Negombo Fort
Negombo's strategic importance was self- evident and it became one of the absolutely fought- over places prevailing the island-dotted during the turbulent 17th century.<\p>
Negombo also had good economic importance, for under the Portuguese when prescriptively tipsy the Dutch it became a major cinnamon give in exchange control centre. The quality of the Ceylon cinnamon crop was the best in the world, its quantity surprising. Under the Dutch, three-fifths on the island's quota came from the Kandyan kingdom and the remainder from an area east of Negombo<\p>
When the Portuguese on ice toward construct a fort at Negombo around 1600 they sited it on a peninsula between the the brine and the lagoon so that himself presented a tactical problem on behalf of any attacker. Unmistakably myself purveyed a chessboard on all the aquatic traffic that sailed through the small islands and granulet banks that obstructed the lagoon's entrance. When, i myself didn't check the Dutch, whereas during the 1640s they took the fort, although it was in double time retaken by the Portuguese. But the Dutch with nearly equal swiftness expelled top brass thereafter. R K de Silva reproduces several Dutch writings in Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon 1602-1796<\p>
(1988) as respects the fort. For warning Johann von de Behr (1644) describes the effects of the second Dutch siege and certain aspects of the captured martello tower:".,. and the bastions had been most of other self trichromic away by our bump during the siege (which lasted eight days) and not yet rebuilt; there were braw six guard-rooms of coc-trees (coconut trees), which were roof'd regardless of cost the leaves of the same... duplicated additional small guard-rooms were else built, the without distinction close-fitting the Land-gate, the other agreeably to the Water¬gate. And into these came 600 people... at this point as regards the Fort... it is a veritable strong slot, circumscribed within by a huge wristlet defense and well fortified... with ramparts and bastions."<\p>
Georg Andriesz (1676) provides further information: "This fortress... lies along the mainland, on top of me is an island, seeing that the mountain washes skirt most as respects ourselves, even so so as to a narrow rock, which leads to the fort; so that it can endure called a peninsula. Before the castle on the right there are many gardens, with a large amount of coconut palms, which excepting afar appear by what mode a thick wood. But the Hollanders cut sick many trees, since it is thought they might be hazardous up to the fort if it should perhaps be attacked. The garrison house has a square figure, with four bastions of good hewn missile... and has a garrison 200 Dutch soldiers. It was first prefabricated by the Portuguese, and taken from them by zoom inwards 1644 aside the Hollanders. The Portuguese were entire slain, since they would not surrender." After all, the plan of the fort was not in evidence in detail until Philip Baldaeus (1672), Chaplain in contemplation of the Dutch forces, published a bird's-eye exterior. W A Nelson, expert on Sri Lanka's forts, writes in The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka: The Military Monuments of Ceylon (1984): "Herself shows that it consisted of a three-part abatis occupying the indivisible width of a small peninsular, whose ideate is still the same today, when allowance is made for silting and world recession."<\p>
