Dutch Malabar
Malabar, also known by the name of its main settlement Cochin, was a commandment of the Dutch East India Company on the Malabar Coast between 1661 and 1795, and is part of what is today collectively referred to as Dutch India. Dutch presence in the region started by the capture of Quilon from the Portuguese, and ended by the occupation of Malabar by the British in 1795.[1]
History
Although also motivated by the lucrative pepper trade on Malabar, the primary aim for the Dutch in capturing the coast from the Portuguese was to secure Dutch Ceylon from Portuguese invasions. After failed attempts to capture the main Portuguese fort Goa in 1604 and 1639, the Dutch decided to aim for the secondary Portuguese trading posts on the Malabar Coast. This was first successful in December 1661, when Quilon was captured. A little more than a year later, in January 1663, Cochin was captured as well, which now became the primary trading post of the colony. In 1669, Dutch Malabar became a separate commandment of the Dutch West India Company; before this year it had been governed from Batavia.[1]
The Dutch never succeeded in establishing a pepper trade monopoly in Malabar, and were all the more frustrated in their attempts when the raj of Travancore started to expand his kingdom. The Travancore–Dutch War that followed culminated into the Battle of Colachel, which was disastrous for the Dutch.
As a result of the Kew Letters, the Dutch settlements on the Malabar Coast were surrendered to the British in 1795, in order to prevent being overrun by the French. Dutch Malabar remained British after the conclusion of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, which traded the colony with Bangka Island.
Forts and trading posts
Map of the main forts on the Malabar Coast of India (Vengurla and Barselor not shown)
Settlement |
Type |
Established |
Disestablished |
Comments |
Fort Cochin |
Fort and factory |
1663 |
1795 |
Established by the Portuguese as their first settlement in India. Captured by the Dutch in 1663, who made it the capital of Dutch Malabar. |
Fort Cranganore |
Fort |
1662 |
1770 |
Fell under the command of Fort Cochin and meant to protect the latter. In 1662, the formerly Portuguese fort was first given back to the Zamorin of Calicut as a reward for his alliance with the Dutch, but in 1666 the Dutch started to renovate the dilapidated fort for their own purposes. |
Fort Pallipuram |
Fort |
1661 |
1789 |
Fell under the command of Fort Cochin and meant to protect the latter. Sold to the Kingdom of Travancore in 1789. |
Purakkad |
Factory |
1662 |
? |
Fell under the command of Fort Cochin. |
Fort Quilon |
Fort and factory |
1661 |
1795 |
The first Portuguese fort to be captured by the Dutch in December 1661. Capital of Dutch Malabar until the capture of Cochin in 1663. |
Kayamkulam |
Factory |
1661 |
? |
Fell under the command of Fort Quilon. |
Fort Cannanore |
Fort and factory |
1663 |
1790 |
Captured on 15 February 1663 from the Portuguese. |
Vengurla |
Factory |
1637 |
1693 |
Established before the establishment of the Malabar commandment to spy on the nearby Portuguese settlement of Goa. Fell directly under the command of Batavia until 1673, and then under command of Suratte. From 1676 onwards, the command was with Dutch Malabar. |
Barselor |
Factory |
1667 |
1682 |
Established by treaty with the local ruler. The unreinforced factory traded in rice and pepper, and was closed in 1682 after problems with local merchants. |
Gallery
See also
References
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Colonies in the Americas |
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Trading posts in Africa |
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Colonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1962)
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Until 1825 |
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Until 1853 |
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Until 1872 |
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Until 1945 |
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Until 1954 |
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Until 1962 |
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^3 Became constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Suriname gained full independence in 1975, Curaçao and Dependencies was renamed to the Netherlands Antilles, which was eventually dissolved in 2010.
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