Dutch Colonial remains in Vengurla

Amongst the more unusual remains of European colonialism on the sub-continent are the ruins of a Dutch commercial settlement in Vengurla. Established in the seventeenth century, the settlement served two key purposes: trade and a position from which to launch an attack on the Portuguese in Goa. All that is left are the crumbling remains of the Dutch fortified factory that once stood here. The importance of the settlement and Vengurla is attested to by the ceremonial passage of the queen of Golconda described in detail by a witness at the time:

“The Bantam yachts were waiting to transport the Queen of Golconda from Vengurla to Mokha on her way to the tomb of Muhammad. Her guards who had conducted her eighty leagues were 4000 cavalry with long coats of mail, the shoulders whereof were embroidered with serpents heads like the ancient Romans, they had bright polished helmets, were armed with bows and arrows, wore long beards and were mounted on very fine Persian horses. On each side of every man of quality who attended her was a footman holding a bridle: the queen and all her ladies were carried in close litters concealed from public view, and were proceeded by several camels covered with rich furniture, on one was mounted a kettle drummer, who performed with great dexterity. The Commodore and the Director of the Dutch East India Company met her two leagues from the town…there was a magnificent tent erected for her on the seashore…”