The Portuguese Cemetery (after the invasion of Dutch, it became Dutch Cemetery) of Tangasseri in Kollam city, India, was constructed around 1519 as part of the Portuguese invasion of the city. Buckingham Canal, a small canal between Tangasseri Lighthouse and the cemetery, is situated very close to the Portuguese Cemetery. A group of pirates known as the Pirates of Tangasseri formerly lived at the Cemetery. The remnants of St. Thomas Fort and Portuguese Cemetery still exist at Tangasseri.
History Historical surveys describe a wider European burial landscape at Tangasseri. Julian James Cotton recorded two cemeteries on the headland, separated by the road leading towards the former flagstaff, with a weathered belfry standing within the Protestant burial ground.
A later archaeological survey of the Portuguese and Dutch burials at Tangasseri documented an arched entrance, a belfry, ten surviving tomb structures and four displaced tombstones. Sixteen cemetery-related structures were recorded as visible and accessible, although many were damaged or had been displaced from their original positions.
The surviving monuments represent several forms of European funerary architecture. The tombs are principally constructed of laterite, brick and lime plaster, with some incorporating columns, geometric ornament and conical superstructures; the surviving belfry rises to about .
Location The cemetery is situated on the Tangasseri headland on the Arabian Sea coast, in the western part of Kollam. It lies within the historic coastal quarter of Tangasseri, close to Kollam Port and about from Kollam Junction railway station.
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