with the Arabs & it was a very lucrative channel for both sides to expand their products, but the arrival of Vasco Da Gama in 1498 opened a new channel of trade for the people in Malabar. The Portuguese also got a piece of the trade which was enjoyed for a long time by the Arabs. The arrival of Portuguese also helped other Europeans to open their markets. The region of Malabar was ruled by two kings, the Zamorins to the south & Kolathiris to the north. There were constant run-ins between the two rulers to control areas which were in dispute & the Portuguese wanted to keep the rift wide open to give them more opportunity to better their trade. 

Post the arrival of the Vasco Da Gama in the 15th century, the Portuguese asked the Zamorins for a place to build a settlement which was denied & so they approached the Kolathiri who gave them the land near today's Burnacherry to build their factories & houses. The first factory was built by Joao Silva & the responsibility to build the fort was given to Francesco Almeida. He started the construction in wood as an outline & finally finished the fort in laterite stone by 1507. The Kolathiri allowed the Portuguese to build the fort as they wanted to fortify control against Zamorin over the Malabar coast which was a strategic point in trade. Thus the fort overlooks the vast Arabian sea & helped the Navy keep watch over the sea traffic & enemies who could attack them. The Kolathiri played coy with the Portuguese for a long time as European trade was seen as very prosperous by the rulers. The trade was also quite profitable to the Mappilas & the rulers of the area - Arrakkal Family.

Almeida who built the fort claimed himself to be the Viceroy in 1507 after he finished building the settlement of the Portuguese in Malabar. He refused to recognize Afonso De Albuquerque as the Governor to supersede him. Upon the arrival of the new Governor at Kannur, Almeida arrested & kept him in the fortress for 6 months. Albuquerque was later released by the orders of Grand Marshall in 1509 & became the Governor of Malabar. The fort was also responsible for providing the Portuguese naval supplies during the conquest of Goa & during the battle of Mamluk.

The Zamorins did try to attack the fort & take control in 1507 but in vain. The Portuguese held control over the fort for over 150 years until the Dutch arrived in the 17th Century. The fort was captured by the Dutch finally in 1663 & they are responsible for the modernisation of this rather simple fort built by the Portuguese. The Dutch built the bastions Hollandia, Zeelandia & Frieslandia after the original fort was pulled down. The actual picture of the fort can today be seen at the museum in Amsterdam. As you walk along the fort, you can find the fire cannons placed targeting the sea & it was only in 2015 during a dig at the fort that archaeologists found many cannon balls which would have been kept in the premises as preparedness for a battle. The cannon balls today are preserved in different museums. 

The area around the fort is as beautiful as the fort itself & its existence takes one back to know the heritage of Kannur.



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