Fort Immanuel

Fort Kochi’s gets its name from this structure. Fort Immanuel was built by the Portuguese in 1503 near the Fort Kochi beach. It was also called ‘Manuel Kotta’, locally. ‘Kotta’ is fort in Malayalam.

The fort was reinforced in 1538, but it was not enough to stand against the later Dutch and British invasions. The fort’s walls and bastions were destroyed in the attacks. Now you can only find remnants of the original fort. Parts of it were washed up on the beach after the year 2000. On a raised platform at the beach there’s a cannon used by the Portuguese against incoming enemy ships.

The fort was named after Portuguese king Manuel I (1469-1521). He ascended onto the throne in 1495. He was a patron to the Portuguese explorers and traders of his time. It was in his tenure that Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498. Also, in his time, India got its first Viceroy – Francisco de Almeida – in 1505. With this king’s help, the Portuguese’ exploration of the world prospered.