Delft Island Fort

Delft Island Fort

Delft Island Fort (also known as Meekaman / Meegaman Fort ) (Sinhala: ඩෙල්ෆ් බලකොටුව, Tamil: நெடுந்தீவுக் கோட்டை) is a ruined fort located on the island of Delft (Tamil: Neduntheevu) in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. History The fort is said to be built during the Portuguese/Dutch Period (Dias et al., 2016). After vanquishing the Portuguese, the Dutch took over the fort and added a barrack to it nearby (Dias et al., 2016). However, local Tamils attribute this fort to a king named Meekaman, a native leader of the fisher caste (Karaiyar).  J. P. Lewis in his article published in 1909, reveals more details about the old structures found in the Delft island including the fort, Baldaeus gives a picture of this fort as it was when the Dutch took it from the Portuguese. It certainly, even at the present day, looks like a Portuguese building. But the tradition is that it was erected by Mikamam, a king of the fisher caste (Karaiyar). In October, 1903, I visited the ruins of the other fort, which is kno…