Buckingham Canal in

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

is a 450-year-old Portuguese built heritage landmark at Tangasseri. It is one of the rare existing ancient remnants in city of Kollam (Quilon) - Commercial Capital of ancient

Malabar coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...

. The Canal is believed to be a key conduit built by the Portuguese some 450 years ago inside their strategic territory, the Fort Thomas.

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

along with Tangasseri was one among the ancient Portuguese settlements in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

History

Buckingham Canal was actually built by the Portuguese who were settled in

city before 450 years, inside their strategic territory. This canal inside the

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was used for safe transportation of personnel and merchandise to and from the ships which called at the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

. The Portuguese were settled at

and gained monopoly over the region’s lucrative pepper trade. Old

city was very famous for its fine quality pepper and the name

is believed to have been derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

word ''Kollam'' means pepper. Barges were said to have been used for transportation through the Canal.

Thangassery Tangasseri or Thangassery is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Kollam city, Kerala, India. Location Tangasseri is located about from the city centre and from Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. Archaeologi ...

is a projection into the sea and both ends of the Canal originally opened at the Arabian Sea then. After Portuguese, the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

have establish their domination in

city &

based pepper trade, attacked and captured the Fort from the Portuguese. By 1662, Tangasseri became an exclusive trade hub of the

. The canal came to be known as the ''Buckingham Canal'', later when Dutch surrendered it to the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1795.

Encroachments

Various rampant reclamation activities were found out at the Buckingham Canal area many times. A builder have started construction at the adjoining plot in 2012. The main problem with the canal is even people in the neighbourhood are not aware of the exact ownership of the properties alongside the canal. A survey conducted in 1980 by the

West Village Office revealed that Buckingham canal was around 750 metres long and about 100 feet wide. Now it is two feet to 10 feet wide narrow stream and all the other portions got encroached. Tangasseri in

city is the only place mentioned in the

Kerala Tourism Kerala, a state situated on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Named as one of the ''ten paradises of the world'' by '' National Geographic Traveler'', Kerala is ...

’s official literature as the place in the State where

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...

tradition is maintained. But almost all the colonial constructions got erased except the lighthouse built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1902.

References

{{coord missing, Kerala History of Kollam Tourist attractions in Kollam

History

Encroachments

See also

References