On the 5th of November 1505 Lorenzo de Almeida leading the Portuguese landed to the Galle fort.
On the 13th of March in 1640, the Dutch arrived at the Galle fort.
On the 23rd of February
1796, British took over the fort.
The Galle fort is spread up over 96 acres. Because of its historical significance, UNESCO designated this as a world heritage site in 1988.
During
medieval times, Sri Lanka was an important meeting and trading site,
particularly for merchants from China, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom and even South India.
Immigration
of the Nations as below
1) Portuguese arrived 1505
2) Dutch arrived 1640
3) British arrived 1795
The Portuguese
The Portuguese were initially drawn to Galle because of its naturally formed harbor. They were more concerned with the landside than the seaside. This is due to the valiant kings of Sri Lanka, Seethawaka Mayadunna and Seethawaka Rajasinghe, who would launch occasional attacks from this point forward.
Despite the Dutch and the British invasions, the Portuguese landed in Sri Lanka in 1505 and were a part of the country’s history. Portuguese were exported high quality products from the island. Cinnamon, pepper, jewels and ivory were among them.
Portuguese chose to construct a massive foreland and three bastions to secure Galle. Especially to the attacks from the land side. The construction of the Bastions was completed in 1620.
The Dutch
When the
Dutch landed in Sri Lanka to the east of the port in 1640, they realized that
this is a citadel. William Jacob Costa, the admiral of the Dutch army, captured
it.
The bastions were rebuilt by the Dutch in 1667 after the Portuguese medieval period. Sun, Moon and Star were the names given by the Dutch to the three bastions built by Portuguese. Before being dubbed as the Sun bastion by the Dutch, it was called St. James bastion by the Portuguese. The Dutch reconstructed St. James bastion, which was built in 1620. Ms. Hester de Solemn, the future wife of the governor at that time, gave it the name as Sun Bastion. According to the land side, Sun bastion was once one of the main defenses lines.
Commander Adrian Ruth’s wife gave the Star Bastion its name in 1667, and his daughter was the one who fired the first cannon to commemorate the event. This was severely damaged during the war with the Portuguese, but after the reconstruction, the Dutch were able to hoist 19 cannons below and above along the walls. Cannons were positioned at the bottom of the Bastion, facing North-western, and the upper levels of the eastern flanks, facing Eastern.
The Dutch had a firm grip on the Galle fort. Therefore, it prevented anyone, including indigenous forces from capturing it. The control of the Dutch was only modified when it was handed over to the British in 1795.
The British
In 1796, the
70th regiment of the British army passed through here.
The edifice,
which is near Queens Street, served as the centre of British in Galle fort.
This building served as a link between the Sun
bastion and the Black fort. This served
as a secondary rampart as well.
Black Fort
Fortaleza, commonly known as Black fort, was a notable creation by Portuguese. The Black fort was used to combat people who came by the seaside. The Portuguese referred to it as Fortaleza while the Dutch referred to it as Black fort. During the Portuguese time, they built their weaponry here.
The Galle fort also functioned as a Dockyard. From here, luxury commodities such as cinnamon and pepper were sent out to the rest of the globe. This has been used as a marine archaeological museum since the 4th of March 2010.
The Portuguese built the Sun, Moon and the Star bastions. On the other hand, Dutch are the ones who reinforce the fortifications. And there is not much for the British to do.
Sun Bastion
Built by Portuguese and the construction was completed in 1620. The Portuguese named it St. James bastion. The reconstruction was completed in 1667. The Dutch renamed it Sun Bastion after the rebuilding.
Moon Bastion
Built by Portuguese and the construction was completed in 1620. The Moon bastion which houses the clock tower, is also recognized as the strongest bastion on the landside. We could observe not only the events in Galle, but also the movements of the Sun and Star bastions on each side, from the Moon bastion.
The reconstruction was completed in 1667. The Moon bastion secured the landside. This fortress was equipped with five cannon positions. As a result, 109 cannons were used at the time, with 19 men operating them.
Star Bastion
Star Bastion is the bastion on the right side of the clock tower in the picture. Built by Portuguese and the construction was completed in 1620. The Star bastion secured both the landside as well as the seaside. The largest cannon power magazine at Galle fort was at Start bastion also known as St. Anthony’s bastion by the Portuguese.
In
addition, there are 08 bastions guarded the fort from the sea side.
1. Aelus Bastion
2. Clippenberg Bastion
3. Triton Bastion
4. Flagrock Bastion
5. Point Utrecht Bastion
6. Aurora Bastion
7. Akersloot Bastion
8. Black fort (Zwart Bastion)
Architectural
Design of the fort.
According to the historical evidence, the warriors had utilized an underground passage that led all the way to the Sun bastion. The walls of the bastions are up to 100 feet of length.
However, one of the walls is 400 feet long and it is a wall of the Moon bastion. There was no way for outsiders to get in the fort because the city was well-defined with these high stone walls.
The city within the fort is bustling with activities throughout the day. The city inside the fort is almost entirely made up of Colonial architecture. The Maritime museum and the Dutch church, both built in 1752, display some of the best colonial architecture.
The construction of the buildings inside the fort, particularly the Buddhist temple, also followed colonial architecture. Even though Mira mosque was built in 1909, it also followed colonial architecture. Roofing tiles for the residences were introduced by the Portuguese in the 18th century.
Here you will also find antique water springs. These magnificent structures were designed by James G Smither, one of the great architects of the 19th century. There were no Muslims allowed to live within the fort during the period of Portuguese. But now, various ethnicities and religions reside in this area. There are around 400 buildings in the Galle fort at the moment.
The Central Cultural fund in Sri Lanka is in charge of preserving them. Visitors come from all over the world to visit its star quality hotels, restaurants, art galleries and various kinds of shops in the fort. Today, both foreign and the local visitors can be seen in this location.
Sri Sudharmalaya Viharaya | World's Buddhist Library | Temple of Galle Fort
Great content, thank you
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