Fort Vijf Sinnen (also Vyf Sinnen; Dutch for "five senses") was a fort of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) at Nagapattinam on the Coromandel Coast, in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. Begun in 1687, it became the principal VOC stronghold and administrative centre on the Coromandel Coast after Nagapattinam replaced Pulicat.
British forces captured the fort during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War in 1781. Nagapattinam was ceded to Great Britain in 1784, after which the VOC administration returned to Pulicat.
History The VOC captured Nagapattinam from the Portuguese in 1658. After a major flood damaged the town's defences in 1680, construction of Fort Vijf Sinnen began in 1687 using material from the ruins. Dutch plans called it the Casteel de Vyf Sinnen. The fort had five bastions named after the five senses and was also historically known as Fort Naarden. The governor of Dutch Coromandel moved to Nagapattinam in 1687, followed by the VOC's principal Coromandel office from Pulicat in 1690. The fort was nearly complete by 1697. Dutch archival plans from October 1705 show the fort alongside the earlier Portuguese town and include detailed plans of its bastions.
During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, news of the conflict reached Governor Reynier van Vlissingen at Nagapattinam in June 1781. British forces under Hector Munro, supported by the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes, began the siege in October with a force of about 4,400 men. Heavy artillery, including 12- and 18-pounder guns landed from Hughes's squadron, was used against the fortifications. After a failed Dutch sortie on 10 November, Van Vlissingen reported that only one day's supply of gunpowder remained. The council decided to capitulate, and the terms were signed on 12 November 1781. The peace settlement signed at Paris on 20 May 1784 ceded Nagapattinam and its dependencies to Great Britain, after which Pulicat resumed its role as the principal VOC centre on the Coromandel Coast.
British period and legacy Following the British capture of Nagapattinam in 1781 and its formal cession by the Dutch in 1784, the town remained under British control. After the Tanjore territories were ceded to the British in 1799, Nagapattinam served as the residence of the Collector of Tanjore until 1845, when the district headquarters was transferred to Tranquebar.
The remains of Fort Vijf Sinnen have almost completely disappeared as Nagapattinam developed around the former fortified settlement. Surviving reminders of the Dutch presence include St Peter's Church and the nearby Dutch or Karikop cemetery, both recorded in an INTACH survey of Nagapattinam's built heritage. The cemetery has also been the subject of Dutch–Indian conservation work.
Gallery
See also Dutch India Forts and trading posts of Dutch Coromandel Forts and trading posts of Dutch Malabar Fort Geldria, Pulicat Sadras Fort
References
External links
Fort Vijf Sinnen at the Atlas of Mutual Heritage Coromandel at De VOCsite