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Batticaloa Fort |
Batticaloa Fort (Sinhala: මඩකලපුව බලකොටුව; Tamil: மட்டக்களப்புக் கோட்டை) is an old fort situated in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Built at the tip of the tortoise-shaped Puliyantheevu island, it is the first Portuguese fort in the country captured by the Dutch.
History
The history of the Batticaloa Fort runs back to the 17th century. The Portuguese constructed a Fort in the Batticaloa harbour in the East Lagoon area in 1628 for their commercial and administrative activities and for security (Anuzsiya, 2021; Mandawala, 2012). Although the eastern region was under control of the Kandyan Kings at the time, much of the cinnamon trade was carried out with concessions by the Portuguese (Anuzsiya, 2021).
By that time, several wars happened between the Portuguese and Kandyan rulers as the Portuguese attempted to capture the Kandyan Kingdom several times, to bring the entire island under their rule. When King Senarath (1604-1635 A.D.) was succeeded by his son Rajasinha II (1635-1687 A.D.) in 1635, the Dutch had firmly established in Batavia (now Jakarta) in Java and were developing their trade in Southern Asia (Anuzsiya, 2021). To expel the Portuguese from the island, King Rajasinha II sent emissaries to meet the admiral of the Dutch fleet, Adam Westerwolt, who was then blockading Goa, India (Anuzsiya, 2021). As a result, the Dutch fleet came to Sri Lanka and captured Batticaloa on 18 May 1638 (Anuzsiya, 2021). A treaty was made between Westerwolt and Rajasinha II (Treaty of Westerwolt) on 23 May 1638, giving the Dutch a monopoly on most of Sri Lanka’s cinnamon and a repayment in merchandise for expenses incurred in assisting the king (Anuzsiya, 2021). However, derailing from the treaty, the Dutch did not surrender the captured forts to the king but instead occupied these themselves and built several new fortifications around the island.
However, with the advent of the British, the fort was lost to the Dutch (De Silva, 1988; Mandawala, 2012). The British captured the East Coast in 1796 and ruled till 1947.
The Site
The fort has been built near the Batticaloa Lagoon. It is nearly square in shape with four bastions on each corner. Two sides of the fort are surrounded by the Batticaloa lagoon and the other two are surrounded by a canal. It is still in a good state of preservation and some government buildings are located inside the fort. The Portuguese had another small fort at Tanavare near Batticaloa but no remains of that fort are found today (Mandawala, 2012). A Buddhist Stupa of the 1st century A.D. is said to have been found within the present fort premises (Mandawala, 2012).
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Batticaloa Fort |
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Anuzsiya, S., 2021. The Portuguese and Seizure of Batticaloa Fort. Proceedings of 8th International Symposium, FIA, SEUSL – 04th August 2021, ISBN 978-624-5736-14-0. pp.1013-1019.
2) De Silva, R.R.K., 1988. Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon 1602-1796: A Comprehensive Work of Pictorial Reference with Selected Eye-Witness Accounts. Brill Archive. pp.138-141.
3) Mandawala, P.B., 2012. Sri Lanka: Defending the military heritage; legal, administrative and financial challenges. Defending the military heritage; legal, financial and administrative issues. Reports from the Seminar 16 – 17 May, 2011, in Karlskrona, Sweden, organised by ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for Legal, Financial and Administrative Issues (ICLAFI) and the Swedish Fortifications Agency of Sweden. pp.100-101.
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1) Batticaloa Portuguese (dutch) fort by AntanO is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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