St. Angelo Fort, Kerala

St. Angelo's Fort was built in 1505 by Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of India and is on the Arabian sea about 3 km from Kannur town. It was attacked in vain by the local Indian ruler in the Siege of Cannanore.

St. Angelo Fort (also known as Kannur Fort or Kannur Kota), is a fort facing the Arabian Sea, situated 3 km from the town of Kannur, a city in Kerala state, south India.The fort changed hands several times. In 1663 the Dutch captured it and sold it to the Arakkal Royal Family in 1772. The British conquered it in 1790 and transformed it into one of their major military stations on the Malabar Coast. It is fairly well preserved as a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. A painting of this fort and the fishing ferry behind it can be seen in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The Dutch captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1663, then later sold the fort to king Ali Raja of Arakkal. In 1790 British seized it and transformed it into their chief military station in Malabar. The fort is in Cannanore cantonment area. St Angelo's fort is a most important historical monument and a good tourist centre. Kerala Police have posted 6 Tourism Policemen for the protection and guidance to the tourists. Among them one Policeman Sathyan Edakkad has detailed knowledge about this fort and the surrounding places. He wrote and published a book in Malayalam language named Vasco da Gamayum Charitrathile Kaanapurangalum (Vasco da Gama and the unseen pages of history). In this book, he describes the past and present situation of the fort.