MARTHEOPHILUS TRAINING

COLLAGE

PRACTICUM
TOPIC: ANJENGO FORT

SUBMITTED BY
SUBMITTED TO
SHAMNA M
BINDU MIS
SOCIAL SCIENCE

Anchuthengu and Anjengo Fort

Anchuthengu, formerly known as Anjengo, is a place

situated about 12 km from Varkala en route to Kadakkavur. It is
another coastal town in Thiruvananthapuram District and is
known as an old colonial settlement. The island is very small in
area, sandwitched between the sea and backwaters, but it has
high relevance in the history of India, with various colonial powers
The Portuguese, Dutch and the English tried to occupy the
place.
The major landmark at Anchuthengu is Anjengo Fort, which
is situated between the sea and backwaters. Travellers can also
see some ancient tombstones and a garden on the fort premises.

Name of the place

Anchuthengu, literally means five coconut trees, and as the

name indicates the whole land is cultivated with coconut trees.

Some historians are of the view that the name was derived from
Anjingal, which was the original Tamil name of the place. The
British mispronounced it as Anjengo and the later generations of
the local residents started to refer to this place as Anchuthengu.

History
Anchuthengu has great relevance in the history. It was the
first trade settlement of the East India Company. The Queen of
Attingal gave permission to the British under the East India
Company to make a factory in Anchuthengu in 1684. They also
got a permission to build a fort in 1690 and the Anjengo Fort was
built in 1695. The settlement in Anchuthengu helped the
Company promote its trade with various countries, as the place
supported water way communication to the North. They also
opened a depot to keep the military equipment at Anchuthengu.
In short, this small island soon became one of the major trading
platforms of the British in India, after Mumbai.
There was local unrest against the British in 1697 and the
natives attacked the British factory at Anchuthengu, but it was a
minor unrest and could create no major ripples in the political
equation of the country.
But the Attingal rebellion of 1721 has some historical
significance. The natives were very unpleasant due to the
arrogant approach of the British towards them and they were
further distanced from them due to some new unjust measures
that the British tried to implement in the land. But at the same
time the British pleased the Queen with precious gifts. In 1721,
the local feudal lords demanded the British to give presents to the
Queen of Attingal only through them. The British refused to obey
this and with about 140 English traders, they proceeded to
Attingal with the gifts for the Queen. The local people attacked

the group and killed all the English traders. They also sieged the
Anjengo Fort. The attack was defended by Gunner Inns and later
the rebellion was defeated when more British force from
Thalassery reached Anchuthengu. This incident is known as the
first collective move against the British rule in Kerala.
The fort played an important role during the invasion of
Mysore king, Hyder Ali too. During the Anglo Mysore wars in 18th
century, the fort became the store house of ammunition for the
British.

Architecture of the fort

Compared to the other forts in Kerala, Anjengo fort lacks
some typical look and characteristics of a fort. It is more like an
enclosed bastion with high laterite walls. The fort also has some
lookout points and there entrances on east and west.