Dutch Conquest of Kochi (Cochin) on 7 January 1663
The Dutch East India Company began to despatch
ships to India from 1595 onwards and after many encounters
with the Portuguese and their allies they succeeded in
establishing their power in several places in India. Under
Admiral Van Goens, Quilon was captured in December 1658.
Veera Kerala Varma, the senior member of the Mootha Thavazhi
branch of the Cochin royal family appealed to the Dutch
for help against the ruling family of Cochin. While he
had the Zamorin and the chiefs of Vadakkumkoor, Thekkumkoor
and Edappally as his allies, the ruling Raja had the support
of the princes of Chempakasseri, Parur and Valluvanad
as well as that of the Portuguese. The Dutch decided to
interfere and Van Der Meyden landed at Njarakkal with
a Dutch fleet and after taking over the fortress of Pallippuram
handed it over to the Zamorin. On their way back to Colombo,
Paliath Achan, the leading nobleman of Cochin and the
minister of the Vettat princes boarded Van Goen’s
ship and sought Dutch protection. Accordingly a treaty
was concluded on March 12,1661 by which Achan placed himself
under Dutch protection and undertook to serve them faithfully.
According to the Batavia Council’s decision to
renew the campaign on the Malabar Coast in 1661, a Dutch
fleet was despatched to Cochin under the command of
Admiral Van Goens. It captured Quilon on 7th December
and laid siege to the Cranganore fort on 3 January 1662.
Finally they landed troops at Vypeen. They built a fort
called New Orange and bombarded Cochin from there. A
battle was fought in front of the Mattancherry Palace
and Cochin forces were forced to withdraw with heavy
loss in men and material. Van Goens compelled Rani Gangadhara
Lakshmi to recognise her deposed nephew as the King
of Cochin. In the meantime, the Dutch converged on Portuguese
Cochin from three directions. The siege of Cochin lasted
for nearly two months. Though the prospects of Dutch
success seemed bleak initially, in the end, with the
help of the Anchikaimals, the Dutch occupied Ernakulam.
Though the Portuguese still held out in Cochin, soon
they fell short of provisions with the result that the
Dutch General stormed the Cochin Fort assisted by the
troops of Veera Kerala Varma and the Paliath Achan.
The attack that lasted for 8 days and nights resulted
in the victory of the Dutch. Having established themselves
as the masters of Cochin, the Dutch made it their headquarters
in Keralam.
During this period, Cochin Fort was reduced to about
one-third of its original size. A small Pentagon Fort
was built. After the conquest of Cochin the Dutch installed
Veera Kerala Varma, Chazhur adoptee into the Mootha
Thavazhi, as the ruler of Cochin. The first formal treaty
between the Raja of Cochin and the Dutch East India
Company was concluded on 20 March 1663. Dutch possession
of all the territories previously held by the Portuguese,
protection of Cochin State from foreign aggression,
erection of fortresses, Dutch monopoly of the import
trade in opium etc. were some of it’s terms.
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