MARTHEOPHILUS TRAINING

COLLEGE

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.