Kerala , Cochin ( Kochi ), Alleppey ( Alappuzha ), Quilon ( Kollam )

Tangasseri , Tangassery, Tangy an Eurasion Anglo-Indian Settlement in Kerala, India

Tangasseri , is an area close to Quilon that juts out into the sea. It is about 99 acres in area. An ancient church of St. Thomas was supposed to have been built at the edge of the water, but with sea erosion and also a Fort called ‘Fort Thomas’ has suffered greatly. The Church has disappeared and the Fort has only a mound of rubble left behind. Buildings walls were made of laterite, a type of reddish rock ( also found in Mangalore). Being near the sea, weather can be pleasant to heavy monsoon winds and rain. The name Tangasseri (Tangy) or even Tangassery, could have many origins, and each one has its own theory. One enters Tangasseri through an arch, but there is also a side road that also allow you to enter the Settlement.

The Portuguese arrived first, having leased out Tangasseri from the Rani of Quilon (Kollam) to be a trading post. As history goes, life was always a rumble in these areas. In 1505, the Moors and the Portuguese settlers battled at Quilon and the latter got bashed up, the original St. Thomas Church was destroyed. Subsequently, when Portuguese reinforcements came from Cochin, they were victorious and the Church was rebuilt. The Portuguese lost lots of lives in Quilon. The Portuguese then built Fort Thomas between 1517 and 1519, and controlled the coast to Anjengo. Pepper being the main trade through Tangasseri from Quilon. (There was also a supposition that St. Francis Xavier during his trip to the Malabar Coast could have been resident at Tangasseri because of the Portuguese settlement). The Fort at Tangasseri was surrended to the Dutch in 1661. They pulled down the Portuguese Churches except St. Thomas probably because of its approximaty to the Fort which they could have used for worship. ( We have the example of St. Francis Xavier’s Church in Cochin (Kochi) which went from the Portuguese to the Dutch to the British, going through the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican systems of worship.).The Dutch built lots of houses in Tangasseri and Quilon near the waterway. After another 100 years, the peace was shattered, and the Dutch surrended to the British East India Company in 1795. ( The wars in India were closely linked to the political fraternity in Europe between the Nobility.). The British and the Travancore Princely State were at loggerheads, but the British had the last say. Not surprising, there is an area between the Portuguese Cemetery and the Lighthouse Road, which is called the ‘Buckingham Canal’! I did not have the chance to visit this area. The Lighthouse I saw from far, and that too many years ago, as you will see in the photograph a coast of greenery with the lighthouse submerged in the foliage. The sea encroached much of the land, and large rocks were set in the land edge by the Government to save the erosion. There were many small lagoons that fish could be found and adventurous locals would catch a few lunches and dinners there. Now the erosion has even taken it toll on these havens as you can the difference of the same coast. There was a time when ships waiting on the high seas could be seen, and one local called Anjo Allen ( Archie Fernandez’s nephew) who presently resides at St. John’s Bungalow, used to swim out to sea to the ships for some ‘goodies’, of course today Anjo is far from the hero of the past. He can be seen in one of the pictures catching fish in a 'lagoon', net in hand.

The people of Tangasseri were politically tuned to many of the Europeans and it was finally the British that they settled for and excepted them for support when cession by the Travancore State was being considered. This ‘Memorial’ or ‘Battle of Rights’ of the people of Tangasseri went on from 1932 to 1937 when it went before the House of Lords, and whereby the locals, majority of them Christians, Eurasian and Anglo-Indian by birth, were considered to be part of the Madras Presidency and protection. But after India’s Independence, and with the exodus of migration to UK, Australia, USA, Canada, there were too few families left in Tangasseri to hold together and feel it was an Anglo-Indian Settlement ( like Whitefield ). People sold their houses to outsiders and local fishermen, and so the glorious days of the past have really died down. Gone are the days of ‘partying’ and ‘club’ functions. St. John’s Bungalow also saw a few of these functions under Archie Fernandez who I think was also the President of the Anglo-Indian Association. The Club known as the ‘East West Club’, and had elders like Edwards, DeClase, Gonzago, Fernandez supporting it has died down. Frankpet Fernandez (husband of late Grace Fernandez)was the founder of the ‘Gandhi Seva Sangam’, a social society.

Some of the beautiful houses that can be found when walking along the streets of Tangasseri.

Some more pictures of Tangasseri can be found on the Kerala Home Page.

I feel as an outsider, and reading about all the exciting and traditional history of Tangasseri, that all Tangasseri born people and their children all over the world should try and maintain this quiet and picturesque settlement, by buying back some of the old houses and helping those who exist in them so that the history of the people of Tangasseri, their forefathers, will not be eroded, neither will the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian be forgotten as a Community that held together when they really needed to, and make Tangasseri once more a Settlement that is different from any other in India or around the world, set up a Trust.

Some of the names that one came across in Tangasseri : Surrao, Fernandez, Labrooy, Burgess, Gresseaux, Miranda, D’Souza, Gonsalvez, DeClase, Xavier, D’Cruz, Gonzago, Netto, Rozario, Dias, Malheurs, Allen, deCouto, Fernando, Cabral, Motha, D’Vaz, Bob, Godangs, DeMonte, Brown, Pereira, Lee, Patrick, Edwards, Tope, Bartholomew or Bartholomeuz, Tangasseri, Ford, Conceisco, Poppen, Frank, Stevens, Veges, Jacobs, Pelley, Mascrene, Johnson, Vanspall, Cameons, Ribeiro, Andrade, Lobo, Lambert, Noronha, Rodrigues, Fleury. Many of these had their forefathers fight against the annexing of Tangasseri by the State of Travancore. They wanted an independant area that came under the British and hence under the Madras Presidency, however after Independance it merged with the State of Kerala.

Look out for the Anglo-Indian Reunion of Kerala called "Tangy2000". As soon as info comes in I will post the same. You may also send a mail to Joseph Fernandez for information. Joseph is the author of the book on Tangasseri called "Glimpses of Tangasseri - A 500 Year Legacy"

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