Fort Emmanuel

Fort Emmanuel, also known as Fort Manuel, is a ruined fort located at Fort Kochi beach in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India.[1] It is a bastion of the Portuguese and a symbol of the strategic alliance between the Maharaja of Kochi and the Monarch of Portugal.[2] Named after Manuel I, the king of Portugal, it was the first Portuguese fort in Asia.[3]

This article is about the fort in Kerala, India. For the fort in Malta, see Fort Manoel. For the fur trading post in North Dakota, see Fort Lisa (North Dakota).

Fort Emmanuel (Fort Manuel)
Fortaleza do Cochim (Emanuel)
Watercolour painting of the fort of Cochin, with a British flag, from across the backwaters, unknown artists, around 1800 AD.
LocationFort Kochi, Kochi (Cochin), India
Coordinates9.9663°N 76.2391°E / 9.9663; 76.2391
Built1503 (1503)
Architectural style(s)Portuguese
Location of Fort Emmanuel (Fort Manuel)
Fortaleza do Cochim (Emanuel) in Kerala

The first part of the present name of the location - Fort Kochi - comes from this fort. Fort Kochi is also known as Old Kochi or West Kochi, adjacent to Mattancherry.

History `

In September 1503 the chief of Kochi granted permission to Afonso de Albuquerque to build Fort Emmanuel near the waterfront of the Arabian Sea. The construction was commenced on 26 September, and "it took the shape of a square with flanking bastions at the corners mounted with ordnance". The walls were made of double rows of coconut tree stems securely fastened together and with earth rammed firmly between; it was further protected by a wet ditch. The fort was christened on the morning of 1 October 1503 "Emmanuel", after the King of Portugal.[3]

The fort was built at the water-bound region towards the south-west of the Kochi mainland. The fortifications were reinforced in 1538.[1] The Portuguese built their settlement behind the fort, including the St Francis Church. Fort Kochi remained in Portuguese possession until 1663, when the Dutch captured the territory and destroyed the Portuguese institutions. The Dutch held the fort in their possession until 1795, when the British took control by defeating the Dutch. By 1806 the Dutch, and later the British, had destroyed most of the fort walls and its bastions.[1]

In Old Kochi and alongside the Fort Kochi beach, there is a partially restored gun battery and other remains of ramparts and fortifications, which are now tourist destinations.

References
  1. "Fort Immanuel at Fort Kochi". keralatourism.org. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  2. "Fort Immanuel at Fort Kochi | Ernkulam Destinations". Kerala Tourism. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. Logan, William. Malabar. District Manual. Asian Educational Services, 1887.
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