FORT OF THE MONTH: KALUTARA Already the penultimate fort in our series, Kalutara fort is located south of Colombo at the mouth of the Kalu River. CHANGING MANAGEMENT Originally, the fort was built by the Portuguese in 1622 on the site of the destroyed Buddhist Temple called Gangathilaka Viharaya. The fort changed hands several times. First it was captured by King Mayadunne of the Sitawaka kingdom. His then 13 year old son, who would later become king Rajasinghe I, led the attack. The fort was then captured by the Dutch and re-captured by the Portuguese. On 15 October 1655 following a siege by Dutch forces, the Portuguese commander of the fort, Anthonio Mendes de Aranha, surrendered the fort and garrison of 255 men, without a shot being fired. CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS As we have learned over the course of this series, the Dutch significantly altered the forts they captured in Ceylon. This, too, was the fate of the fort in Kalutara. It was enlarged with the addition of two bastions and massive ramparts. The Dutch also dug a moat and erected a drawbridge. Reportedly, the Dutch Governor brought over architects from the Netherlands to rebuild this fort. It is even said they brought over by ship from the Netherlands certain types of rocks for construction. The fort was specifically important for the Dutch because the Kalu River played a crucial role in the transport of inland products to the coast for shipment. The Dutch East India Company wanted to protect this passage. Like Negombo, Kalutara was specifically important for the cinnamon trade of the VOC. THE FORT TODAY The fort fell to the British around 1796 and was converted to the residence of the Government Agent of the British. However, today nothing remains of the Kalutara fort. The famous Kalutara temple (photo) now lies on this ground.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 05:30:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015