Anjengo Fort: A historical site

The Anjengo fort is set in the beautiful sands near Varkala sandwiched between the sea & backwaters. The name of the fort now is Anjuthengu fort & is an architectural marvel built with the sole objective to defend from attack. The fort is a first in many ways, it was the first permanent post in Malabar Coast of the British East India Company, it is the first signalling station of the British by way of the lighthouse which helped ships navigate to the shores & it is the first place to have seen a resistance to the British rule by locals.

The fort is a perfect square structure with reinforced stone walls on all sides and four bastions. All the bastions were secured by 18 pounder guns which would have been an imposing sight at the time of its prime. All the bastion walls also had guns intermittently placed to attack the enemies coming from the sea. The fort also had garrisons to hold ammunition for over 3 months in case there was a long siege. The fort also had quarters for the troops to stay, there is also a narrow passage which opens to the sea which is now closed. The walk along the fort pathways & along its high walls give a nice view of the area laced with coconut trees. When it was built there would not have been any buildings around, but now there are many houses & shops around. The centre of the fort is a wide lawn & was the place where the troops gathered for training & formal orders.

In the 17th century, the British East India Company was extending its foothold in Malabar but the constant fights with the French & Dutch were making it difficult to continue profitable transactions in trade. There was a need to have new ports & avenues to improve trade. The East India Company thus decided to look south, away from the Kochi rule & found Attingal as an alternative. The Attingal rulers were having a lucrative pepper trade along with cashew & oil. The East India Company wanted to capitalise on the pepper trade & so decided to set up a factory in Attingal. They approached the Attingal Rani to provide them land to start the factory & build a fort around to protect it. The then Queen of Attingal, Rani Ashure, happy with the proposal, handed over the sand pit near Varkala to construct a fort. The land was given as a grant in the year 1696 & the British gave the responsibility of the place to John Brabourne who was known for his shrewd attitude. The Dutch expected a trade deficit with the introduction of the British & so unhappy with the construction of the factory, convinced the Rani to stop Brabourne from going ahead. The Rani, concerned with the withdrawal of Dutch who were her long standing partners, asked the East India Company to stop construction. John Brabourne was a man of words & ignored the request of Rani which angered the queen & she decided to stop supplies to the workers expecting this action will make East India Company to withdraw. John Brabourne had expected this & made arrangements to collect supplies from sea by ships sent from Cochin & Calicut. The Rani finally sent her troops to take control but were brutally defeated which made her sign an agreement with the British allowing the completion of the fort. The fort was completed in the year 1699 to its current grandeur.

The fort in history has been the place for the first resistance of locals against the exploitation of the East India Company. In history this incident is called Attingal Outbreak & happened in 1721 long after Brabourne left the fort post his death. Brabourne was succeeded by other British officers but unlike him they were only interested in self serving & so corruption grew which resulted in monopoly of some traders who paid bribes to the officers. The monopoly exploited local traders & the Attingal Rani was unable to help her local subjects. Rani Ashure had died in 1700 & her successors were not much inept at ruling & they lost interest in helping the people as they were paid well by the British. In 1717 the responsibility of the fort was taken over by William Gyfford & the first decision he made was to give gifts directly to the Queen annually rather than sending it through the agents of local feudal lords. The feudal lords known as the Pillamaar’s were enraged by the decision as it affected their interests. Gyfford was a person who was a no nonsense person & to stamp his decision took out a procession of around 140 soldiers carrying gifts for the Rani & proceeded to Attingal. This gesture further soured the relationship & the local traders along with feudal lords decided to rebel against the East India Company. As per historians, the Queen did give her silent approval to the rebellion. The rebellion was planned as a siege to take over the Anjengo fort as it was the place where the British centralised their control. On an expedition, Gyfford handed over his ammunition & weapons to local soldiers & left the fort. The rebels took advantage of this situation & planned a siege of the fort. As most of the troops were away, the existing soldiers at the fort fought valiantly to keep off the rebellion but the fort fell after a long battle of 3 months. The siege was only for a short period as the British arranged reinforcements from Telicherry & took assistance from the Travancore Raja to control the fort again. After the victory, the British signed a treaty which gave East India Company sole monopoly of pepper trade & asked the Queen of Attingal to compensate the British losses during the siege by collecting taxes from the feudal lords & traders.

The Anjengo fort has played a vital role in history as being the pivotal bastion for the British during the Anglo – Mysore war. After the French took over control of Mahe, the British left for more control of North Malabar & declared this fort as a residency in 1792. After closing the factory in 1813, the British handed over the fort to the Travancore government’s agent. The fort today is open to all & it is indeed a great architecture marvel and a must visit for heritage lovers.