Tangasseri or Thangassery (Thangi) is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

city,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India.

Location

Tangasseri is located about from the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

and from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, the state capital. Archaeologists recently discovered Chinese coins and other artefacts along the coast, which reveal the historic background of the location.

Kollam Port Kollam Port or Port of Quilon is one of the oldest ports (established in AD 825) situated away from Downtown Kollam (formerly Quilon) It is the third largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities and one of the four Kerala po ...

makes Tangasseri an important place on the world maritime map.

History

In 1502, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a trading centre in Tangasseri and the area soon became a major centre for the

pepper trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in the East ...

. Tangasseri's

St Thomas Fort Fort Thomas or St. Thomas Fort or Fortaleza de São Tomé, also known as Tangasseri Fort, is a ruined fort located in the beach town of Tangasseri on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. It is located around from ...

, built by the Portuguese in 1517, was destroyed in the subsequent wars with the Dutch. In 1661, the Dutch took possession of the city. The remains of both the Dutch and Portuguese forts can still be seen in Tangasseri. In the 18th century, the kingdom of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

first conquered Kollam, followed by the British in 1795. Tangasseri remains an Anglo-Indian settlement in character, though there are few Anglo-Indians in the population. Tangassery was a part of

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

during

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. The Infant Jesus Cathedral in Tangasseri an old Portuguese-built church, remains as a memento of Portuguese rule. The old cathedral was demolished and replaced by a new cathedral at a cost of around ; it was consecrated and blessed on 3December 2005. The metallic cross on the top is one of the largest crosses in India.

Importance

Tangasseri is a picturesque seaside village with a three kilometre long beach on which stands a 144 feet tall lighthouse—a silent sentinel warning seamen since 1902 of the treacherous reefs. There are also ruins of Portuguese and Dutch forts and 18th century churches. The fishery harbour at Tangasseri is a basin for traditional fishermen, achieved by the construction of two breakwaters. The length of the main breakwater is 2100 m and of the leeward breakwater 550 m. This provides sufficient beach length for landing facilities for all operational craft. Tangasseri is home to Kerala's oldest schools,

Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School is an English-medium all-through school in Tangasseri, Kollam District in Kerala, India. Located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, it consists of a day school, and a boarding house located wit ...

and Infant Jesus School Kollam. The State Government of Kerala had submitted a proposal for constructing a sheltered lighterage Port at Thangassery by converting the Thangassery cove into an artificial harbour The Thangassery cove is about 45 miles to the South of theAshtamudi Lake inlet which was proposed to be developed as a Ashing harbour under the Norwegian-Indian Fisheries Community Development Project Hie proposal to convert the Thangassery Cove into an artificial harbour involved the construction canal connecting the proposed port with Ashtamudi Lake. In the meantime, another suggestion was made for developing Thangassery Cove as a fishing-cum-commercial port, if it was found impracticable to develop the Ashtamudi lake inlet. Model expenments in respect of both the scheme were carried out at the Poona Research Station. The Government of Kerala was asked on the 7th January, 1959 to examine the reports submitted by the Poona Research Station and to work out comparative costs of both the schemes m the light of the recommendations made m the Reports and forward their proposal to the Government along with a statement showing the comparative costs for the two schemes These are awaited A provision of Rs 42 5 lakhs has been proposed for development works at Thangassery in the Third Plan https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1836/1/lsd_02_08_02-09-1959.pdf page 15

Gallery

File:Thangassery Light House, Kollam.jpg, Tangasseri Light House File:Arial view of Thangassery Harbour Area, Kollam.jpg, Aerial view of Tangasseri Harbour Area File:Fishing Boats at Tangasseri, Aug 2014.jpg, A fishing boat near Tangasseri breakwater File:Kollam Port Road UC, Oct 2016.jpg, Port Road at Tangasseri File:View of Kollam Port from Thangassery Harbour.jpg, View of Kollam Port from Tangasseri harbour File:Thangassery Fishing Harbour, Kollam.jpg, Tangasseri fishing harbour

References

External links

* * {{Kollam district Neighbourhoods in Kollam Former Portuguese colonies Former Dutch colonies History of Kollam Tourist attractions in Kollam Kingdom of Travancore Cities and towns in Kollam district Archaeological sites in Kerala 1661 establishments in the Dutch Empire