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Portuguese Fort at Cochin

Type Object Region South Asia Time 1503–1663

The Portuguese fort at Cochin (Fort Emmanuel) on India's Malabar Coast was authorized by Albuquerque in 1503 to protect the pepper trade and control …

Timeline

  1. 1503–1540Cochin peninsula · IndiaThe Portuguese built Fort Emmanuel with permission from the Cochin principality, using wood-and-stone structures to defend against the Malabar sultanate and Calicut forces, securing the loading and storage of black pepper.
  2. 1551–1560Fort Emmanuel (Cochin) · KeralaThe fort was rebuilt with stone bastions and equipped with artillery, garrisoned by infantry and artillery, and together with the Cochin port trading post and Jesuit mission formed the Portuguese military-commercial complex on the Malabar Coast.
  3. 1661–1663Cochin · IndiaThe Dutch East India Company, together with local Malabar powers, besieged Cochin for a long period; in 1663 the Portuguese garrison surrendered, the fort passed to the Dutch, and the Portuguese military presence on the Malabar ended.

Sources