Point Pedro fort

Point Pedro fort
Part of Jaffna
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Type	Defense fort
Site information
Condition	Destroyed
Site history
Built	1665
Built by	Dutch
Materials	limestone and coral[1]
Battles/wars	Several

Point Pedro fort (Tamil: பருத்தித்துறைக் கோட்டை) is a fort built in 1665 by the Dutch in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. It was constructed during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, by the Dutch East India Company to counter a possible British attack from the Bay of Bengal.^[2]

On the 27 August 1795, the fort was captured by British forces, the 61st Pioneers (also known as 1st Battalion Sepoys).^[3]

It is reported that the basement was triangular in shape, which led to it being built as a nearly triangle shaped fort. It had only one bastion towards the landward side and it was lacking space inside the fort due to its structure. The seaside structure of the fort was just a wall with no bastions or cannons.^[4] Further details of the fort have been identified from Dutch era maps. According to the maps, one side wall was 80 m (260 ft) long and the other two walls were 42 m (138 ft) in length.^[5]

References

1. Zwaardecroon, Hendrick (1697). "Memoir of Hendrick Zwaardecroon, Commandeur of Jaffnapatam (afterwards Governor-General of Nederlands India)". Retrieved 28 November 2014.
2. "Point Pedro". Atlas of Mutual Heritage. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
3. "The Role of Indian troops in Ceylon". Ceylon Today. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
4. Nelson, W. A.; De Silva, R. K. (2004). The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka – The Military Monuments of Ceylon. Sri Lanka Netherlands Association. p. 103.
5. Nelson, W. A.; De Silva, R. K. (2004). The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka – The Military Monuments of Ceylon. Sri Lanka Netherlands Association. p. 104.